Amid the rising financial crimes taking place in the United Kingdom, banks have been holding up transfers to crypto exchanges and suspending payments. A similar incident recently happened in India before RBI issued its latest clarification.

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In the latest development, U.K’s major banking institutions like Barclays, Monzo, and Starling restricted its users from transferring money to crypto exchanges such as SwissBorg and Binance. Speaking to The Telegraph, a Starling Bank spokesperson said:

“This is a temporary measure that we’ve taken to protect customers. This is not just an issue for Starling but all banks. We apologise for the inconvenience that this has caused for some customers; we will be reversing this measure as we roll out additional checks specifically for payments to crypto exchanges.”

However, the bank has assured that this is a temporary measure and they shall resume the crypto transfers ahead this month June 23 onwards.

U.K Regulators Seep-In Measures to Control Crypto Scam

The U.K regulatory authorities have initiated measures to control the surge in crypto scams amid the rising market. Over the last year, U.K crypto investors have reportedly lost £60 million in social media-driven crypto scams. Earlier this year, U.K’s top-most regulator Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned investors about crypto scams. The regulator said:

“The FCA is aware that some firms are offering investments in crypto assets or lending or investments linked to crypto assets, that promise high returns. Investing in crypto assets, or investments and lending linked to them generally involves taking very high risks with investors’ money. If consumers invest in these types of products, they should be prepared to lose all their money.”

The FCA has also warned that a large number of firms in the crypto sector have failed to implement KYC and AML laws. To prevent its customers from falling prey to such crypto scam schemes, British bank Natwest recently started sending scam alerts for its mobile app users.

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Bhushan Akolkar

Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.