Santander, a UK bank, will stop payments to cryptocurrency exchanges

UK bank Santander announced that next year it will prohibit real-time payments to cryptocurrency exchanges.

The action is meant to shield customers from scams, according to an email to customers that was first covered by Reuters.

Santander has not specified 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 crypto exchanges are restricted to a maximum of £1,000 per transaction and £3,000 per rolling 30-day period.

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

In accordance with the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) stringent stance on the exchange, which was barred from conducting business in the UK in 2021, Santander will continue to block payments sent to Binance.

The firm, according to the FCA, “cannot be effectively supervised,” and its “complex and high-risk financial products” put consumers at serious risk.

Santander’s stance on cryptocurrency appears to be consistent with the FCA’s recent caution.

The FCA announced plans to significantly tighten its regulations on cryptocurrency advertising in August 2022, bringing these in line with those governing conventional securities like stocks and bonds.