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UK Bank NatWest Denies Report it Will Totally Refuse Business Customers Who Deal in Crypto
This follows HSBC stating it would not be facilitating exposure to Coinbase or any other crypto-centric business.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:44 p.m. Published Apr 22, 2021, 9:08 a.m.
U.K. bank NatWest has denied the report that alleged it would totally refuse business customers who take payments in crypto.
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- Morten Friis, head of the bank’s risk committee, said the bank was following a “cautious approach” to crypto, according to a report by The Guardian Wednesday.
- NatWest has “no appetite for dealing with customers” whose business is backed by the exchange of crypto, Friis said, according to the report.
- However, a NatWest spokesperson said Thursday that the bank's business customers can accept crypto as a form of payment "as long as some specific conditions are met.
- Despite many banking giants such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs warming to crypto, the U.K.’s major players remain more skeptical.
- HSBC said last week it has “no appetite for direct exposure to virtual currencies and limited appetite to facilitate products or securities that derive their value from virtual currencies.” This was in response to a question about Coinbase’s public listing debut.
See also: Bank of England and HM Treasury Launch Taskforce for UK CBDC
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