UK banks have retained widespread restrictions on payments to cryptocurrency exchanges as the Financial Conduct Authority prepares to open its new crypto authorization gateway on Sept. 30. Su
UK banks have retained widespread restrictions on payments to cryptocurrency exchanges as the Financial Conduct Authority prepares to open its new crypto authorization gateway on Sept. 30.
SummaryThe Financial Conduct Authority has published new guidance to help crypto businesses identify whether their activities will require authorization when the full UK regulatory framework begins on Oct. 25, 2027. The application period is scheduled to run from Sept. 30, 2026, through Feb. 28, 2027.
The rules bring activities including qualifying stablecoin issuance, crypto trading platforms, custody, dealing, arranging transactions and staking inside the UK’s financial-services regulatory framework. Existing registration under anti-money-laundering rules will not automatically convert into authorization under the new system.
Bank payment restrictions sit outside that authorization process. The new framework sets standards for crypto businesses but does not introduce a crypto-specific requirement compelling retail banks to accept payments destined for exchanges.
9 of Top 10 UK Retail Banks Block or Limit Crypto TransactionsUK retail banks will not be forced to lift blanket restrictions on payments routed to cryptocurrency exchanges even after the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) comprehensive crypto regulatory regime takes effect in… pic.twitter.com/Zc2THLXHN6
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 16, 2026
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Restrictions differ considerably across British banks, ranging from monthly caps to complete outbound-payment bans.
Barclays currently limits personal and business bank transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges to £2,500 per transaction and £10,000 per calendar month. Its debit-card crypto limit is £10,000 monthly, while Barclaycard stopped permitting cryptocurrency transactions in June 2025.
HSBC UK imposes the same £2,500 single-payment limit and £10,000 rolling 30-day ceiling on bank and debit-card payments to crypto exchanges. Credit-card purchases remain prohibited.
NatWest has a tighter policy. Payments it identifies as going to crypto exchanges are capped at £1,000 per day and £5,000 across 30 days. The bank says it introduced the controls in response to scams and continues to review them as the legal framework changes. Santander limits identifiable cryptocurrency-exchange payments to £1,000 for each transaction and £3,000 during a rolling 30-day period. Payments to Binance are subject to a separate block where Santander can identify them.
Nationwide permits crypto purchases but sets a £1,000 daily limit for both current-account transfers and debit-card payments on most adult accounts. Monzo applies a £5,000 rolling 30-day cryptocurrency allowance which customers cannot increase. Its help center says payments exceeding the allowance will be rejected.
Other banks take a stricter approach. Chase UK says it blocks every payment it identifies as a cryptoasset transaction, covering both bank transfers and card payments to exchanges. The bank permits incoming payments from crypto platforms. Metro Bank says outbound payments to known crypto exchanges have not been processed since November 2024 across its banking products and payment methods.
Industry reporting has identified Starling and TSB among other banks applying restrictions, although the precise policy can differ by product, payment method and account type. TSB’s published business-account terms permit it to refuse payments to categories of payees including cryptocurrency exchanges when it identifies elevated fraud risk.
The regulatory changes scheduled for 2027 address the companies providing crypto services, not the commercial risk appetite of every bank serving their customers.
HM Treasury stated in a March parliamentary answer that decisions about providing banking services remain “largely commercial in nature.” The government said it expects businesses to be treated fairly and would not expect FCA-licensed crypto companies to face restrictions merely because they operate in the crypto sector.
The wording stops short of requiring banks to provide accounts or payment services to every authorized crypto company. A bank can continue evaluating financial crime, fraud, operational and customer risks under its own controls.
That distinction applies to retail payments as well. FCA authorization of an exchange establishes that the crypto business has met the regulator’s requirements for its approved activities, but it does not itself remove a customer’s bank transaction limits.
Current bank policies demonstrate the separation. NatWest explicitly directs customers to check whether an exchange is FCA registered while maintaining its £1,000 daily crypto-payment cap. Santander similarly directs customers toward the FCA Firm Checker while retaining its own payment limits.
Industry groups have been pressing regulators and lawmakers to change that arrangement. The UK Cryptoasset Business Council’s research, cited by The Block, estimated that roughly 40% of attempted payments from British banks to crypto exchanges are blocked or delayed. Eighty percent of surveyed exchanges reported increased customer friction over the previous year.
Stand With Crypto UK launched a campaign in June asking its members to challenge bank restrictions on transfers to exchanges, including FCA-registered platforms.
The FCA’s authorization gateway opens at 9 a.m. on Sept. 30 and runs until 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 28, 2027, according to its formal direction. The regulator expects the full regime to start on Oct. 25, 2027.
Companies conducting regulated crypto activities will need authorization under the Financial Services and Markets Act. Firms already registered with the FCA under the Money Laundering Regulations still need to apply for the new permissions if their businesses fall within scope.
The framework covers operators of cryptoasset trading platforms, custodians, principal and agency dealers, firms arranging crypto transactions, staking intermediaries and issuers of qualifying stablecoins.
Firms filing within the designated application window may qualify for transitional arrangements if the FCA has not decided their applications by the October 2027 start date. Firms applying later cannot rely on the same saving provisions and could need to stop regulated activities while awaiting authorization.
As crypto.news reported on Sept. 12, the five-month gateway creates a defined path for existing firms seeking permission to continue operating once the new regime takes effect.
The FCA is running pre-application meetings and webinars to help companies prepare. Its Sept. 16 guidance follows final rules published in June covering prudential requirements, stablecoin issuance, custody, market conduct, consumer protection and other regulated activities.
A further regulatory change landed immediately before the latest FCA guidance. HM Treasury updated its crypto legislation on Sept. 15 after reviewing industry feedback about parts of the framework. The amendments provide exclusions and clarification for areas including stablecoin payments, certain technology providers and other activities that could otherwise fall inside the regulatory perimeter.
The FCA plans an October consultation addressing how those changes affect its perimeter guidance, including qualifying stablecoins, proprietary trading and market making, technical service providers, decentralized protocols and safeguarding arrangements.
The regulator’s June policy package applies Consumer Duty requirements, operational-resilience standards, prudential rules and financial-crime controls across authorized crypto businesses. Custodians will face client-asset requirements covering ownership records, reconciliation and private-key management.
David Geale, the FCA’s executive director responsible for consumers, payments and competition, said the regulator wants a framework “that firms, consumers and international partners can trust.”
The government has separately presented the regime as part of its effort to make Britain a global destination for digital assets. HM Treasury said in December that its framework is intended to provide companies with clearer rules while strengthening consumer safeguards.
Pressure on banks has continued alongside the regulatory work. A cross-party parliamentary group opened an inquiry this summer into difficulties crypto firms face when seeking bank accounts and the payment limits imposed on retail users. In August, lawmakers wrote to major banks seeking explanations of their policies and warning that restricted banking access could hinder companies preparing for the 2027 regime.
Ascrypto.news reported, the inquiry is examining whether payment and account restrictions remain justified once crypto firms begin operating under full FCA authorization.
A separate crypto.news report on the parliamentary inquiry noted that lawmakers sought evidence from banks, fintech companies and digital-asset firms before preparing recommendations for the government.
The government has not announced legislation requiring banks to remove their existing crypto-payment limits when the FCA framework begins in October 2027. Its March parliamentary response said banking decisions remain commercial while stating that licensed crypto firms should not face restrictions simply because they belong to the digital-asset sector.
