Bloomberg reports that global payments giant Mastercard will terminate its cryptocurrency card partnership with the Binance cryptocurrency exchange next month.
The report did not specify the cause of the change but suggested that it may be due to increased regulatory scrutiny of the troubled cryptocurrency exchange.
Bloomberg reported on August 24 that Mastercard and Binance will terminate their four crypto card programs in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia beginning September 22.
Mastercard’s other crypto card programs will not be affected by the decision to terminate the program, the company reportedly said. The wind-down period will enable cardholders to convert any Binance wallet holdings, the company added.
Mastercard and Binance’s prepaid crypto cards enable users to make purchases in local fiat currencies using their cryptocurrency holdings on the exchange.
Approximately one year has passed since Binance and Mastercard first partnered in August 2017 to introduce a prepaid card for Argentine residents.
Early in 2023, the companies expanded their partnership to include a second prepaid cryptocurrency card in Latin America. The report suggests that the end of the partnership is due to Binance’s renewed global regulatory issues.
As previously reported, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance and its CEO, Changpeng CZ Zhao, for allegedly violating local securities laws.
Additionally, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit against Binance for failing to register appropriately with the derivatives regulator.
The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Binance for allowing Russians to use the exchange in violation of U.S. sanctions.
According to a new report, Mastercard is not the only company that has distanced itself from Binance due to its global regulatory issues.
Visa purportedly ceased issuing new co-branded cards with Binance in Europe as of July, according to Binance.