Natwest, the British banking giant has joined the growing list of financial institutions cutting their ties with the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The banking giant cited regulatory uncertainty around the crypto exchange in the UK as the key reason behind their decision. The bank said,
“Due to an increase in scams relating to cryptocurrency and regulatory uncertainty surrounding Binance in the UK we have taken steps to restrict payments to this merchant until further notice. We are also aware that Binance is currently not accepting some payments types. For more information about this please refer to Binance direct.”
Natwest had sent out SMS alerts to customers who have made any transaction on Binance over the past 12 months. The bank has also denied payment requests using credit cards for cryptocurrency purchases.
Natwest becomes the third bank to restrict Binance Services
Natwest Group has become the third banking giant in the UK to restrict payment services to Binance post FCA warning. Earlier, Barclays and Santander Bank had also initiated similar steps banning all payments to Binance.
The top cryptocurrency exchange has been in regulatory hot waters for quite some time now and it has only aggravated in the past month with eight countries issuing regulatory and compliance warning against Binance.
The UK FCA had notified that Binance is not in compliance to offer any form of services in the country. They also advised the crypto exchange to suspend all services in the UK.
Soon after the FCA warning, Binance suspended Sterling Pound deposits and withdrawals from the platform for nearly two days before restarting it again, suggesting they have sorted out the issue. However, the very next week its key strategic payment partner in Europe Coin Junction terminated all ties with the crypto exchange.
Binance has been warned by regulators from Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Cayman Islands, Italy, Hongkong, and the UK until now. It is also facing tough regulatory circumstances in the US. The crypto exchange that has been the top platform across numerous countries now fears clampdown from nearly half a dozen nations.
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