While a majority of the world has been embracing crypto assets, certain entities are adopting a more cautious approach. National Australia Bank [NAB], one of Australia’s prominent financial institutions, has chosen to implement payment blocks on specific “high-risk” crypto exchanges.
Following in the footsteps of other major banks in Australia, such as Westpac Banking Corp., Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., NAB has implemented similar measures. The primary motivation behind this crackdown is the concern surrounding the risks associated with scams. These collective actions reflect a shared commitment among the major banks in Australia to restrict access to crypto firms as a precautionary measure.
Additionally, Chris Sheehan, an executive for group investigations and fraud at NAB, addressed the increasing rate of scams. He said,
“These scammers are part of organized, transnational crime groups. Increasingly, we’re seeing them use cryptocurrency platforms to send stolen funds quickly and often overseas.”
Also Read: Australia is ‘Serious’ About the De-Banking of Crypto Firms
Australia and its crypto scams
New insights reveal that NAB has taken action on customer payments totaling over $270 million. This was done within a period of four months between March and July, citing concerns related to scams. Additionally, data from the NAB app noted that customers received a real-time payment prompt within the application. During which, nearly 12% of these payments were abandoned. It looks like the community was growing tired of the prevailing scams. Sheehan further said,
“Our research shows four in 10 Australians are ‘extremely willing’ for payments to be slower if they were better protected from scammers.”
This means that about 40% of Australians are okay to accept delayed payments if it means receiving enhanced safeguards against scammers.
Why Binance could be dragged into this?
Sheehan did not disclose the specific names of the crypto exchanges that would be subject to a ban. However, he did indicate that the initial ban would encompass “several” exchanges and could potentially be expanded in the future. Speaking about Binance he added,
“Our approach is going to be consistent with the rest of the industry”.
Furthermore, on May 18, Westpac became the first of the four major Australian banks to introduce customer protection measures. These were aimed at fighting crypto scams. Concurrently, on the same day, Binance Australia announced the discontinuation of its Australian dollar deposit services, citing a decision made by payments solutions provider Cuscal. Cuscal explained that their main priority lies in protecting Australians from financial crimes and scams.