Lloyds Banking Group, Virgin Money Ban Cryptocurrency Purchases on Credit Cards

Customers cannot buy cryptocurrencies on Lloyd Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax and MBNA credit cards.

Lloyds Banking Group and Virgin Money joined major US banks in banning purchases of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies via credit card amid debt and security concerns. An LBG spokesman said the ban was across its Lloyd Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax and MBNA branded credit cards.

In a brief statement, he said LBG does "not accept credit card transactions involving the purchase of cryptocurrencies".

Virgin Money has also banned purchases of cryptocurrencies on its credit cards. A spokesman said, "Following a review of our policies, I can confirm customers will no longer be able to use their Virgin Money credit card to purchase cryptocurrencies. This only applies to our credit cards and not our debit card."

Over the past few days, US lenders Bank of American, Citigroup and JPMorgan each introduced the same ban.

There is a concern that customers who bought Bitcoin late last year when cryptocurrencies in general surged in value have been left with big losses following massive declines in recent weeks.

On Monday, the price of Bitcoin tumbled below $7,000 (roughly Rs. 4.5 lakhs), two months after breaking through the $20,000 (roughly Rs. 12.84 lakhs) mark.

It comes as China plans to stamp out all remaining cryptocurrency trading in the country by blocking access to overseas-based websites and removing related applications from app stores.

The international value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have plunged this year amid fears of a crackdown in Asia and concerns that many currencies' rapid rise in value last year could reflect a bubble.