Binance picks Latam Gateway as new payment provider in Brazil

Binance has changed its payment provider in Brazil after suspending transfers to and from the country’s Pix instant payment system last week.

The exchange had been using services from Capitual to provide deposits and withdrawals to users’ Pix accounts, but said on June 24 that it will now be working with Brazilian payment provider Latam Gateway going forward. Latam Gateway was founded in 2019. 

Binance explained that it would use Latam Gateway's services as it works to acquire Brazilian brokerage Sim;paul.

“With the exchange, Binance will offer a better solution for clients as it conducts the process of acquiring local brokerage Sim;paul, a company authorized by the central bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), announced in March,” Binance said.

As reported by outlets including Portal do Cripto and CoinDesk Brasil, Binance stopped supporting Pix withdrawals and deposits in Brazilian reais on June 17. The news outlets reported that the issues had to do with new policies from Brazil’s central bank, based on an image shared by Binance users stating the Pix deposit and withdrawals were being blocked. This was due to the channel being unstable following updated central bank policies, the message said.

CoinDesk Brasil reported that the blocked transactions coincided with a central bank deadline requiring Pix providers to adopt new know-your-customer (KYC) requirements.

Binance said in a statement to The Block that Capitual had not been offering services to its users since last week. In its June 24 update, it said the integration process with Latam Gateway would be completed “soon” and that it would let users know when Pix transactions are up and running normally again. However, it did not give a firm date. In the meantime, Binance directed users to its peer-to-peer system and said it had an “alternative provider” for its users to buy crypto using Pix and bank transfers. 

However, a June 24 article in Portal do Bitcoin quotes Capitual as saying, in Portuguese: “The services provided to the international exchanges with which it has a partnership are operating normally, so the information that it interrupted operations for Binance is not valid.” In other words, Portal do Bitcoin explained, Capitual suggested that Binance decided to stop using Capitual's services.

Separately, Binance announced on June 23 that it will soon be hosting a three-day workshop in Brasília for Federal Police investigators and other guests about crypto assets and blockchain. The exchange said it would discuss its anti-money laundering (AML) policies and its processes for collaborating with authorities against crime.