Wells Fargo is one of the oldest banks in America, founded back in 1852 to provide banking and mail delivery services through the Pony Express. The Pony Express was shut down two days after the first transcontinental telegram, as these new messages could be sent faster and for a significantly smaller amount of money.
As Bitcoin and blockchain technology continues to emerge, a familiar pattern is beginning to show itself. In order to stop history repeating, Wells Fargo has decided to block all of its customers from buying cryptocurrency – a move that could prove to be fatal.
Joining the Anti-Bitcoin Ranks
Banks all around the world are beginning to realize that Bitcoin could be bad for business, and are constantly trying to shut down all Bitcoin purchasing avenues. Wells Fargo revealed the news on Twitter after a customer complained that he couldn’t use his card with the Square Cash app. There are countless banks all around the world that are already blocking transactions to crypto exchanges, including all banks in Malta – the alleged blockchain island.
Something fishy is going on with my bank Wells Fargo… I cant buy crypto on cash app or coinbase… I tried to attach my debit card and it said “Card not found” and I just used it to pay my bills ???
anybody else having this issue?
— Litecoin Moses {No XRP} ₿ ⧫ Ł (@l3l2ucelee) July 12, 2019
Bitcoin is Cheaper
One of the biggest fears from banks is that customers will buy crypto, make cross-border payments, before swapping it back to fiat. This would devastate the international banking industry, and banks don’t want the world to know this is their fear. Instead, they package up their fears and excuses by simply saying that they block crypto-related transactions in the interest of consumer safety. Currently, Bitcoin transactions are 6,000x cheaper than a Bank of America transaction, a truly insane amount of savings.
Ways Around the Ban
One of Wells Fargo’s brand promises is “Customers can be better served when they have a relationship with a trusted provider that knows them well, provides reliable guidance, and can serve their full range of financial needs.” By banning transfers to crypto exchanges, Wells Fargo is not fulfilling their client’s full range of financial needs. That being said, there are still plenty of ways for Wells Fargo customers to get their hands on crypto – even without opening a new bank account.
Most simply, Wells Fargo customers can pull out cash and head down to their nearest Bitcoin ATM. Here, people can buy as much Bitcoin as they want, especially as most Bitcoin ATMs lack KYC and AML regulations. Alternatively, Wells Fargo customers can open up a Revolut account in minutes and make a transfer to Coinbase without any trouble.
Helping Money Laundering?
A Spanish drug gang was recently taken down for using Bitcoin ATMs to launder illicit money. Thanks to the lack of KYC and AML regulations on most Bitcoin ATMs, people using them can enter the crypto world unchecked. By banning its customers from using its banking services to legitimately buy crypto, these clients will have to resort to alternative methods. This will in turn lead to a whole host of people using crypto that haven’t been properly checked using KYC and AML procedures.
So, unless Wells Fargo wants to go the same way as the Pony Express, it’s time it adopted blockchain technology in its systems – just like virtually every other bank on the planet – as well as allowing its clients to buy crypto. Otherwise, its crypto-favoring clients will look to move their banking elsewhere.
