Australia’s largest bank blocks payments to some crypto exchanges

[ad_1]

By Lewis Jackson

SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) said on Thursday it would block certain payments to certain cryptocurrency exchanges as part of a series of new anti-scam measures that would limit crypto payments from customers.

A spokesperson for CBA, the nation’s largest bank, declined to name the crypto exchanges involved.

The bank said it will also hold certain payments to crypto exchanges for 24 hours from Thursday and soon introduce a monthly transfer limit of 10,000 Australian dollars ($6,666) to crypto exchanges. The ABC spokesperson declined to comment on whether these measures would apply to all crypto exchanges or just a few.

“Customers who make payments on cryptocurrency exchanges currently face a significantly higher risk of potentially being scammed,” said James Roberts, managing director of the group’s fraud management services. CBA in a statement accompanying the decision.

Last month, Westpac, another “big four” bank, blocked some cryptocurrency payments to reduce losses from scams. He did not identify any specific exchanges.

The decision comes weeks after Binance Australia announced to its customers that they would lose access to deposits and withdrawals in Australian dollars because payments provider Cuscal had cut off access.

In the rush to exit, bitcoin on the Australian points platform was trading at a 20% discount on rival exchanges.

US regulators sued the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange this week, alleging Binance inflated trading volumes and misappropriated client funds, among other claims.

(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Jamie Freed)

[ad_2]