Folks are now dripping and whinging about Starling and crypto on reddit now:
Iām a member of a Starling group on Facebook. Some of you may be there too, as Iām sure it was posted on FTT at some point.
But recently there seems to be a flurry of accounts being blocked because of crypto activity. For example -
Not something affecting me personally, but Iām curious what is the actual stand on this? I know Starling isnāt alone on this decision however.
@Mathew Thereās already a thread for this 
https://fintechforum.uk/t/starling-blocking-crypto-transactions
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Iāve seen the other complaint on Facebook and the level of ignorance is clearly visible.
The crypto scams going are puns are relentless and as soon as people are able to get one shut down 10 others pop up. The amount of money being scammed out of people is huge, and once the money is out of your bank itās gone.
Then thereās the criminal element
Whether or not cryptocurrencies are in our future, everything, whether that is stocks, commodities housing or crypto feels like itās in a bubble. There seems to be a lot of cash chasing not very much.
Gold and silver in smaller denominations at the royal mint are out of stock. Unless you have Ā£50k to spare youāre not buying much of that. Lately crypto has gone mainstream and thereās an unlimited supply of it, if you can actually buy it without having your account frozen.
Everything is going to go pop as soon as the central banks do so much as blink. Itās all very concerningā¦
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Oooh, better dig mine back out of the garden
Yeah, itās exactly the same message as on the RBS app. I get the reason why the warnings are there, but I suspect for a very large majority of banking customers, itās irrelevant because Iām assuming, and it is only an assumption, that a lot of people wonāt get themselves involved in crypto.
I find it a bit of a shame that some people dealing in crypto are actively and openly slagging off banks on public forums for not wanting to involve themselves. At the end of the day, thatās the bankās choice. If their customers donāt like it, then they should find themselves a bank that is happy to conduct crypto transactions.
It seems though reading through some of the whinging and whining, that some banks are making the choice for crypto dealing customers and either blocking their transactions or closing their accounts anyway. The question is, are the banks doing this wrong? or are they protecting themselves from losses and/or claims? At the end of the day, itās entirely the banks choice whether or not they want to keep a customer. I doubt anyone will be able to change that.
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Bit of self protection and a bit of customer protection. Youād be surprised how many people are falling for crypto scams.
For the banks I assume part of it is also down to the criminal element, money from criminal proceeds, money laundering, etc.
Crypto is also completely unregulated. If you wanted to you could go set up your own token right now, imitate some more reputable brand and then con people out of their money. The exchanges and those involved have very little incentive to do anything never mind that they also donāt have the staff to deal with the volume of fraud being undertaken. If youāre scam was eventually shut down, you just open another one and start again.
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And that my friend, is just one reason why I personally would never involve myself in the crypto game. Itās also the reason why I would have no sympathy with anyone who lost a fortune in the crypto game if everything went down the plughole. That may come across as pretty bloody heartless, but there it is.
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I have some sympathy, Iām not sure a lot of people are aware just how wild west it is and while yes thatās their responsibility to find that out the media and other places donāt do anything to make that clearer either. Itās takes about so much I expect a lot of people just assume itās ok.
And letās be honest, even in a regulated environment a lot of people donāt know the rules or believe completely incorrect things about banking.
So in many respects it doesnāt surprise me that banks are pushing against crypto right now. The whole environment IMO is unhealthy right now
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They deserve to be slagged off. Not warning anyone of crypto transactions being blocked in advance means that some people arenāt going to be able to cash out
Coinbase requires you AFAIK, so does Crypto.com (I do know) for you to make a deposit with an account in your name before you can make a withdrawal
So I currently have 2k in there, if I wanted to sell that and had no way to be able to withdraw it due to a bank making a detrimental change with no notice, Iād be taking Starling to court for the hardship theyād given me, not only to the FoS
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And Iād look forward to seeing just how that goesā¦good luck to 'em.
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Well, you would have a way. Just deposit from another account first. Iāve done this myself
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Not really relevant at all, the answer isnāt āhope another bank will let youā
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The FCA is on their side most likely. I doubt youād get anywhere in court except to lose money.
You do have a way to withdraw the money, change the linked bank.
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So Recchan, what are all the crypto players in the UK going to do if all UK regulated banks eventually decide they donāt want to have anything to do with crypto? After all, as has been pointed out, itās a completely unregulated industry. I would suggest that people who involve themselves in crypto donāt go into it with their eyes entirely wide shut.
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Itās not going in entirely with your eyes being closed /shrug
I think youāre just assuming that
And thereās the rub - thereās so little stability in the thinking, let alone the currency itself. Iām no expert, but itās patently clear that itās monumentally risky.
What makes it attractive is thatās its shiny and interesting and thereās the potential to make yourself phenomenally rich / bankrupt in short order.
For my money, any bank seeking to rein in or even prevent trading in crypto through their accounts is doing themselves - but much more, their customers - a great service.
(Just checking - yep, still on-topic).
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