NatWest Blocks Payments to Binance as Starling Joins the Chorus

NatWest has followed some of its U.K. banking peers in blocking debit and credit card payments to cryptocurrency exchange Binance, while Starling Bank CEO Anne Boden labeled some exchanges as dangerous.

• "It is the case that all payments to Binance are blocked," a NatWest spokesperson told CoinDesk.
• NatWest joins Santander and Barclays among major banks preventing U.K. customers from purchasing crypto on Binance, following the warning from the Financial Conduct Authority in June that the exchange was operating in the country without permission.
• The bank had previously limited the amount users could spend each day on crypto exchanges in response to concerns over investment scams and fraud.
• In conjunction with this policy, NatWest is blocking outright payments to a small number of crypto firms that pose particularly significant levels of risk, Binance among them, the bank said.
• A number of customers flagged on social media that they had received texts from NatWest informing them all credit and debit card payments to Binance were being declined until further notice.
• A further blow to the crypto in the U.K. came Thursday from Anne Boden, CEO of digital banking heavyweight Starling Bank, who described some exchanges as "quite dangerous" on a call with reporters, according to CNBC.
• “The industry as a whole must really be alert to the dangers of people using bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to process fraudulent payments," she said.

UPDATE (JULY 22, 13:43 UTC): Adds comments from Starling Bank.