British Banks Received 10,092 Complaints About Blocking Transfers to Crypto Exchanges

According to a report by the advocacy group Stand With Crypto, clients of British banks filed 10,092 complaints about blocked or restricted transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges over three months. The complaints were filed by 9,803 individuals from May to August 2026 through the group's online tool; they concerned transfers to platforms registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK's financial regulator. Complaints came from all 650 constituencies in the country.

Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland, received the most complaints – 2,297, or more than 22% of the total, despite having no published policy on restricting crypto transfers. Next were Barclays with 1,569 complaints and NatWest Group, including Royal Bank of Scotland, with 1,278. HSBC UK also received over 1,000 complaints, though the exact number is not specified. The fewest were from Virgin Money and Co-operative Bank: 103 and 76, respectively.

Banks with limits received 6,198 complaints, banks without a published policy (Lloyds and Revolut) received 2,842, and banks with a complete ban received 989. The report suggests that in the latter case, clients simply know it's pointless to try. The figures are not weighted by market share – the number of current accounts at banks is not published – and clients could have complained about more than one bank.

Six banks publish restrictions on crypto transfers. Barclays limits them to £2,500 per transaction and £10,000 over 30 days, NatWest to £1,000 per day and £5,000 over 30 days, Santander UK to £1,000 per transaction and £3,000 over 30 days. Starling, TSB, Chase UK, Metro Bank, Virgin Money, and Co-operative Bank block such transfers entirely.

"Protecting our customers' funds is our highest priority," said a Barclays spokesperson. "Like many other banks, we have introduced limits on payments to crypto exchanges to protect customers from crypto-related fraud and losses." The report also states: "A client cannot reliably use a bank's published policy to predict whether they will be able to transfer their money to a crypto platform." According to the parliamentary group on cryptoassets, access to banking services "may be one of the most significant barriers to growth" for crypto businesses in the UK.