UK customers filed 10,092 complaints about banks blocking or restricting transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges during a 90-day period, according to a report from crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto. The complaints were submitted by 9,803 people between May and August 2026 through the group’s online reporting tool.
The cases involved transfers to crypto platforms registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK financial regulator. Stand With Crypto said complaints came from all 650 parliamentary constituencies, indicating that the issue was reported across the country rather than being concentrated in a particular region. The findings were reported by Decrypt.
Lloyds recorded the most complaints
Lloyds Banking Group received the largest number of complaints, with 2,297 cases. The group includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland. The figure represented more than 22% of the total, despite Lloyds having no publicly stated policy restricting transfers to crypto platforms, according to the report.
Barclays was next with 1,569 complaints, followed by NatWest Group, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland, with 1,278. HSBC UK also recorded more than 1,000 complaints, although the report did not provide an exact figure. At the other end of the scale, Virgin Money received 103 complaints and the Co-operative Bank received 76.
The figures should not be read as a direct comparison of customer experiences across banks. Stand With Crypto said the results were not adjusted for market share because the number of current accounts held by each bank is not publicly available. Customers could also have submitted complaints involving more than one bank.
The group’s data also separates banks by the type of restriction they publish. Banks with stated transfer limits accounted for 6,198 complaints. Lloyds and Revolut, which have no published policy identified in the report, accounted for 2,842. Banks with outright bans recorded 989 complaints. Stand With Crypto suggested the lower number may reflect customers knowing in advance that transfers would not be accepted.
Different rules create uncertainty
The report says six banks publish limits on crypto transfers. Barclays limits payments to £2,500 per transaction and £10,000 over 30 days. NatWest sets a limit of £1,000 per day and £5,000 over 30 days, while Santander UK allows £1,000 per transaction and £3,000 over 30 days.
Other institutions named in the report—Starling, TSB, Chase UK, Metro Bank, Virgin Money and the Co-operative Bank—block crypto transfers entirely. Some restrictions have been in place for years: TSB has prohibited crypto purchases since 2021, while Barclays stopped allowing crypto purchases through its credit cards in June 2025.
Barclays told Decrypt that protecting customers’ funds was its highest priority. The bank said, like many other banks, it had introduced limits on payments to cryptocurrency exchanges to help protect customers from scams and losses linked to crypto.
Stand With Crypto argues that customers cannot consistently determine whether a transfer will succeed by consulting a bank’s published rules. It is calling for banks to replace broad restrictions with checks based on individual transaction risk, explain their policies in plain language and provide a process for customers to challenge blocked payments or opt out of controls when transferring funds to FCA-registered providers.
Pressure ahead of the UK’s crypto framework
The dispute comes as the UK prepares to introduce its crypto regime next year. Stand With Crypto is asking the FCA and HM Treasury to clarify whether blanket restrictions and fixed limits on transfers to registered or authorised crypto firms are compatible with anti-fraud and financial-crime requirements.
The group said businesses that secure authorisation under the new framework should have confidence that other regulated financial institutions will not impose blanket barriers on their services. The issue has also attracted attention in Parliament. The Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group began an inquiry in July into crypto companies’ access to bank accounts and financial services, including the payment blocks and transfer limits applied by banks.
In August, the inquiry’s co-chairs, Labour MP Gurinder Singh Josan and Lord Vaizey of Didcot, wrote to the chief executives of major UK banks asking how they handle crypto-related businesses and transactions. They warned that difficulty accessing banking services could become a major obstacle to growth for companies in the sector.
The report also points to previous evidence of customer difficulties. An FCA and YouGov survey conducted in 2025 found that 13% of UK crypto users had experienced problems withdrawing crypto to a bank account, the most frequently reported negative experience in that survey. Separately, a January estimate by the UK Cryptoasset Business Council suggested banks were blocking or delaying about 40% of transfers to the country’s 10 largest exchanges.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data at 11:04 on October 21, 2026, showed Polygon (prev. MATIC), listed as POL, at $0.0959800452, up 4.12% over 24 hours but down 2.57% over seven days. Compound (COMP) traded at $25.5943645911, up 10.28% in 24 hours and 12.1% over seven days.
ORDI stood at $3.9091041008, gaining 4.41% over 24 hours while falling 3.87% over seven days. These market movements are separate from the UK banking-access issue and do not indicate whether any particular bank transfer will be approved or blocked.
