JPMorgan’s subsidiary, Chase Bank, will restrict all transactions involving cryptocurrencies for its clients in the United Kingdom starting Oct. 16.
Chase Bank customers in the United Kingdom will no longer be able to make crypto transactions using their debit cards or outgoing bank transfers beginning on October 16, a spokesperson told Cointelegraph on September 26.
“Customers who attempt a crypto-related transaction will receive a declined transaction notification,” the bank said.
According to the bank’s representative, Chase has decided to implement the new restrictions due to the “increase in fraud and scams” involving crypto assets.
The spokesperson cited data from Britain’s fraud reporting agency, Action Fraud, indicating that U.K. consumer crypto fraud losses increased by more than 40 percent from May 2022 to May 2023. According to the agency, losses in the United Kingdom exceeded three hundred million British pounds ($365 million).
“This has been done to safeguard our customers’ funds,” a Chase spokesperson explained, adding:
“We’re committed to helping keep our customers’ money safe and secure. We’ve seen an increase in the number of crypto scams targeting U.K. consumers, so we have taken the decision to prevent the purchase of crypto assets on a Chase debit card or by transferring money to a crypto site from a Chase account.”
Chase Bank initially disclosed its crypto-related policy changes via email to customers on September 26. “We’ve made this decision because fraudsters are increasingly using crypto assets to steal large amounts of money from people,” the bank explained.
Subsequently, some Chase users on X (previously Twitter) reported receiving the email about the policy changes on X. Under the pretext of investor protection, a decision to restrict the freedom to use cryptocurrencies prompted widespread outrage.
“We are banning computers because fraudsters utilize them,” a Bitcoin enthusiast wrote, adding, “Back to pen and paper!”
Chase Bank is a retail-focused bank that offers fee-free mobile banking. According to reports, Chase has accumulated over fifty million active users through its global network of over 4,600 branches. The latest restrictions will only impact around 2% of its total users worldwide, with its U.K. user base reaching 1 million in September 2022.
