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
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.
