Two of the largest banks in the UK have placed further restrictions on their customers’ ability to purchase cryptocurrency.
British 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 credit card purchases.
“Nationwide is enforcing daily limits of £5,000 ($5,965) on debit card purchases of crypto assets, the building society informed customers Wednesday, while their credit cards can no longer be used to buy crypto. HSBC said it has banned customers from making crypto purchases through their credit cards since last month,” it reads. The report. HSBC claims that the decision is due to an alleged financial risk for customers.
The report describes how “Most major [U.K.] banks have also implemented specific trading 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 growing discussion of a UK CBDC. Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest Group, described how the bank had taken a “pretty hard line” on cryptocurrencies due to the instability and volatility of the 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 an additional disadvantage when it comes to acquiring bitcoins. As such developments occur, the need for more decentralized peer-to-peer exchanges that can facilitate bitcoin transactions without KYC is highlighted.
