Checkout refused to work with Binance due to money laundering concerns

The British company Checkout, which services credit cards, refused to cooperate with the Binance crypto exchange. This was reported by Forbes, citing written statements from the firm and comments from both parties.

According to the publication, in August 2023, Checkout CEO Guillaume Puzat contacted Binance representatives. In official letters, he announced the termination of the partnership, citing “reports of actions and orders of regulatory authorities in relevant jurisdictions” and “inquiries from partners.”

Guillaume Puza also mentioned additional concerns related to money laundering and sanctions against Binance. In a conversation with Forbes reporters, Checkout representative Lewis Jones confirmed that the company had terminated the contract.

In response, Binance told Forbes that it did not agree with Checkout's arguments about the reasons for terminating the contract. She is considering legal action.

“We have come a long way to create an industry-leading compliance program. We hope to build trust with regulators and partners,” Binance spokesperson Dewi Mustajab said in a statement.

The termination of the partnership follows the cryptocurrency exchange's decision to abandon Binance Connect. This service was associated with Checkout, a person familiar with the terms of the agreement told Forbes.

According to the information received, Checkout processed Binance transactions worth about $2 billion per month in 2021. However, all this time the service operated without the 3D-Secure function, which provides additional security guarantees and reduces the risks of money laundering.

Binance executives pushed to disable 3D-Secure to increase trading volume and reduce barriers for customers to transfer funds, three people familiar with the decision told Forbes. Binance's failure to deploy security measures allegedly left the Checkout platform vulnerable to credit card fraud.

In June 2023, payment provider Paysafe ended its partnership with Binance in Europe. Previously, we talked about how the crypto exchange was leaving the Netherlands, Cyprus, Canada and some other countries.