UK banks face 10,000 complaints in 3 months over crypto restrictions — SkimNews
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- Stand With Crypto collected 10,092 complaints submitted through its online tool by 9,800 individuals between May and August, covering customers in all 650 UK parliamentary constituencies.
- Lloyds Banking Group drew 2,297 complaints (23% of the total), ahead of Barclays (1,569) and NatWest Group (1,278), yet had no published policy restricting crypto-related transfers in SWC's Aug. 28 review; the voluntary tally was not adjusted for each bank's share of UK checking accounts, so higher counts do not necessarily mean higher complaint rates.
- Barclays restricts crypto transfers to £2,500 per transaction and £10,000 over 30 days; NatWest and Santander publish limits, while Chase, Starling, TSB, Metro Bank and Virgin Money prohibit crypto transactions outright.
- Stand With Crypto found institutions with published limits accounted for 61% of complaints, versus 28% involving institutions without published restrictions and just under 10% involving outright bans; it proposed clear bank explanations so customers can challenge blocked transfers.
- UK Cryptoasset Business Council research indicated 40% of attempted transfers to FCA-registered crypto exchanges were blocked or delayed over the preceding 12 months; 70% of exchanges said banking conditions were more hostile than a year earlier.
- Coinbase head of European policy Katie Harries said bank transfers are a crucial way to fund crypto accounts and that the FCA-registered platform is subject to the same blanket restrictions as the wider crypto-asset sector.
- Rishi Sunak announced government support for the crypto industry in 2023 while chancellor, and economic secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby reiterated that stance under Labour less than a year before the report.
Why it matters: Coinbase and FCA-registered exchanges depend on bank transfers as a funding route; council research says 40% of attempts were blocked or delayed, while 10,092 complaints show friction across all 650 constituencies. SWC’s proposed clear bank explanations would give consumers a way to compare providers and challenge blocks, directly addressing the access gap it says undermines the UK digital-asset sector.
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