10,092 Crypto Transfer Complaints Put UK Banks on the Blocklist

Stand With Crypto said 9,803 people submitted 10,092 complaints to UK banks over blocked or restricted transfers to crypto exchanges during a 90-day period between May and August 2026. Its report, “Blocked: Britain’s Crypto Access Problem,” was published on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, and reviewed by Cointelegraph. Complaints were filed through the group’s online tool, concerned platforms registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and came from every one of the UK’s 650 parliamentary constituencies.

Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland, received 2,297 complaints, or more than 22% of the total, despite having no published crypto transfer restrictions. Barclays received 1,569, NatWest Group, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland, received 1,278, and HSBC UK received more than 1,000, though the report gave no exact total. Virgin Money received 103 complaints and the Co-operative Bank received 76. Revolut was also classified as having no published restrictions, although its support page says transfers to “some cryptocurrency exchanges” are unsupported; a Stand With Crypto spokesperson said this appeared to be a technical issue rather than a stated policy.

Barclays and HSBC UK were listed as limiting crypto transfers to 2,500 British pounds ($3,300) per transaction and 10,000 pounds ($13,300) over 30 days. NatWest limited transfers to £1,000 a day and £5,000 every 30 days, while Santander UK set limits of £1,000 per transaction and £3,000 every 30 days. Starling Bank, TSB, Chase UK, Metro Bank, Virgin Money and the Co-operative Bank blocked crypto-related transfers entirely.

Banks that applied limits received 6,198 complaints, Lloyds and Revolut received 2,842, and banks with outright bans received 989, which the report suggested may be because customers knew not to try. The figures were not weighted by each bank’s market share because the number of current accounts offered by each bank is not public, and customers could complain to more than one bank. The report stated: “A customer cannot reliably use their bank's published policy to predict whether they will be able to transfer their own money to a crypto asset platform.” “The protection of our customers' funds is our highest priority,” a Barclays spokesperson told Decrypt. “Like many other banks, we've introduced limits on payments to cryptocurrency exchanges to help protect customers from crypto-related scams and losses.”

The report cited a 2025 Financial Conduct Authority and YouGov survey in which 13% of UK crypto users said they had faced problems withdrawing crypto to their bank account, the most common negative experience reported. Its findings also echoed a January survey by the UK Cryptoasset Business Council that estimated banks were blocking or delaying transfers. Nick Jones, founder and CEO of Zumo, said banking restrictions are a common problem among UK crypto founders and could undermine the country’s ambitions to become a global crypto hub. “This issue of restricted access to banking services needs to be urgently addressed in order for UK crypto firms to have a level playing field where they can grow and scale,” Jones said.

Jones also warned that the UK’s incoming crypto regulatory regime may not resolve the problem. Although companies are preparing for mandatory Financial Conduct Authority approval in October 2027, access to a business bank account falls outside that framework, he said. Without coordinated action, companies could obtain full authorization yet remain unable to open a UK business bank account, Jones added, as the country prepares to introduce a new regulatory regime for digital assets in 2027.