Santander UK news - Crypto transfers blocked

Santander said in an emailed statement on Friday that it will prohibit UK clients from transferring real-time payments to cryptocurrency exchanges beginning next year as part of steps to safeguard customers from fraudsters.

When will the block begin?

The bank will implement a plan meaning all payments made to cryptocurrency exchanges via telephone banking and in-branch payments will be blocked, as well as internet and mobile banking, at an unspecified point in 2023.

The bank will follow in the footsteps of other UK retail banks in restricting client transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges. For transfers to crypto exchanges via mobile and online banking, its users will face restrictions of 1,000 pounds ($1,123) per transaction and 3,000 pounds overall in any rolling 30-day period. Last year, the Natwest Group in the United Kingdom set a daily limit for consumers to transmit to bitcoin exchanges.

Customers will still be able to receive crypto exchange payments into their accounts. According to a note on the bank's website, there has been a significant increase in the number of UK clients who have become victims of cryptocurrency fraud in recent months. Global regulators have warned of the risks of scams and fraud in the primarily unregulated realm of cryptocurrency trading.

A spokeswoman for Santander stated that securing our clients from cryptocurrency fraud is a primary concern. "We want to further safeguard clients by barring all faster payments we find from Santander accounts to cryptocurrency exchanges - this will come into play in 2023".

Faster Payments in the UK that Santander News refers to

Faster Payments is the infrastructure that enables real-time bank transactions for most UK bank accounts. Pay UK, which owns the respective company, stated in an email that it is working with authorities and the payments sector to create and implement more robust protection for fraud victims.

Santander said it would continue to prohibit all payments to the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, a policy implemented in July 2021 in response to a warning from the UK's financial authority regarding the exchange. Binance did not reply immediately to a request for comment.