Binance has temporarily switched off a specific “last-mile” cash-out route for users in Ukraine, and the knock-on effects are mostly operational rather than custodial. As of December 29, 2025, Binance paused direct Visa and Mastercard withdrawals for Ukrainian users, framing the move as part of a compliance-driven transition tied to evolving European regulatory requirements and the end of its partnership with Bifinity UAB.
What changes first is the set of automated fiat workflows that depend on that card-rail integration. Binance said card withdrawals relied on Bifinity UAB services, and with that partnership dissolved, card-based withdrawals are suspended indefinitely until a replacement integration is fully live. Alongside that, recurring fiat orders and some fiat-based limit buy orders may not process during the pause, and Binance said certain orders have been cancelled as part of the transition.
What is and isn’t impacted for Ukrainian users
The cleanest way to think about it: deposits still work broadly, but one withdrawal pipe is shut.
Incoming card flows remain available, meaning users can still top up and buy crypto via Visa and Mastercard, and can also use Apple Pay and Google Pay for deposits. On the outbound side, SWIFT transfers remain operational for deposits and withdrawals, giving a bank-transfer alternative if a user needs to move funds off-platform. And importantly, Binance stated that P2P trading is not interrupted, so users can still liquidate via P2P routes even while direct card withdrawals are paused.
Binance also tried to ring-fence the narrative from local policy triggers. The exchange said the pause is not linked to any directive from the National Bank of Ukraine, and emphasized that user funds remain secure and available because this is a payments-integration issue, not a custody restriction.
Why Binance is doing this now
From Binance’s framing, the driver is European compliance plumbing. The exchange pointed to MiCA as a key factor and described the pause as an alignment step while it transitions to “newly regulated” service providers. In practical terms, that reads as Binance retiring a legacy partner path and rebuilding the fiat bridge with entities that fit its updated compliance posture.
There is also a concrete “next step” baked into the message. Binance said it plans to integrate with Zen.com and expects full deposit and withdrawal functionality to be restored by January 6, 2026, assuming the integration completes and any remaining regulatory checks clear.
This pushes Ukrainian users who previously relied on card withdrawals toward SWIFT or P2P as the primary exit routes. For Binance, it’s a reminder that payments rails are a dependency chain: when a regulated partner link changes, the user experience can shift overnight even if the exchange’s custody layer stays intact.