P2P Payments: Binance Adds CashU and MoneyGram For Arab Customers

Binance has announced that it would be adding two more payment options for its clients in Arab countries in a press release.

Binance Rolls Out Two More Payments Options For Arab World

Per the release, CashU and a former Ripple partner MoneyGram, would be added as payment options for clients looking to trade crypto-assets on its platform. 

According to the crypto trading platform, these payment options will be available on its Binance peer-to-peer page (Binance P2P) and will solely cater to Arab-speaking traders.

Recall that MoneyGram distanced itself from blockchain company Ripple Labs after the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a class-action lawsuit against the company in late December 2020. 

MoneyGram Gets The Boot From Investors

MoneyGram had announced in its quarterly outlook that it would no longer be planning for any benefits from Ripple market development fees in the first quarter of 2021. According to the global money transfer service, it was suspending its agreement with the blockchain payments company because of the uncertainty surrounding Ripple’s litigation by the SEC.

The companies had joined forces in 2018, with Ripple Labs coming on board to help MoneyGram with its foreign settlements platform. Ripple’s on-demand liquidity (ODL) product was used extensively by MoneyGram, and the blockchain company added incentives in the deal in what is called a market development fee.

To further cement the partnership, Ripple signed a multi-year deal with MoneyGram and acquired an estimated $50 million worth of MoneyGram’s stock in 2019 in exchange for a 10% stake in the company. When the SEC lawsuit went public, Ripple had cashed in on $15 million of its shares in MoneyGram.

Ripple said it would end the current partnership agreement with a fellow US company and may likely revisit the deal when the regulatory climate was clearer.

Following the MoneyGram/Ripple marriage’s official dissolution, MoneyGram was hit by a class-action lawsuit by law firm Rosen on behalf of its investors who bought MoneyGram’s stock between June 2019 and Feb. 2021. According to the plaintiff, MoneyGram had allegedly issued false statements regarding its partnership with Ripple Labs and its XRP cryptocurrency.

The complaint’s legal custodian said that MoneyGram had failed to disclose that XRP was viewed as unregulated, unlawful security by the SEC.

To add more to MoneyGram’s miseries, its MGI stock price slumped 7% on open day trading. At press time, it trades at $6.90, following a 0.31% increase.