By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
Starling Bank has stopped all crypto-related deposits to exchanges following rumors of high-level financial crimes. After being made aware of several criminal activities, a top digital bank in Britain has stopped its customers from making deposits to crypto exchanges.
This news is another setback for UK crypto investors after HSBC also stopped its services to crypto exchanges earlier in the month, and most other banks can’t provide adequate services like HSBC or Starling bank.
Starling Bank: The Ban Is to Secure Customer Funds
After starling bank users started lodging their grievances over blocked payments to exchanges such as Binance, the bank released a statement made available to the daily telegraph. One of the bank’s spokesperson said, “it isn’t a permanent measure, but it is necessary to safeguard our customers’ funds. It is a step taken after observing a great sophisticated financial crime via payments to a few crypto exchanges. This issue also concerns other banks, not just our bank.”
As is expected, the crypto community isn’t happy with the sudden development that hinders them from spending their money on legitimate products and services. However, after a screenshot of a chat between some Reddit users and starling bank reps about this issue posted on a Binance Reddit sub-group, some users have disclosed that they will soon close their account with the bank.
Also read:
Chat Starling Bank Rep. Source: Reddit
British Crypto Traders Forced to Accede To Bank Laws
Apart from starling bank, HSBC and Lloyds banks have stopped all crypto-related transactions. While HSBC made a public announcement about it, Lloyds didn’t make any public disclosure. Some Barclays bank users have also complained in recent times that they keep encountering problems when making crypto-related transactions. However, the bank has come out to deny blocking crypto-related transactions.
The only encouraging news from starling bank is their announcement that they would reverse their decision immediately after crypto transactions on exchanges become more secure. However, the measures may come late for users who are hoping to take advantage of the dip.
But the bank did reveal that customers can withdraw funds into their starling accounts from crypto exchanges as that transaction hasn’t been barred. Starling Bank was launched as a mobile-only bank in the UK seven years ago. The NatWest is the only known bank yet to follow Starling bank, HSBC, or Lloyds. Natwest’s latest news released on Thursday was a warning for its users not to fall for the antics of crypto traders “promising them heaven and earth” in the form of investment schemes.
In the statement, the bank also advised customers to transact strictly with crypto firms whose registration with the FCA is completed or is at the temporary stage. Recall that the FCA on Friday last week said that only five companies are fully registered with it, having complied with all regulations of the financial authorities. As widely reported, the FCA inaugurated a temporary registration scheme (which expires on July 9, 2021) for crypto assets companies with pending regulatory approvals.
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