Next year, real-time payments to cryptocurrency exchanges will be prohibited by UK bank Santander. The action is meant to shield users from scams, according to an email to customers that was originally covered by Reuters. Santander has not said what time in 2023 the modification will go into effect. The bank will implement a more constrained set of restrictions in the near future.

Beginning on November 15, payments made through mobile and online banking to cryptocurrency exchanges are restricted to a maximum of £1,000 per transaction and £3,000 each rolling 30-day period.

The ability of clients to withdraw money will not be impacted by the new regulations.

A Santander representative said, “Of recent months we’ve witnessed a significant surge in UK customers becoming victims of bitcoin fraud.” “We want to take every precaution to keep our consumers safe, and we believe that restricting payments to cryptocurrency exchanges is the best way to do so.”

In accordance with the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) stringent position on the exchange, which was barred from conducting business in the UK in 2021, Santander will continue to reject payments transferred to Binance. The firm, according to the FCA, “cannot be effectively overseen” and its “complex and high-risk financial products” put customers at serious risk.

Santander is introducing cryptocurrency trading options in Brazil. Santander’s stance on cryptocurrency appears to be consistent with the FCA’s recent caution. The FCA announced intentions to considerably tighten its laws on cryptocurrency advertising in August 2022, putting these in line with those controlling conventional assets like stocks and bonds.

Santander’s stance to prohibiting cryptocurrency transactions isn’t particularly distinctive among British High Street banks. According to information from the pricing comparison website Finder, nearly half (47%) of the UK’s top banks do not support cryptocurrencies.

Bank of England Wants Tougher Crypto Regulations to Prevent “Systemic Risk” Traditional high street banks like Lloyds, Nationwide, HSBC, and TSB Bank make up the majority of this category, but it also includes some of the more recent “challenger banks,” such Starling Bank.

However, not all UK banks are avoiding cryptocurrency. The UK-based Neobank Revolut, which has been in business since 2015, has introduced a card that enables customers to pay for their goods and services in cryptocurrency.

With Revolut’s “spend from crypto” option, customers may select their preferred cryptocurrency from over 1,000 tokens and receive cash back on their purchases.