Binance Quietly Removes Visa Logo From Images of Binance Card

Something is amiss at Binance and its alleged relationship with Visa. Although the Visa logo was once prominently displayed on its Binance Card, it has since disappeared in all promotional photos.

Visa No Longer Working with Binance?

For a long time, users were accustomed to seeing the Visa logo for promotional photos showing off the Binance Card. Everyone had assumed Binance had a working relationship with Visa—a rare partnership, undoubtedly, given the payment processor’s lukewarm history with the cryptocurrency space. However, it seems that users have been hoodwinked. The Visa logo has been quietly removed without explanation. The initial announcement, made on March 1, has been edited to remove the Visa logo. Without Visa, the Binance Card would have limited usability, and consumers would not be able to use the card to shop “anywhere” as the promotional announcement said.

Binance has removed the mention of Visa from the announcement of Binance Card.https://t.co/tSfAFVt2AU pic.twitter.com/HvpQ7fYA9P

— ICO Drops (@ICODrops) April 4, 2020

There are a few theories floating around as to why this happened. It seems most plausible that Binance failed to adequately prove to Visa that its money won’t be used to promote money laundering. Despite Binance claiming to follow the FATF Anti-Money Laundering Rules, Visa may have left the negotiating table unconvinced.

I got money on the VISA Licensing was revoked because Binance can't sufficiently provide evidence that the platform isn't being used to siphon dirty bitcoin – and the fact that the hot wallet that had 7000 BTC 'stolen' in 2019 is still in use as a hot wallet.

— NB (@neobeum) April 4, 2020

The fact that Binance removed the Visa logo after-the-fact might also indicate that it had prematurely added the payment processor to its promotional photos. Thus far, Binance has not commented on the termination of the Visa partnership.

Is Binance Hiding Something?

The Visa-Binance fiasco is not the first time the exchange has claimed something only to quietly retract it later. For the longest time, users thought Binance was based in Malta—which was soon exposed as being false.  Binance has been trying to break into the credit and debit card market for some time now. Earlier this year, Binance enabled debit and credit card payments for the first time. The exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), even went as far as to say that users should buy cryptocurrencies with their credit cards. The comment was met with widespread criticism. If Visa has declined to process Binance-related payments, then the exchange’s plan to expand its user base faces its most pressing obstacle yet. Visa remains the most popular payment processor in the world and would ensure Binance Card is accessible to all stores. Now, it appears Binance Card finds itself nowhere as useful as once promoted.