NatWest Becomes The Latest Financial Institution To Block Payments To Binance
UK bank NatWest has become the latest financial institution to block payments to cryptocurrency trading platform Binance.
The move comes as part of a larger wave of opposition to the trading platform, as peers Santander and Barclays also block payments to Binance. Back in June, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning against Binance, banning the trading platform from conducting any regulated activity in the UK, and advising consumers to be wary of advertisements that promised a high return on crypto assets investments. The FCA ordered Binance to remove all forms of advertising and promotions by 30 June.
NatWest has said it has seen high levels of cryptocurrency investment scams targeting customers across retail and business banking, a trend particularly prevalent across social media platforms. To protect its customers, the UK bank said that it was temporarily reducing the maximum daily amount that a customer can transfer to cryptocurrency exchanges. NatWest is also blocking payments to a number of cryptocurrency asset firms, where the bank notes some customers have already suffered fraud-related harm. However, despite the changes, NatWest has stated that customers will still be able to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment if they wish to do so.