Breaking: Santander UK Reportedly Halts Coinbase Payments

Santander UK has reportedly halted payments to popular US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. Apparently, the decision was made in light of increased fraud related to the exchange. 

Santander UK Halts Coinbase Payments

According to a Reddit user, the UK-based bank has halted payments to Coinbase, the popular San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange.

The user posted:

Just got off the phone with a Santander rep in the U.K. who informed me they will no longer be allowing their customers to deposit money to Coinbase.

After I put in a complaint their “complaints department” confirmed to me that I should move to an alternative bank if I wish to make the payment.

They went on to say this is likely because of an increase in fraud related to Coinbase.

While there are no further details on the matter, it’s perhaps presumable that users won’t be able to withdraw funds to their bank accounts either. However, we have yet to see an official statement from the bank on the matter

A few short days ago, Coinbase announced that certain employees had received an email from a perpetrator who had sent out links that, when opened, “would install malware capable of taking over someone’s machine.” According to the exchange, this was a sophisticated, highly-targeted and well-thought-out attack which would have used complex hacking methods to access Coinbase’s systems and presumably make off with some of the billions of dollars worth of digital assets they hold. 

An Unexpected Move

If any other bank had halted payments to cryptocurrency exchanges, perhaps it wouldn’t have been so surprising, given banks’ overall attitude towards crypto.

Santander, however, had been known for being rather friendly to blockchain technology. 

The institution became the first UK bank to start using Ripple for real-time cross-border payments. 

Back then, Ed Metzger, Head of Innovation Technology and Operations, noted: 

It’s the first time a U.K. bank has sent payments of this type via Ripple and launched it as a commercial service.