UK Banks Face 10,092 Complaints Over Blocked Crypto Transfers in 90 Days, Report Says

UK bank customers file 10,092 complaints about blocked crypto transfers

Customers at UK banks filed 10,092 complaints about blocked or restricted transfers to crypto exchanges over a 90-day period. The figures come from a report published on Tuesday by Stand With Crypto, a crypto advocacy group.

The complaints were sent by 9,803 people between May and August 2026 through an online tool run by the group. They concerned transfers to platforms registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK's financial regulator. The group said in a tweet that complaints came from every one of the UK's 650 parliamentary constituencies.

The report is titled "Blocked: Britain's Crypto Access Problem." It notes that the figures are not weighted by each bank's market share, because the number of current accounts each bank offers is not public, and because customers could complain about more than one bank.

Which banks received the most complaints

• Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland, received the most: 2,297 complaints, or more than 22% of the total.


• Barclays received 1,569 complaints.


• NatWest Group, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland, received 1,278.


• HSBC UK received more than 1,000, according to the report, which does not give its exact total.


• Virgin Money and the Co-operative Bank received the fewest, with 103 and 76 respectively.

According to the report, Lloyds applied no published policy restricting crypto transfers, yet still received the largest number of complaints. Banks that apply limits received 6,198 complaints, while those with no published policy — Lloyds and Revolut — received 2,842. Banks with outright bans received 989, which the report suggests may be because their customers know not to try.

Decrypt said it had reached out to Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group and HSBC UK for comment. Barclays provided a comment to Decrypt.

What banks say and what their policies allow

Six banks publish limits on crypto transfers, according to the report. Barclays caps them at £2,500 per transaction and £10,000 every 30 days, NatWest at £1,000 a day and £5,000 every 30 days, and Santander UK at £1,000 per transaction and £3,000 every 30 days.

Starling, TSB, Chase UK, Metro Bank, Virgin Money and the Co-operative Bank block crypto transfers entirely, the report says.

A Barclays spokesperson said: "The protection of our customers' funds is our highest priority. Like many other banks, we've introduced limits on payments to cryptocurrency exchanges to help protect customers from crypto-related scams and losses."

Some restrictions have been in place for years, the report notes. TSB has banned crypto purchases since 2021, and Barclays blocked crypto purchases made with its credit cards from June 2025.

Older surveys cited in the report

The report cites a 2025 survey by the FCA and YouGov in which 13% of UK crypto users said they had faced problems withdrawing crypto to their bank account. That was the most common negative experience reported.

It also points to a January survey by the UK Cryptoasset Business Council, which estimated that banks were blocking or delaying around 40% of transfers to the country's 10 largest exchanges, with one exchange seeing close to £1 billion in declined transactions over a year.

Political and parliamentary attention

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has pledged to outlaw banks from denying services to customers over their involvement with crypto if he becomes prime minister.

Parliament's Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group launched an inquiry in July into crypto firms' access to bank accounts and services. The inquiry also covers the transfer limits and payment blocks banks impose. In August, its co-chairs, Labour MP Gurinder Singh Josan and Lord Vaizey of Didcot, wrote to the chief executives of every major UK bank asking how they treat crypto firms and what limits they apply to crypto-related transactions. They warned that access to banking services "could be one of the single biggest barriers to growth" for UK crypto businesses.

What Stand With Crypto is asking for

The group called on banks to replace blanket restrictions with risk-based, case-by-case checks, to publish plain-language policies on when crypto transfers may be blocked, and to give customers a way to challenge or opt out of controls on transfers to FCA-registered providers.

It also urged the FCA and HM Treasury to state publicly that sector-wide blocks and hard caps on transfers to registered or authorized crypto firms are unlikely to be justified by anti-fraud or financial crime rules. The report said that with the FCA's crypto regime coming into force next year, firms that have secured authorization "should have assurance" they will not face blanket barriers from other regulated firms.

What is confirmed

Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group, published a report on Tuesday describing 10,092 complaints filed by 9,803 people between May and August 2026 about blocked or restricted transfers to FCA-registered crypto platforms. The group says complaints came from all 650 UK parliamentary constituencies. The report lists complaint figures for several banks and the transfer caps that six banks publish. Barclays confirmed to Decrypt that it applies limits on payments to crypto exchanges, citing customer protection. The report also describes the FCA/YouGov survey finding and the UK Cryptoasset Business Council estimate, and details the parliamentary inquiry and letters sent in August.

What is still unclear

The complaint numbers come from a tool run by an advocacy group, not from the banks or regulators, and they are not adjusted for each bank's market size. HSBC UK's exact total is not given. Lloyds, NatWest and HSBC had not commented at the time of the report, according to Decrypt. The UK Cryptoasset Business Council's estimate of around 40% of transfers being blocked or delayed is a survey estimate, not a confirmed industry figure.

Why this matters

The report says customers cannot reliably use a bank's published policy to predict whether they will be able to move their own money to a crypto platform. It also raises the question of whether customers of FCA-registered platforms face blanket barriers from other regulated firms ahead of the FCA's crypto regime taking effect next year.

Sources

• Decrypt