Binance adds South African Rand to allow Quick Deposit
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by number of transactions, Binance, has announced the opening of a fiat gateway for the South African Rand as part of its strategy to increase its local presence in the region (ZAR).
A fiat gateway, often referred to as an on-ramp, is a method that enables users to use fiat currency to purchase bitcoin.
The South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) had just a few days earlier advised banking institutions not to terminate cryptocurrency accounts for exchanges and individual customers.
Customers who want to buy cryptocurrencies or get payments for selling cryptocurrency into their bank accounts in the form of fiat money may also benefit from the services of banks that have received approval from the SARB to function as a conduit for money related to cryptocurrency activity.
As Binance continues to be dedicated to boosting the acceptance and accessibility of cryptocurrency, this development will allow South African customers to make quick, secure deposits using Instant EFT. The ability to convert ZAR into BTC, BUSD, ETH, USDT, and BNB will also be available.
Hannes Wessels, the recently appointed Country Lead for Binance in South Africa expressed excitement as the company was taking further step in simplifying South Africans’ access to digital assets.
“Our goal at Binance has always been to drive crypto adoption and promote financial accessibility. We are thrilled to be taking this next step in making access to digital assets more effortless for South Africans.” said Wessels.
Expected Impacts
As Binance continues to be committed to boosting the use and accessibility of cryptocurrency, this development will allow South African customers to make quick, secure deposits using Instant EFT. Absa, Capitec, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank are reportedly the top 5 banks supported by Binance’s service in South Africa.
Users can now instantaneously deposit South African Rands (ZAR) into their Binance wallet and purchase cryptocurrencies, opening up a fresh and competitive fiat gateway for South Africa. Additionally, they will be able to convert ZAR into BTC, BUSD, ETH, USDT, and BNB.
Binance had stated that the service will be rolled out in 2 phases with phase 1 which is already effective enabling users deposit ZAR into their Binance wallets and convert ZAR to bitcoin(BTC), binance USD(BUSD), ethereum(ETH), tether (USDT) and binance coin (BNB). Phase 2 will include ZAR fiat withdrawals for all Binance users and will be launched on August 25 at 8:00 a.m. UTC.
By providing access to broad financial tools while maintaining one of the lowest fees in the business, Binance aims to make crypto accessible to everyone in South Africa.