UK crypto buyers filed 10,092 bank complaints in 90 days, with Lloyds topping the list
British crypto buyers lodged 10,092 complaints about bank restrictions on crypto purchases in the 90 days between May and August, advocacy group Stand With Crypto said, with Lloyds Banking Group alone drawing 2,297 of them.
The complaints came from 9,800 individuals through an online tool and covered customers in all 650 parliamentary constituencies, the group said. Barclays drew 1,569 complaints and NatWest Group 1,278. Stand With Crypto cautioned that the tally is not a representative survey and is not adjusted for each bank's share of UK current accounts, so a higher count does not necessarily mean a higher complaint rate.
The findings put pressure on a government that has spent two years courting the industry. Support for crypto was first announced in 2023, when Rishi Sunak was chancellor, and economic secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby restated it under Labour less than a year ago. "A country cannot credibly invite innovators in while allowing banks to lock consumers out," said Katie Harries, Coinbase's head of European policy, warning of "ramifications for associate investment here."
Harries said Coinbase is an FCA-registered crypto asset business yet faces "the same blanket restrictions as the wider crypto asset sector," and cited UK Cryptoasset Business Council research finding 40% of attempted transfers to FCA-registered exchanges were blocked or delayed in the previous 12 months. Stand With Crypto's review of bank websites as of 28 August found Lloyds publishes no crypto transfer policy, while Barclays caps transfers at £2,500 per transaction and £10,000 over 30 days; NatWest and Santander also set limits, and Chase, Starling, TSB, Metro Bank and Virgin Money were listed as prohibiting crypto transactions outright. Banks with published limits accounted for 61% of complaints.
Banks have legitimate reasons to scrutinise crypto transfers, given fraud, scam and money laundering risks, but Stand With Crypto argues blanket bans exceed proportionate risk management and conflict with expectations that financial crime controls assess individual customers and transactions. It wants banks to publish clear explanations and give customers a meaningful way to challenge blocked transfers. "Banks shouldn't be allowed to apply blanket restrictions across a whole industry," Harries said.
