Bloomberg: HSBC and Nationwide curb customers’ crypto purchases

The Nationwide Building Society holding company and the United Kingdom’s largest bank HSBC have imposed restrictions on purchasing cryptocurrencies via payment cards. Bloomberg reports.

Nationwide increased the limit to £5,000 ($5,965) per day for debit cards, prohibiting such transactions for credit cards. HSBC fully restricted purchases of digital assets as recently as last month, according to users on Twitter.

.@HSBC: Where money laundering is just another day at the office but don’t you dare buy crypto!

I’m switching banks. pic.twitter.com/QCyKNgwM3n

— Xanny.eth (0358.eth) (@LilNonfungible) February 28, 2023

Both companies cited a warning from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 2021.

“This is due to potential risks for customers,” Bloomberg quotes HSBC’s statement.

In 2021 the FCA banned Binance from engaging in any regulated activity without prior approval from the agency. Following this, banks Santander and NatWest blocked transfers to the Bitcoin exchange.

Earlier the UK’s largest retail bank Lloyds Banking Group imposed a ban on purchasing cryptocurrencies with credit cards.

In November 2022 Starling Bank restricted customers’ operations related to digital assets.

As noted, in 2023 many banks stopped partnering with crypto projects due to regulator concerns. Regulators began voicing their concerns more actively after the collapse of FTX.