- Starling Bank has become the latest UK-serving bank to ban the purchase of cryptocurrency transactions
- Starling said that the ban was due to “high levels of suspected financial crime”, but was only temporary
- Other UK-serving have issued similar bans or operate anti-crypto procedures
Starling Bank, the seven year old British bank that prides itself on innovation, has
banned all payments to cryptocurrency exchanges citing “high levels of suspected financial crime”. The bank, founded in 2014, represents another blow to British cryptocurrency investors who have seen HSBC also withdraw services to crypto exchanges in recent weeks while complaints have been raised regarding other banks.
Starling Bank Ban to “Protect Customers”
Starling Bank explained their standing to the Daily Telegraph over the weekend after users began complaining that payments to exchanges like Binance were being blocked. A spokesperson said the measure to ban customers from buying cryptocurrency through their services was “a temporary measure” taken to “protect customers”, adding that crypto payments were “not just an issue for Starling, but for all banks.”
Unsurprisingly the crypto community hasn’t reacted well to being told they can’t spend their own money on perfectly legal products and services, with Reddit users postings discussions with Starling Bank representatives regarding the matter and stating that they will close their accounts as a result:
UK Crypto Users Forced to Play Banking Musical Chairs
Starling Bank certainly isn’t the first bank to halt payments to cryptocurrency exchanges. HSBC has banned all cryptocurrency-related activity, Lloyds Bank has effectively done the same without announcing it publicly, and Barclays customers have reported issues with buying cryptocurrencies in recent months.
Starling Bank did offer some hope to account holders however by stating that their ban would be reversed once additional security measures for crypto exchanges had been put in place, but that may be too late for users who want to buy the dip.
