Santander will block all payments to crypto exchanges for UK customers next year
According to a study published by Privacy Affairs, crypto-related scams continued to evolve in 2022 despite the value drop of the market. Even this way, hackers were responsible for stealing crypto worth an impressive US$1.9 billion in the first quarter, a value that translates to a 37 percent year-over-year growth.
The aforementioned study only highlights the losses for US citizens (US$329 million), Australians (US$166 million), and Hong Kong investors (US$50 million), but UK citizens have fallen victims to such scams during the aforementioned period as well. Last Friday, the UK branch of the Santander bank sent a statement via email regarding the crypto-related changes it plans to implement next year to ensure its customers get the best possible protection from scams.
According to Reuters, "At an unspecified point during 2023, the bank will introduce a block on all real-time payments to cryptocurrency exchanges made via telephone banking and in-branch payments, as well as online and mobile banking."
In addition to the above, Santander will limit customer transfers to currency exchanges starting next week (on November 15, to be more accurate). The thresholds will be set at 1,000 GBP (about US$1,146) per transaction, but also 3,000 GBP for any given 30-day period. These limits will target transfers made using both mobile and online banking.
Santander revealed in a support note on its website that an increasing number of UK customers became victims of crypto scams recently. The bank also added that payments to Binance remain blocked (this ban has been in place since July 2021). However, the bank's customers can still withdraw any money they have with Binance into their Santander accounts.
The measures above will be complemented by the blocking of all real-time bank transfers identified to take place from Santander accounts to cryptocurrency exchanges. The bank said that the additional limitations will be implemented before the end of 2023 and did not reveal any other details.
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