Australia’s largest bank suspends payments to crypto exchanges

Commonwealth Bank (CBA), the largest financial institution in Australia, has announced its decision to either halt or temporarily suspend payments to crypto exchanges due to the substantial risk of fraudulent activities.

On June 8, CBA disclosed that it would reject or delay specific payments to cryptocurrency exchanges. The bank did not provide detailed information regarding the particular types of transactions or payment methods that would be affected by these new regulations.

Additionally, clients would be restricted from depositing more than 10,000 Australian dollars ($6,650) per month into crypto exchanges to purchase cryptocurrencies.

Immediate actions taken by CBA include refraining from making certain payments to bitcoin (BTC) exchanges and introducing a 24-hour delay for others. Furthermore, the bank plans to impose a $10,000 monthly limit on client payments to exchanges for bitcoin acquisitions in the upcoming months.

CBA execs: сrypto should be regulated

James Roberts, the general manager overseeing CBA’s fraud management services at Commonwealth Bank, stated that fraudulent investment schemes involving crypto exchanges are widespread.

According to Roberts, scammers worldwide are taking advantage of the cryptocurrency frenzy, masquerading as “legitimate investment opportunities” or diverting funds into cryptocurrency exchanges.

During that time, CEO Matt Comyn commented that although participation risks existed, the chances of not experiencing them were even more significant. He, however, acknowledged that the sector and its technology were here to stay.

This decision represents a notable reversal for the bank, which had initially intended to offer cryptocurrency trading services to the millions of users of its app.

The development follows closely after another prominent Australian bank, Westpac, prohibited its clients from trading with cryptocurrency exchange Binance following a lawsuit filed by the United States Securities Commission against two of the world’s largest exchanges.