Banks in the United Kingdom continue to crack down on Binance cryptocurrency exchange, with banking giant HSBC becoming the latest bank to cut payment channels to the platform.
A series of HSBC clients reported on Twitter this Monday that HSBC UK had suspended credit card payments to Binance.
According to an announcement on the service suspension, HSBC UK made the decision “due to concerns about possible risks” to its customers. “We take our duty as a responsible lender seriously and want to do everything we can to protect you. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and let you know if anything changes,” the bank wrote.
BREAKING: HSBC, the 6th largest bank in the world, has now BANNED all payments towards Binance Exchange. pic.twitter.com/GGHLv0Czcd
— Mr. Whale (@CryptoWhale) August 2, 2021
HSBC UK cited a recent warning on Binance issued in late June by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), raising concerns on the regulatory status of Binance in the country. “This also explains some of the risks of investing in crypto assets should this go wrong,” the bank noted. Binance representatives said that the FCA’s warning only applied to Binance Markets Limited, a separate legal entity from the main global exchange that operates through Binance.com.
"We are disappointed that HSBC has taken this decision and would welcome a dialogue to discuss any concerns that they have," a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph. The representative added that the exchange is taking its obligations very seriously as Binance is "committed to working collaboratively with regulators to shape policies that protect consumers, encourage innovation, and move our industry forward.”
HSBC did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
The latest report comes shortly after another U.K. bank, NatWest, confirmed in mid-July that the institution has blocked all credit and debit card payments to Binance until further notice. Previously, British multinational universal bank Barclays made a similar announcement in late June, citing the FCA’s warning.
HSBC has now apparently emerged as a major anti-crypto bank, withholding its customers from investing both in crypto and virtual asset-related products. Earlier this year, HSBC reportedly blacklisted the stock of business intelligence firm MicroStrategy on its online trading platform as part of its amended user policy prohibiting customers from interacting with cryptocurrencies.