NatWest, one of the UK’s largest banks, has implemented a new policy requiring customers to give advance notice of cash withdrawals, including those from cryptocurrency platforms, over £2,000.
NatWest Bank imposes cryptocurrency withdrawal limits
according to notice At the bank’s door, customers requesting “large sums”, which are £2,000 and above, must give 24 hours’ notice before they can access their money.
In some cases, customers will also be required to provide an explanation and documentation of the nature of their intended transaction, and appropriate ‘documentation’ must be provided. Documentation will include their debit card, PIN, applicable ID and pay bills when required.
The notice also indicated that notifying the bank in advance did not constitute authorization to withdraw funds. If the branch is not “satisfied” with the explanation and documents provided, the branch is allowed to reject the customer’s transaction, refusing him from withdrawing funds.
According to the bank, the rationale behind such developments is “to keep customers safe and secure,” calling into question the previous rationale put forward by the bank in the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse, wondering whether the cryptocurrency space was unfairly blamed. failures of traditional banks.
The limit will be comprehensive, affecting customers who use the bank to transact with the leading cryptocurrency exchanges and who want to cash out, through bank transfers, and coins like Bitcoin and others.
NatWest Bank previously faced media scrutiny during the SVB crash when it imposed daily limits on transactions and protected customers from potential cryptocurrency scams as a rationale. The bank justified these restrictions by highlighting the use of cryptocurrencies by cybercriminals, but recent events have cast doubt on their justification.
Aside from raising suspicions, the development also raised concerns about excessive scrutiny imposed on customers who wanted access to their funds, supporting speculation that NatWest was failing and that “crypto justification” was a convenient excuse.
NatWest sets a £1,000 daily limit
Weeks ago, in March 2023, NatWest foot £1,000 daily limit and £5,000 30-day payment limit for cryptocurrency exchanges. They made the decision citing £329m in losses to UK consumers through cryptocurrency scams in the previous year, claiming that men over 35 were the target demographic for such scams.
NatWest’s move to “strengthen customer protection” against crypto-related criminal activity was understandable at the time, but it was also impeding the legitimate use of cryptocurrency through regulated cryptocurrency exchanges, which allowed users to freely enter and exit projects, and the cryptospace.
This has increased the need for financial institutions to seek balance when protecting their customers, to ensure that individual user rights are not compromised, and that innovation is not stifled.
Featured image from Canva, chart from TradingView
