Two of the UK’s largest banks have imposed restrictions on customers’ ability to acquire cryptocurrencies.
British banks continue to crack down on customers’ cryptocurrency purchases. According to a Bloomberg report, Nationwide and HSBC are the latest UK banking giants to impose new restrictions on customers’ cryptocurrency purchases via debit cards and stop purchases with credit cards.
“The country is imposing a daily limit of £5,000 ($5,965) on debit card purchases of cryptoassets, the building society told customers on Wednesday, while credit cards can no longer be used to buy crypto. HSBC said customers cannot buy crypto via credit card since last month,” read the report. HSBC stated that the decision was due to the alleged financial risk to customers.
The report describes how “Most importantly [U.K.] banks have also imposed exchange-specific restrictions, with the world’s largest crypto platform Binance Holdings Ltd. the most popular target.
Bitcoin Magazine covered the start of the movement from UK banks with increasing discussion of the UK CBDC. Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest Group, explained how the bank has taken a “pretty hard line” on cryptocurrency due to the instability and volatility of the platform and the risk of fraud, citing social media and technology platforms as the main source of fraud.
These new restrictions on customers put UK residents at a further disadvantage when it comes to acquiring bitcoins. As these developments highlight the need for more decentralized, peer-to-peer exchanges that can facilitate KYC-free bitcoin transactions.