Westpac Bans Transfers to Crypto Exchange Binance

Westpac has banned customers from transferring funds to the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, in a move aimed at reducing losses from scams.

The Australian big four bank said on Thursday it was blocking a number of cryptocurrency exchanges as part of a trial, after its own data showed investment scams accounted for about half of all scam losses, and a third of all scam payments were transferred directly to cryptocurrency exchanges.

The bank did not name Binance but it is understood the exchange has been hit with the ban.

Westpac’s group executive of customer services and technology, Scott Collary, said the move could save millions lost to scams.

"Digital exchanges have a legitimate role to play in the financial ecosystem. But since the rise of digital currency, we’ve noticed that scammers are increasingly using overseas exchanges," Collary said.

"Often our customers only discover they’ve been scammed after the money has left the country, making recovery extremely difficult."

The block on the exchanges will be rolled out as a phased trial in the coming weeks, Westpac said.

Binance announced on Thursday it was unable to accept PayID payments in Australian dollars "due to a decision made by our third party payment provider".

"We are working hard to find an alternative provider to continue offering AUD deposits and withdrawals to our users," the company said.

The move comes a month after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) cancelled Binance's Australian financial services licence to sell derivatives. The regulator found Binance had incorrectly classified hundreds of retail customers as wholesale investors.

(Source: The Guardian)