Banking giant JPMorgan confirmed that its retail arm Chase is banning its British customers from making crypto transactions.
British customers will not be able to buy digital assets on a Chase debit card or by transferring money to a crypto site from a Chase account from October 16, the announcement added.
Chase told Decrypt in a Tuesday email that this was “done to protect our customers and keep their money safe.”
The bank said in a note to clients that the move was down to “an increase in the number of crypto scams targeting U.K. customers.”
“If you’d still like to invest in crypto assets, you can try using a different bank or provider instead—but please be cautious, as you may not be able to get the money back if the payment ends up being related to fraud or a scam,” it added.
What is Bitcoin?
—Bitcoin started it all. It was the first cryptocurrency, and it launched an industry that now includes thousands. But who invented it, how does it work, and why is it so important? What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin (BTC) is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. Think of it as a digital token. You can't physically touch or hold Bitcoins, and all Bitcoin transactions are logged on a public, decentralized, immutable ledger. The first official purchase using Bitcoin was for pizza in May 2010. Two pizzas from Papa...
A spokesman continued in an email to Decrypt that “crypto scams are part of a wider ‘epidemic’ of fraud, which accounted for more than 40% of all reported crimes in England and Wales last year.”
UK Crypto Crackdown: Which British Banks Allow You to Buy Bitcoin?
UK banks are getting tougher on customers using crypto. In the past week, two of the country’s biggest banks—Nationwide and HSBC—cracked down by applying daily limits for buyers or restricting credit cards from making crypto purchases. These two banks aren’t the only ones: a number of banks over the past year have got tougher. Some took a tougher stance following the collapse of mega digital asset exchange FTX back in November. According to most U.K. high-street banks with limits, the crackdow...
The bank has had a hard time figuring out how to handle customers buying crypto. In 2020, Chase U.S. was subject to a lawsuit alleging that in 2018 it overcharged customers who used Chase credit cards to buy crypto assets. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court for $2.5 million.
At the time, Chase Bank argued that cryptocurrency purchases were “cash-like transactions” as defined in its terms of service and therefore liable for cash advance fees. But a judge ruled that the plaintiffs had successfully proved that “cash-like” transactions only apply to fiat currency transactions.
But the bank and its parent company, JPMorgan, haven't ruled out crypto as a line of business entirely. Last fall, JPMorgan hired a new crypto policy head and filed a trademark for a crypto wallet.
A number of other banks have cracked down on U.K. customers buying crypto.
Banking giants Nationwide and HSBC applied daily limits for buyers and restricted credit cards from making crypto purchases.
