New limitations on the purchase of cryptocurrencies in the UK have been put in place by HSBC and Nationwide. The two financial institutions highlighted a warning about the dangers of buying cryptocurrency from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a British watchdog of the financial services sector.
The Nationwide Building Society, a British financial institution, purportedly informed its clients on Thursday via email of the limitations on cryptocurrency purchases. Nationwide allegedly stated in an email that was widely shared on Twitter that:
"We will be putting limits on acquiring cryptocurrency starting 28 February; The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who regulate the financial services industry, has highlighted certain risks associated with purchasing crypto currency. We will be introducing limits on card payments made to crypto exchanges from a current account."
The new daily card limit is 5,000 pounds for all current account types and 100 pounds for Flexone accounts.
Nationwide reportedly sent the following email two days after the crypto limits took effect, in which it provided more information:
“We will not allow payments to crypto exchanges using a Nationwide credit card … Neither you nor any additional card older will be able to use a Nationwide credit card to purchase crypto currency.”
