An ATM owned by a multi-billion dollar bank in London was reportedly swarmed by customers after dishing out more cash than requested. Customers at NatWest bank abruptly rushed to the lender’s ATM in East Ham, East London after a video circulated online showing the machine was malfunctioning, reports Metro. People lined up as news spread […]
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NatWest’s head of fraud protection emphasized the importance of self-custody in crypto amid the bank imposing new crypto restrictions.
NatWest, a retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom, is taking measures to protect customers from potential crypto losses amid Bitcoin (BTC) hitting multi-month highs.
On March 14, NatWest introduced major restrictions on payments to cryptocurrency exchanges, imposing daily and monthly caps for such transactions.
According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, NatWest has set a 1,000 British pounds ($1,216) limit for daily transactions involving crypto exchanges. The bank has also imposed a 30-day payment limit of 5,000 GBP ($6,080).
The latest restrictions by NatWest aim to help protect customers from losing “life changing sums of money,” the bank said, adding that crypto investments are risky due to a significant amount of scams in the industry.
“We have seen an increase in the number of scams using cryptocurrency exchanges and we are acting to protect our customers,” NatWest’s head of fraud protection Stuart Skinner said. The executive emphasized the importance of self-custody in crypto and cautioned crypto investors against delegating storage of their assets to a third party, stating:
“You should always have sole control of your cryptocurrency wallet and nobody else should have access. If you didn’t set the wallet up yourself or can’t access the money then this is likely to be a scam.”
According to NatWest, crypto scammers have been increasingly capitalizing on the ongoing cost-of-living crisis due to promises of high returns.
“Criminals play on a lack of understanding of how cryptocurrency markets work and their unpredictability, to encourage investors to transfer money to exchanges, which are often set up in the customer’s own name by the criminal or by the victim, under duress from the criminal,” the bank said. Men over 35 are most at risk due to them being more willing to take the risk on their investments, the announcement notes.
In the statement, NatWest also shared a few steps to help avoid falling victim to cryptocurrency scams, including recommendation to never share one's private keys with others. The bank also advised crypto investors to read all information at a slow pace to avoid rushed investments and fake websites. NatWest also recommended investors to beware of giveaways as one of the most widespread scams in crypto.
Related: Binance to lose its British pound on- and off-ramp provider in 9 weeks
NatWest is known for cutting all credit and debit card payments to Binance crypto exchange in 2021. At the time, the company referred to a high level of crypto investment scams as well.
The news comes amid Bitcoin surging above $26,000 as the United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) data indicated that inflation climbed 6% year-on-year and 0.4% month-on-month. BTC price growth is also likely to be attributed to the ongoing uncertainty around failures of major banks in the United States, including Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate and Signature Bank.
HSBC has reportedly become the latest British bank to announce that it has suspended payments to cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Citing a consumer warning by the country’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the bank told its customers: “We’ve made this decision due to concerns about the possible risks to you.” ‘We’re Suspending Payments to […]
A major high street bank in the U.K., Natwest, has blocked payments to crypto exchange Binance. Natwest’s decision came after two other major British banks — Barclays and Santander — made a similar move to block fund transfers to Binance. The banks acted in response to a warning on the cryptocurrency exchange by the U.K.’s […]
“It’s like people can’t spend their money on what they want anymore,” one Twitter user noted regarding NatWest’s action against Binance.
NatWest, a major United Kingdom-based retail and commercial bank, has blocked all credit and debit card payments to crypto exchange Binance until further notice, multiple users on social media reported on Thursday.
“With an increase in scams relating to cryptocurrency and regulatory uncertainty around Binance in the United Kingdom, we want to make sure that your money is safe,” NatWest reportedly said in a customer notice.
The move has triggered widescale outrage in the crypto community, with many disgruntled NatWest clients expressing their discontent with the bank willing to decide how to spend their money.
I welcome advice on how I spend & invest my money here in the UK, but do not force obstruction. This is so far from the solution to the problems you are claiming it solves within @binance & cryptocurrency scams @NatWest_Help. pic.twitter.com/cKKwM2UQKY
— FEGMike (@FegMike) July 22, 2021
Some crypto enthusiasts expressed disappointment with Natwest’s move, with one Twitter user stating that “It’s like people can’t spend their money on what they want anymore.” One reported NatWest user even complained, ”I will be removing my long term custom, and I encourage others to do the same. I have not authorised them to make financial decisions on my behalf.“
Neither Binance nor NatWest immediately responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Related: Binance stops stock token sales, ‘effective immediately’
NatWest has previously restricted crypto services to its users. The company introduced a daily limit for crypto purchases by its clients in late June, targeting a number of crypto exchanges including Binance.
The bank has followed the example of Barclays, the British multinational universal bank that started blocking payments to Binance in late June until further notice. A spokesperson for Binance subsequently emphasized that the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent warning about the firm only applied to Binance Markets Limited, a separate legal entity from the main global exchange that operates through Binance.com.
A major British bank, Natwest, has put a limit on fund transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges over concerns of fraud and scams related to cryptocurrencies. The bank is also blocking payments to a number of cryptocurrency asset firms. Natwest says the two moves are necessary to protect customers. Natwest Places Limit on Transfers to Crypto Exchanges […]
NatWest and other U.K. high street banks have ramped crypto curbs amid recent regulatory pressure on the sector.
As the crypto crackdown continues in Britain, another high street bank has intensified its efforts to curtail its customers' use of digital assets.
The Natwest Group has reportedly capped the daily amount its customers can send to cryptocurrency exchanges due to concerns over investment scams and fraud, according to a June 29 report from Reuters. However, it was not revealed what those new limits were in terms of fiat currency transfers.
The temporary cap was imposed on June 24. The restriction targets several cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance. The high street bank claims to serve 19 million customers in the U.K.
The spokesperson for NatWest stated that it has recently seen a high level of cryptocurrency investment scams targeting its customers, particularly through social media sites, addi:
“To protect our customers from the criminals exploiting these platforms, we’re temporarily reducing the maximum daily amount that a customer can send to cryptocurrency exchanges as well as blocking payments to a small number of cryptocurrency asset firms where we have seen particularly significant levels of fraud-related harm for our customers.”
The restrictions imposed by NatWest come at a time when the U.K. financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is tightening its grip on unregulated cryptocurrency trading platforms.
Related: UK regulator warns against 111 unregistered crypto companies... and FOMO
In April, the bank stated it will refuse to serve business customers who accept payment in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which the UK lender had categorized as “high risk.”
On June 20 United Kingdom-based financial institution TSB Banking Group announced that it will be barring its 5.4 million customers from buying crypto assets.
The restrictions do not end with high street banks. On Monday, June 28, Binance suspended the popular local payments provider, Faster Payments, for its U.K. customers, further limiting the options for moving GBP to and from the exchange.
Major British bank Natwest has launched an alert to urgently warn its customers of cryptocurrency scams, which have been on the rise. The bank has provided several tips for customers “thinking of investing in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies” on how to spot scams involving cryptocurrencies. “If you ignore the above advice, you could lose all […]
The major retail and commercial financial institution National Westminster Bank (Natwest) has categorized cryptocurrencies as “high risk” and refuses to serve business customers who accept digital assets for payments. A Natwest board member, Morten Friis, explains the bank has no appetite for dealing with these types of customers as Natwest is taking a “cautious approach” […]
U.K. commercial bank NatWest says it does not want to do business with clients and customers who deal in crypto.
Corporate clients of NatWest may soon lose their banking relationship with the United Kingdom-based lender amid recent negative cryptocurrency-related policy statements.
According to a report by The Guardian, Morten Friis, the head of the bank’s risk committee, has revealed that NatWest will refuse service to business customers that accept cryptocurrency payments.
Friis made the bank’s position known during Wednesday’s shareholder event, stating:
“We have no appetite for dealing with customers, whether taking them on as new clients or having an ongoing relationship with people, whose main business is backed by an exchange for cryptocurrencies, or otherwise transacting in cryptocurrencies as their main activity.”
Friis’ comments echo similar sentiments recently attributed to HSBC, another U.K. bank, that used identical statements in announcing its decision to bar customers from buying MicroStrategy stock. HSBC’s anti-crypto stance also saw the bank refuse to allow account holders to deposit profits from cryptocurrency exchanges earlier in the year.
According to Friis, the bank’s decision is borne out of the need to proceed cautiously with cryptocurrencies, given the emerging nature of the industry’s regulatory landscape. The NatWest board member added that the bank will continue to monitor the evolution of cryptocurrency regulations from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.
Back in March, the FCA mandated all U.K. crypto firms to begin submitting yearly financial crimes reports.
Meanwhile, the NatWest executive’s comments could have significant implications for corporate clients like WeWork and Tesla that have announced plans to accept crypto payments.
In addition to withholding banking services to corporate clients involved in crypto, Friis also stated that NatWest will increase its financial crimes scrutiny for personal account holders dealing in cryptocurrencies.
Friis pointed to the money laundering and illicit financial activities as justification for its increased security checks on individual clients engaging in crypto activities.
However, numerous studies notably show that criminal activities only constitute a minute proportion of global cryptocurrency commerce.
