Binance New UK Partnership Worries Regulator

Binance‘s recent partnership with PaySafe doesn’t sit well with the UK’s top financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

PaySafe is a retail payment processor which would allow Binance to facilitate pound sterling deposits for its customers.

FCA Expresses Concern on Binance new Partnership

The UK regulator, in June, last year, had ordered the exchange to stop all its operations in the UK because it considers the exchange as a significant risk. 

This led to prominent banks in the country, including Barclays, suspending their banking services support for CZ-led exchanges. This also meant that the exchange users in the UK couldn’t make Pound Sterling transactions with the exchange.

However, the exchange is now looking to solve that problem with its new partnership with PaySafe.

The partnership gives it access to Faster Payments Services, which means it has access to the retail payments network. On January 26, Binance started offering Single Euro Payments Area transfers again.

While the FCA didn’t make any comment on the partnership, it instead stated that PaySafe is aware of its concerns and “subject to close ongoing supervision consistent with our approach for firms of its size.” 

Binance, however, has insisted that it is working with the authorities to become more regulatory compliant.

Binance regulatory issues have been one of the banes of its accelerated progress because authorities in Japan, Hong Kong, The Cayman Islands, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, and South Africa have repeatedly warned their citizens about using the platform.

US SEC is Investigating Binance

Earlier today, we reported that the United States arm of Binance is currently facing investigations from the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The SEC is investigating the relationship between the exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, and two trading firms. The two firms are Merit Peak Ltd. and Sigma Chain AG.

Both companies serve market makers as market makers for Binance US. Market makers help to provide liquidity for exchanges and, at the same time, help to manage volatility.

The current investigation centers on whether the companies got preferential treatment from the exchange and if the crypto firm duly informed its customers about their ties to the CEO.