Santander UK Limits Crypto Transfers to Exchanges in Bid to Safeguard Customers

Santander UK, the British branch of the Spanish financial giant, has published a new update concerning cryptocurrencies and it warns that investing in such financial vehicles can be "high risk." The bank notes that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned the public about such risks and the financial institution wants to do everything it can to “protect” customers. "[Santander UK feels] that limiting payments to cryptocurrency exchanges is the best way to make sure your money stays safe," the bank explains.

As per a Reuters report, the branch is essentially announcing a GBP 1,000 (roughly Rs. 91,720) limit on crypto transactions for customers. The bank also said that customers will be limited to making crypto transactions worth GBP 3,000 (roughly Rs. 2.75 lakh) during a 30-day period.

These restrictions apply to customers making crypto deposits to exchanges from their bank accounts. As such, customers can still withdraw from exchange platforms to their Santander bank accounts. The bank also stated that it will be making more changes to these limits while also adding that it could ban deposits to crypto exchanges altogether.

Despite the bank's warning, Santander-associated businesses are dedicating lots of effort toward tokenisation, commodity tokens, and cryptocurrency services in Brazil. The Spanish banking giant has also crafted a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Spain.

Santander UK, however, must operate under the UK's financial laws and other Santander-associated businesses navigate differently. The notice posted to the bank's web portal says that customers can still get payments from crypto exchanges into their accounts, but it notes more changes could come in the future.

"We'll be making more changes to limit or prevent payments to crypto exchanges in the future, though we'll always let you know before we make these changes," Santander UK's update discloses.

The bank also highlights the largest crypto exchange by global trade volume, Binance, in the update. Santander UK has special restrictions when it comes to dealing with Binance. “We'll continue to stop payments being sent to Binance,” Santander UK says. The bank also shares an FCA warning written about Binance.