Chase Bank announces an outright ban on crypto payments in U.K.

• Chase Bank will start to block crypto payments in U.K. from October 16th.
• The retail bank says the ban is related to an increase in crypto frauds.
• Chase Bank has an active user base of well over 1.0 million in the U.K.

Chase Bank – a subsidiary of JPMorgan has decided to ban crypto-related transactions in the United Kingdom.

Why is Chase Bank banning crypto transactions?

Payments via outgoing bank transfers or the debit card suspected to be linked to cryptocurrencies in any way will be blocked from October 16^th, the bank told its customers in an email today.

Chase said it was moving to impose an outright ban because crypto scams are on the rise in the U.K.

We’ve seen an increase in the number of crypto scams targeting U.K. consumers. So, we’ve taken the decision to prevent the purchase of crypto assets.

The retail bank has an active user base of well over 1.0 million in the United Kingdom.

U.K. consumers have lost millions to crypto scams

Chase cited data from Action Fraud – a British fraud reporting agency that suggests consumers in the U.K. have lost more than £300 million to crypto frauds. Its spokesperson also wrote in the said email:

If we think you’re making a payment related to crypto assets, we’ll decline it … We’re committed to helping keep our customers’ money safe and secure.

Earlier this year, NatWest also restricted the sum of money a consumer can send to crypto companies per day and per month. HSBC announced similar limitations in March as well.

The announcement arrives on the same day when JPMorgan Chase & Co agreed to a $75 million settlement with U.S. Virgin Islands on a Jeffrey Epstein-related lawsuit.