Binance to Withdraw Debit Card in Latin America, Middle East

• The decision was announced in a social media post that did not provide a reason for the move.
• Binance said that less than 1% of its users in the regions would be affected.

Binance is discontinuing its crypto-backed debit card in Latin America and the Middle East, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, by its customer support team on Thursday.

The card service will terminate in the Middle East on Aug. 25 and in Latin America on Sept. 21, the cryptocurrency exchange told CoinDesk via email. It did not provide a reason for the decision, though said that less than 1% of its users in the regions would be affected.

The debit card allows users to use their crypto assets to make transactions in shops or online as they would with a debit card issued by their bank. The card has been available in Latin America for less than a year: It was rolled out in the region's second-biggest country, Argentina, last August and in Brazil, the largest, in January.

The move follows shortly after the exchange shut its crypto payments service, Binance Connect, which allowed merchants to accept payments in cryptocurrency. The decision was taken by Binance in order to refocus on its main products, the exchange said earlier this month.

Read More: Binance Needs to Get Off Twitter

UPDATE (Aug. 24, 10:26 UTC): Adds rollout in Brazil and Argentina in second paragraph.

UPDATE (Aug. 24, 11:42 UTC): Adds dates that service will be withdrawn in the two regions.