The Australian branch of cryptocurrency exchange Binance has suspended PayID deposits for Australian dollar account holders. The exchange announced that some customers will not be able to deposit or withdraw money after third-party service provider Cuscal cut off its service.

In addition, company representatives cited by Reuters announced that withdrawals would also be cut off and that they are working on an alternative provider to continue offering AUD deposits and withdrawals to their users. Customers  can still transact using credit or debit cards, however. Binance also suffered a blow when Westpac Banking Corp banned customers from transacting with it.

Westpac announced that it had begun trialling new customer protections for some cryptocurrency payments to reduce scam losses. The bank motivated its decision based on recent data that shows investment scams accounting for approximately half of all scam losses. Westpac representatives estimated that the new security measures could save millions of Australian dollars.

While they admitted that digital exchanges have a legitimate role to play in the financial ecosystem, they also pointed to scammer activity and their increasing use of overseas exchanges. Binance’s troubles in Australia began in April 2023, when the company relinquished a financial services licence amid a regulatory investigation. Specifically, Binance closed its Australian derivatives business following a targeted review conducted by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

What else has Binance been up to? In May 2023, Binance decided to exit Canada due to new stablecoin and investor limits. The new Canadian guidelines were published in February, and Binance worked with Canadian regulators for several weeks in order to reach a solution that would allow the company to continue its operations in the North American country. However, since no solution was reached, the cryptocurrency exchange has announced its withdrawal from the Canadian marketplace.

The guidance in question introduced strict rules regarding cryptocurrencies operating in the country. For instance, the guidance requires that CSA approval be sought before allowing users to deposit or buy stablecoins. In the same month, while it initially showed an interest in purchasing USD 1 billion of bankrupt cryptocurrency brokerage Voyager Digital assets, Binance decided to withdraw from the deal.

Voyager, the Voyager Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors and the US government have reached an agreement on 19 April 2023 for the acquisition to commence, but Binance.US decided to terminate the asset purchase agreement citing the hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the US. Voyager and the Voyager Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors expressed their disappointment that the deal fell through via Twitter and revealed that they are currently investigating potential claims against Binance.US. .