In a report released on Tuesday, the crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto stated that British bank customers filed 10,092 complaints regarding being blocked or restricted from transferring funds to crypto exchanges within 90 days.
These complaints were submitted by 9,803 people between May and August 2026 through an online tool operated by the organization, involving transfers to platforms that are already registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. The organization stated in a tweet that these complaints came from every one of the 650 parliamentary constituencies in the UK.
The report states that Lloyds Banking Group (including Halifax, Bank, of, and Scotland) received the most complaints, with 2,297, accounting for over 22% of the total, despite the bank not having any public policy restricting cryptocurrency transfers. Barclays (Barclays) received 1,569 complaints, and National Westminster Group (NatWest Group, including Royal Bank, of, and Scotland) received 1,278 complaints. The report also indicates that HSBC UK (HSBC UK) received more than 1,000 complaints, but no exact figure was provided. Virgin Money, Co-operative, and Bank received the fewest complaints, with 103, 76, and 76 respectively. Decrypt has contacted Lloyds Banking Group, National Westminster Group, and HSBC UK for comments.
According to the report, six banks have announced restrictions on encrypted transfers. Barclays has set a limit of £2,500 per transfer, with a cumulative limit of no more than £10,000 over 30 days; NatWest has a limit of £1,000 per day and £5,000 over 30 days; Santander UK (Santander UK) has a limit of £1,000 per transfer and £3,000 over 30 days. Starling, TSB, Chase UK, Metro Bank, Virgin Money, and Co-operative Bank completely prohibit encrypted transfers.
A Barclays spokesperson said about Decrypt: "Protecting customer funds is our top priority. Like many other banks, we have imposed restrictions on payments to cryptocurrency exchanges to help customers prevent crypto-related fraud and losses."
Banks with restrictions on transfers received a total of 6,198 complaints; whereas banks without such public policies – Lloyd's Bank and Revolut – received 2,842 complaints. Banks with a complete ban received 989 complaints. The report suggests that this may be because the customers of these banks knew they did not need to try to make transfers anyway.
The report states: "Customers are unable to reliably predict whether they will be able to transfer their funds to crypto asset platforms based on the publicly disclosed policies of the banks."
Regarding the UK's crypto regulatory system
The report cited a survey conducted by FCA and YouGov in 2025, which found that 13% of British cryptocurrency users encountered issues when attempting to withdraw their cryptocurrencies to bank accounts, representing the most common negative experience. The findings of this report also echoed a survey conducted by the UK Crypto Assets Business Council (UK Cryptoasset Business Council) in January. That survey estimated that banks blocked or delayed approximately 40% of transactions flowing to the top 10 exchanges in the UK, with one exchange experiencing nearly 1 billion pounds in rejected transactions within a year.
Some restrictions have been in place for many years. TSB has prohibited the purchase of cryptocurrencies since 2021, while Barclays has stopped allowing credit card purchases of cryptocurrencies since June 2025. Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform UK Party ( Nigel Farage ), has promised that if he becomes Prime Minister, he will ban banks from refusing services to customers who are involved in cryptocurrencies.
Members of parliament have also gotten involved in this matter, but their focus is mainly on crypto companies rather than individual customers. The UK Parliament's "Cross-Party Parliamentary Group on Crypto and Digital Assets" launched an investigation in July, which covered the situation of crypto companies obtaining bank accounts and services, as well as transfer limits and payment blocks imposed by banks. In August, the co-chairs of the group, Labour MPs Gurinder Singh Josan and Lord Didcot Vaizey, wrote to the CEOs of all major British banks, asking how they treated crypto companies and what restrictions they imposed on crypto-related transactions. They warned that accessing bank services "could be one of the biggest obstacles facing the growth of UK crypto companies."
Stand With Crypto calls on banks to replace blanket restrictions with a risk-based, case-by-case review approach, to publish policies that are easy to understand, to clarify under what circumstances encrypted transfers may be blocked, and to provide customers with avenues to appeal or opt out of the transfer controls for institutions registered under FCA.
The organization also urges FCA and the UK Treasury to make a public statement: imposing industry-wide blockades and rigid caps on registered or authorized crypto companies is likely to be unreasonable from the perspective of anti-fraud or financial crime regulations. The report states that FCA's crypto regulatory system will come into effect next year, and the authorized companies "should have reason to believe" that they will not encounter comprehensive obstacles with other regulatory authorities.
