Chase UK, JP Morgan’s British digital bank, says it will ban customers from making cryptocurrency transactions from next month, citing a rise in scams and fraud.
Starting Oct. 16, Chase customers will no longer be able to make crypto transactions with their debit card or via an outgoing bank transfer, the bank said Tuesday.
If we think you are making a payment related to crypto assets, we will decline it, Chase said in an email to customers. If you still want to invest in crypto assets, you can try using another bank or provider, but be careful as you may not get the money back if the payment is related to fraud or scam. .
In an email to The Associated Press, Chase said Tuesday’s decision was made to keep customers and their money safe. The bank also pointed to an increase in losses related to crypto fraud reported by UK regulators over the past year.
According to London-based law firm RPC, data from British fraud reporting agency Action Fraud shows that the value of crypto fraud in Britain increased by 41% last year, reaching a record high of 306 million ($372.3 million). Notably, the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTC in November caused a sharp increase in fraud reports, RPC noted when it shared the findings in May, with the numbers declining slightly in early 2023.
The Associated Press contacted Action Fraud on Tuesday for a statement following Chase’s decision to prevent customers from making crypto transactions.
JPMorgan Chase launched its UK digital bank in September 2021 under the name Chase. As of May this year, Chase had more than 1.6 million customers in the UK
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First print: September 26, 2023 | 11:46 PM IST