TSB Bank Plans to Ban Cryptocurrency Purchases Due to Increasing Fraud Numbers: Report

TSB, a British bank, is planning to ban cryptocurrency purchases due to fraud concerns. The company reported an alarming number of fraudulent transactions on cryptocurrency purchases. Reportedly, transactions involving Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange behemoth, are involved in two-thirds of these fraud reports. A Binance representative denies these claims and said the exchange deals with complaints like these complaints in a “very serious” manner.

TSB to Ban Cryptocurrency Purchases Due to Fraud Numbers

TSB, the UK-based banking institution, is planning to issue a ban on cryptocurrency purchases. Its customers are reporting an alarming number of fraudulent transactions associated with cryptocurrency institutions. According to the Telegraph, the bank will introduce this ban in the coming weeks. This action can leave more than five million customers without access to cryptocurrency exchanges.

A spokesperson alleged the ban will take the measure to protect its customers from probable frauds. The spokesperson declared:

We take our obligation to protect customers extremely seriously and continually review merchants and websites with excessively high fraud rates.

According to numbers from TSB, one in eight cryptocurrency purchases ends in a fraudulent action. This is a number much higher than what’s calculated for other transactions. Fraudsters and scammers use these platforms to fool customers and take control of their accounts, stealing their funds.

TSB also states that these platforms have low customer support standards. The company spokesperson claims that Binance and Kraken, two popular cryptocurrency exchanges, almost never respond to fraud claims.

Exchanges Accused

TSB also stated that Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange, was a hub for this kind of scam. More than two-thirds of the frauds reported had to do with Binance and its trading platform. However, Binance denied these claims. A spokesperson for the exchange stated the platform was “very serious” when it comes to dealing with this kind of action.

Kraken also denied having this kind of behavior that TSB reports. Steven Christie, its global head of compliance, stated:

We categorically deny the allegation that Kraken does not respond to calls for assistance on incidents of fraud.

TSB is the latest bank to announce some kind of measure against cryptocurrency exchanges. Last June, Barclays, Monzo, and Starling, other UK-based banks also blocked cryptocurrency purchases for similar reasons. Users presented complaints on social media at that time, complaining they weren’t able to manage their money as they wished.

According to the FCA, 4.4% of UK citizens own some form of cryptocurrency. As a consequence, banks must be vigilant to whatever actions their customers are taking on these platforms.