Australia's largest bank temporarily stops certain” payments to crypto exchanges

Australia's largest bank temporarily stops certain” payments to crypto exchanges

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the largest bank of Australia, announced a temporary decline in “certain” payments to cryptocurrency exchanges as part of newly introduced measures to combat fraud in the country.

According to an official press release, CBA will reject or hold back crypto payments for 24 hours or longer. In the coming months, the bank will also set a limit of 10,000 AUD ($ 6,650) for payments to stock exchanges as part of the fraud risk.

CBA stops certain crypto payments

James Roberts, CBA General Manager from Group Frau Management Services, said:

"The interest of consumers in cryptocurrencies has increased, and unfortunately fraudsters worldwide use this trend and output themselves as legitimate investment options or transfer funds in cryptocurrency exchanges." Customers who make payments to cryptocurrency exchanges are currently exposed to significantly higher risk of being cheated. ”

Roberts added that the introduction of 24-hour postures, rejections and restrictions on payments to crypto exchanges would help to reduce the number of fraud and the loss of money from customers. The CBA will monitor the effects of the fraud measures and subject them to a review.

"A cross -ecosystem approach to fight against fraud is required in all of Australia, and CBA is committed to ensuring the security of customers as part of a wider national orientation of the government, regulatory authorities, banks and other industries. To ensure Australians, ”added Roberts.

a big turn

The step of the CBA represents a large turnaround for the bank, which announced in November 2021 that it will enable the crypto trade for Aussies via their Banking app Commbank. The CBA should be the first Australian bank to support such services and support ten crypto-assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (Eth) and Litecoin (LTC).

However, a dispute with the Australian financial supervisory authorities prevented the start of a pilot project for crypto trade service last year.

The CDA is not the only large Australian bank that forbids customers transactions with a crypto exchange. Last month, Westpac banned its users as part of the recent protective measures against fraud against fraud to the leading crypto trading platform.

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