According to crypto proponents, many U.K.-based crypto firms are facing difficulties when it comes to obtaining banking services since banks are restricting their crypto operations.
U.K. is cracking down on crypto
After Silicon Valley, Silvergate and Signature collapsed in the U.S., American crypto firms were forced to look for new banks to work with. They are not the only ones facing this problem. In the U.K., obtaining banking service has been difficult for crypto firms since 2021.
“Many of the major U.K. banks have now put in place bans or restrictions, and we are concerned that other banks and Payment Services Providers (PSP) may also soon follow suit,” Su Carpenter wrote to Andrew Griffith, Economic Secretary to the Treasury. Su Carpenter is the director of operations at CryptoUK, a crypto advocacy group.
Internet users have also complained that they have not been able to transfer money to crypto exchanges in the U.K.
Lisa Cameron, an MP who chairs the Crypto and Digital Assets APPG, stated that such banks as Santander and NatWest Group have refused to open accounts for crypto firms.
A NatWest representative commented that the bank does not “currently offer banking facilities to businesses [that] buy or sell cryptocurrencies. This is a rapidly evolving space in the U.K. and we keep our stance under constant review.”
“We make all decisions about onboarding new to bank businesses on a case-by-case basis based on the specific details of each business,” a Santander representative said.
Banks blocking crypto transactions
Over the last several years, U.K. banks have been restricting crypto transactions. When Alison Rose, the CEO at NatWest, spoke in front of the House of Commons Treasury committee last month, she said, “We’re blocking retail and wealth customers from transferring into crypto assets because of the volatility and the stability of the platform… We look at it through a fraud perspective.”
In March, NatWest started restricting the amount of customer payments to crypto exchanges to £1,000 ($1,232) per day and £5,000 ($6,161) over a 30-day period, explaining the move by the intention to increase “customer protection against crypto-criminals.”
Other banks have also decided to limit crypto payments to exchanges to protect customers from possible risks. It coincided with the announcements by Nationwide and HSBC restricting the purchase of digital assets.
In 2022, Spanish bank Santander with branches in the U.K. restricted transactions to crypto exchanges to £1,000 per transaction. The Starling bank commented that it stopped the support of buying and selling digital assets by debit card and bank transfer and never worked directly with any crypto companies.
