- More British banks have tightened their customers’ use of cryptocurrencies
- Nationwide and HSBC have recently capped debit card limits and banned credit card purchases
- UK banks have been reducing UK access to crypto for the past four years
Two more British banks have put stricter controls on how much crypto its customers can buy, with credit card purchases banned outright. Nationwide Building Society and HSBC recently toughened its stance on retail customers’ access to cryptocurrencies, following in the footsteps of Santander, Lloyds and Natwest who have also taken steps to reduce customers’ exposure to digital assets following warnings by the country’s financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Clampdown Underway Since 2019
British banks have been on something of a mission to ‘protect’ their users from the perils of cryptocurrencies recently. In 2021 Starling Bank announced that it was banning all payments to crypto exchanges, citing “high levels of suspected financial crime”, which followed anecdotal reports that Lloyds and Barclays customers were also facing difficulties in sending money to crypto onramps. The same year, Santander and Barclays also introduced similar bans, with Santander customers reporting issues way back in 2019.
Lloyds’ current guidance is that customers can only buy crypto using their Lloyds account through regulated onramps, such as Uphold.
Credit Card Purchases Banned
The latest ban from Nationwide sees daily limits of £5,000 ($5,965) on cryptocurrency debit-card purchases being applied, while credit card purchases are banned. Nationwide cited “certain risks with purchasing cryptocurrency, as highlighted by the Financial Conduct Authority” and said it was putting in the measures to “help protect you and to try and keep your money safe”.
HSBC also implemented the same credit card ban last month and cites the same rationale with its debit card purchases, stating that it will only allow purchases through the likes of Uphold.
In truth, it’s probably not a good idea to buy cryptocurrencies on a credit card, but the concept of experienced crypto users not being allowed to shop where they like, even though they understand the risks, is likely to cause frustration. The situation is made all the more strange because it comes at a time when the UK is trying to transform itself into a crypto hub, yet there are no regulated UK-run crypto onramps for British users to utilize.
