Starting July 2024, people can use their Payoneer debit card as a payment method on Binance.
Why the restriction?
For the longest time you could not use your Payoneer card on Binance, or for any crypto purposes for that matter. Some people used it, at their own risk, but officially it was not allowed. And this stands true for other payment processors too, such as Paypal and Wise (Transferwise) etc.
This restriction was imposed because the crypto market is rife with scams, and so the “mainstream” payment processors and debit/credit card issuers didn’t want to be associated with it, due to the high risk of losing money for them and their customers. On the other hand, one could claim they didn’t want to be associated because they fear the decentralized nature of crypto, which has the potential to take away a lot of business from the mainstream side of things.
Earlier this month I received this email from Payoneer:
Mastercard® had previously set restrictions on Binance. These restrictions have now been lifted, so you can use your Payoneer card as a payment method on Binance.
Remember that the Payoneer card is the smart way to use the funds in your Payoneer account, as it offers you flexibility and convenience anywhere, anytime you use it.
Have questions or need assistance? Our customer support team is here to help.
Apparently, the restriction was not imposed by Payoneer, but by Mastercard… or at least, that’s what they’re implying there. The truth is, they probably both imposed and were happy with the restriction.
Who benefits?
This is a great move for Payoneer, their customers and the crypto market. Everyone benefits, it’s really a win-win-win situation.
Payoneer benefits because if their clients wanted to buy crypto until now, they had to move their money out of Payoneer and to other payment processors, taking money out of Payoneer. If anyone wanted to use Payoneer to buy crypto, they couldn’t do it, so they were losing on potential new customers. And if anyone tried buying crypto anyway, they were risking losing the customer when they banned the account. Additionally, they were not making money from all the fees they can charge when their clients buy crypto using their Payoneer funds.
Their customers benefit because they don’t have to go through the hassle of figuring out roundabout ways of buying crypto with their Payoneer card. This saves people time, and also protects people from getting scammed. Because if one tried to find a different way to purchase crypto using their Payoneer card, they may run into websites and people who would receive the money and promise to send them crypto, but never actually follow through.
The crypto market benefits because the crypto market runs and grows on the amount of money that is invested in it globally. The more money that gets invested in the various cryptocurrencies, the higher the prices go. And when it becomes more easy and convenient to buy crypto, then naturally more money will flow there, and the market will grow.
Here is a video I made talking about this:
Summary
In summary, this is great news. Payoneer is a one of the most popular payment platforms in the world that has been around for years, and Binance on the other hand is the most popular crypto exchange website. They’re both legit with a proven track record. This move will bring more money into crypto, and it will be done safely. Everybody wins!