Barclays has stopped UK customers from transferring funds to Binance. The ban happened after the FCA said that the digital asset exchange was not authorized to undertake crypto business in the UK last month.
A notification was sent to the British clients of Barclays that it has blocked debit and credit payments to Binance, which would start immediately and was intended “to help to keep your money safe”.
Barclays’ decision comes after a period in which UK banks have struggled to decide whether to allow their customers to move funds to and from crypto exchanges, together with concerns about the lack of regulatory oversight in the sector.
Barlcays is not the first bank blocking its customers from using Binance
The UK-based bank TSB already decided to ban its customers from buying crypto from Binance. The bank claimed that exchanges have low-security standards, which enable scammers. Another bank that had these concerns was NatWest, and it banned its clients from using several exchanges as well
Around 2.3 m people in the UK hold cryptocurrencies, according to the FCA. The vast majority of these people use offshore exchanges such as Binance.
Binance has repeatedly been struggling with regulations
The United Kingdom’s FCA had warned Binance last month over its activities in the UK, setting off a chain reaction of UK banks banning the exchange for its users. Binance itself stated that it is doing nothing wrong and has no activities in the UK. If you are interested in the whole story and our approach to the situation, Binance finds itself in. You can read our journal about it here.
