Binance brings back direct AUD deposits in Australia after a two-year freeze

Back in May 2023, Binance users woke up to find that AUD transfers had been abruptly cut off. 

Behind the scenes, payment provider Zepto had pulled support under pressure from its banking partner, Cuscal.

Zepto’s upstream bank, Cuscal, reportedly instructed the termination as part of an effort to tighten fraud controls across the sector. 

Subsequently, Binance suspended all AUD trading pairs and PayID deposits, with users only able to transact through cards or crypto workarounds.

At the time, Binance Australia head Ben Rose revealed the exchange was “cut off” overnight without clear reasoning from the providers.

Binance was already navigating compliance challenges in Australia back then. 

Previously, Binance’s Australian derivatives arm had surrendered its financial services license after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) found it had misclassified over 500 retail clients as wholesale, stripping them of key protections. 

Then, in the months that followed, ASIC filed civil penalty proceedings tied to the same issue, which added to the exchange’s compliance challenges.

Now, with the full rollout completed, the exchange is once again operating on par with domestic rivals that maintained uninterrupted banking relationships.

To incentivise adoption of the restored services, Binance has launched a promotional campaign offering a 5 AUD token voucher to users who deposit at least 50 AUD via PayID or bank transfer.

Survey data released by Binance Australia last year suggests the return of banking support could meaningfully improve user sentiment. 

A majority of respondents said they expect unrestricted access to fund their exchange accounts, while 22% admitted they had switched banks just to streamline crypto purchases.

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