Barclays (Barc)One of Britain’s biggest banks said it will stop customers using their credit card to buy cryptocurrency at the end of the week.
The London-based company blocks cryptocurrency transactions on its Barclaycard-branded payment cards from June 27, said on a web page published Wednesday. The site cited “certain risks” when buying crypto.
“We do this because a decrease in the price of crypto assets can lead to customers finding themselves in debt that they cannot afford to repay,” reads since. “There is also no protection of crypto assets if something goes wrong with a purchase as they are not covered by the financial Ombudsman’s service and compensation scheme for financial services.”
FSCS refunds up to £ 85,000 ($ 116,000) For customers who lose money if an institution covered by the program fails.
While banks that prevent customers using their credit card to buy crypto is nothing new, it is unclear why Barclays have put this limitation in place now. Rival institutions nationwide and HSBC did something similar back in March 2023 at a time when wounds from the collapse of several cryptic companies in 2022 were still fresh.
The bank did not make further comments on this case when he was contacted by Coindesk.
CORRECT (June 25, 16:37 UTC): Proper acronym for compensation scheme for financial services in the fourth paragraph.
