Image credit: BBC
Consumer-focused British bank NatWest is limiting the amount of money customers can transfer to cryptocurrency exchanges, a move that points to deteriorating relations between Crypto asset firms and financial institutions.
NatWest said in a recent blog post that the bank’s users will only be able to pay the cryptocurrency exchange between £1,000 ($1,218) and £5,000 ($6,090) per day for 30 days.
The bank cited fraud and the risk of scams as reasons behind the decision. “NatWest is stepping up customer protections against cryptocurrency criminals after consumers lost £329m last year,” the bank said.
Specifically, NatWest claims that men over 35 are the most at risk because of their willingness to take on risky investments. The promise of high returns also lured users into investing in cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes, the bank said.
“We’ve seen an increase in the number of scams using cryptocurrency exchanges, and we’re taking action to protect our customers,” Stuart Skinner, head of fraud protection at NatWest, said in comments.
In fact, according to a report by Web3 bug bounty platform Immunefi, the cryptocurrency industry lost an estimated $4 billion worth of Crypto assets to hacks, scams, scams, and fraud last year. However, the report said fraud, scams and theft accounted for only 4.4 percent of total losses.
Major banks around the world have fallen out of favor in the cryptocurrency space in recent months. In the U.K., HSBC and the National Building Society imposed restrictions on their customers’ ability to buy crypto earlier this month.
Other major UK institutions that have imposed restrictions on cryptocurrency-related businesses over the past few years include Banco Santander SA, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and Natwest Group Plc.
Regulators around the world, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), have been warning banks against facilitating cryptocurrency purchases because crypto assets are believed to pose risks to the traditional financial system.
Paysafe Stops Payments to Binance
In a separate announcement, online payments provider Paysafe said it would stop serving UK-based customers of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
This forced Binance to stop deposits and withdrawals in British pounds for new customers, while existing customers had until May 22 to trade in British pounds.
In a statement, Paysafe said: “We have concluded that the UK regulatory environment related to cryptocurrencies is too challenging to provide this service at this time, so this is a prudent decision we have taken.”
Meanwhile, Binance has recently come under increased scrutiny in the US. Earlier this month, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md), and Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) reportedly demanded that Binance and Its U.S. partner, Binance.US, provided details about their operations amid allegations of illegal conduct.
Additionally, Binance has been under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) since 2018. The investigation is reportedly focused on money laundering schemes, unauthorized transfers of funds and violations of criminal sanctions.
Source of information: Compiled from CRYPTONEWS by 0x Information.Copyright belongs to the author, without permission, may not be reproduced