Two of the UK’s largest banks have imposed new restrictions on their customers’ ability to acquire cryptocurrencies.
UK banks have continued to crack down on their customers’ cryptocurrency purchases. According to a Bloomberg report, Nationwide and HSBC are the latest UK banking giants to impose new limits on their customers’ cryptocurrency purchases via debit cards and end purchases with credit cards.
“Nationwide is enforcing daily limits of £5,000 ($5,965) on debit card purchases of crypto-assets, the building society informed its customers on Wednesday, while its credit cards can no longer be used for buy crypto. HSBC said it banned customers from making crypto purchases through its credit cards starting last month,” it read. The report. HSBC says the decision is due to an alleged financial risk to customers.
The report describes how “most major (UK) banks have also implemented exchange-specific restrictions, with the world’s largest crypto platform, Binance Holdings Ltd., being the most popular target.”
Bitcoin Magazine covered the start of these moves by UK banks alongside a growing discussion of a UK CBDC. Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest Group, described how the bank has taken a “pretty hard line” on cryptocurrency due to the instability and volatility of platforms and the risk of fraud, citing social media and technology platforms as the main source of fraud.
These new customer limitations put UK citizens at a further disadvantage when it comes to acquiring bitcoins. As such developments occur, it highlights the need for more decentralized and peer-to-peer exchanges that can facilitate bitcoin transactions without KYC.
