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UK lawmakers ask major banks to explain crypto account refusals
The All-Party Parliamentary Group is seeking answers on whether the FCA’s incoming crypto regime will change banks’ account and payment restrictions.
Decrypt reports that the UK Parliament’s Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group has written to the chief executives of major UK banks to lay out their approach to crypto and digital asset firms.
The letter, sent Tuesday by Labour MP Gurinder Singh Josan and Lord Vaizey of Didcot, follows a parliamentary inquiry launched July 21, with written submissions due by August 31.
Lawmakers said they have heard repeated instances where crypto firms struggled to open accounts and that some banks have restricted crypto-related payments. They warn that access to banking services could be a major barrier to growth and could affect whether crypto businesses choose to invest in the UK.
The group asks each bank six questions, including its policy on crypto firms, whether it currently serves them, any limits on crypto-related transactions, what drives those limits, whether the forthcoming FCA regime will change its stance, and what the government or regulators could do to help. The article also notes that UK banks including HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander, and Starling have curbed crypto-related payments, and cites research from the UK Cryptoasset Business Council that estimated banks blocked or delayed about 40% of attempted transfers to crypto exchanges in January.