Bank Services: Cryptoassets

(asked on 18th December 2023) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the crypto and digital asset industry, and (2) the UK banking industry, regarding access to UK bank accounts for crypto and digital asset business.


Answered by
Baroness Vere of Norbiton Portrait
Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 21st December 2023

The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.

The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.

HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.

The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.

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