Commonwealth Bank of Australia plans to restrict payments to crypto trading platforms, citing the threat of scams. The measure would deal another blow to digital asset exchanges operating in the country where it has been getting harder to deposit funds for cryptocurrency operations.
Biggest Bank in Australia to Limit Transfers to Crypto Exchanges
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Crypto Traders in Australia to Face Another Restriction on Fiat Deposits
Australia’s largest lender intends to impose a monthly limit of 10,000 Australian dollars ($6,663) on payments made to crypto exchanges. In a statement quoted by Bloomberg, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) detailed that some of the transfers will be held for 24 hours or declined.
Scams around the world are “masquerading as legitimate investment opportunities or diverting funds into cryptocurrency exchanges,” said General Manager of Group Fraud Management Services at CBA, James Roberts, providing reasons for the upcoming move.
Australians have lost at least 3 billion Aussie dollars to scams in 2022, the report notes, which represents an 80% increase from a year earlier. Crypto has played a significant role in this trend, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
CBA’s announcement is another threat for the crypto trading industry in Australia where the banking sector has been making it harder to transfer fiat funds to digital asset exchanges, citing scam-related risks in most cases.
On May 18, Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp. said it had started trialing new customer protections for some crypto payments to reduce “scam losses.” Right after, Binance Australia admitted it could no longer accept deposits through the Australian payment gateway Cuscal. The latter highlighted its focus on “protecting Australians from financial crimes and scams.”
In late May, another Bloomberg report revealed that Binance Australia users were selling bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at discount rates. The price difference with other exchanges in the country was attributed to the decision of the popular Australian payment provider Payid to quit processing withdrawals in Australian dollars for the exchange’s customers.
Do you expect to see more banking restrictions for crypto trading in Australia? Tell us in the comments section below.
