UK crypto bank account refusals draw questions from lawmakers
UK lawmakers asked major bank CEOs to explain crypto-account policies and payment limits as a parliamentary inquiry gathers evidence.
By Sofia Marchetti · Columnist
· 3 min read
UK crypto bank account refusals are now the subject of direct questions from a cross-party group of lawmakers. Gurinder Singh Josan, a Labour MP, and Lord Vaizey of Didcot have written to the chief executives of major UK banks seeking details on how they handle crypto and digital-asset businesses, according to Decrypt’s reporting published by Yahoo Finance.
For investors and crypto users, the immediate change is limited: the letter is a request for information, not an order requiring a bank to open an account or permit a payment. Its significance is that Parliament’s Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group, or APPG, is putting banks’ restrictions into a wider examination of whether access to ordinary financial services is holding back the sector.
The lawmakers said they had received repeated reports of crypto and digital-asset companies struggling to establish UK bank accounts. They also pointed to reports that banks have limited some crypto-related payments, according to Decrypt.
What did UK lawmakers ask banks about crypto accounts?
The letter asks each bank to explain six areas: its policy toward crypto firms; whether it provides services to such businesses and, if not, why; limits on crypto-related transactions; the factors behind its approach; whether the incoming UK crypto regime could change that approach; and steps government or regulators could take to help.
Josan and Vaizey said restricted banking access could become a serious obstacle to growth for UK crypto and digital-asset businesses and could weaken the planned regulatory framework. That is the APPG’s position, rather than a conclusion from the inquiry, which has not yet reported.
Why do banks restrict crypto payments?
Banks have said their controls are intended to address crypto-related scams, financial-crime risks and the possibility that customers could lose substantial sums in volatile crypto markets, the Financial Times reported. Decrypt also reported that the lawmakers acknowledged lenders’ legal duties to prevent financial crime and protect consumers.
The APPG’s inquiry, launched July 21, is seeking written submissions from banking, payments, fintech and crypto participants for six weeks. According to CoinDesk, it will consider access to accounts and related services such as insurance, as well as payment blocks and transfer caps. It will examine whether measures are proportionate and how they affect consumers, businesses, competition and innovation.
The group plans to publish findings and recommendations for the UK government after the evidence-gathering period. The letter does not pre-judge that outcome, Decrypt reported.
The review arrives before the UK’s new crypto regime is due to become mandatory in October 2027, according to Decrypt. In March, Economic Secretary Lucy Rigby told Parliament that the government would not expect Financial Conduct Authority-licensed crypto firms to face banking restrictions solely because they operate in the sector, the outlet reported.
That leaves a practical question for the inquiry: whether banks’ safeguards are calibrated to the specific risks of an individual customer or applied broadly to crypto activity as a category.
This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.
