Chase UK is reportedly set to ban customers from making cryptocurrency transactions with their debit cards from 16 October.

JP Morgan’s UK digital banking arm is understood to have made the decision in light of an uptick in scams and fraud.

"We've seen an increase in the number of crypto scams targeting UK consumers, so we have taken the decision to prevent the purchase of crypto assets on a Chase debit card or by transferring money to a crypto site from a Chase account," a spokesperson for the bank told Reuters.

In an email to its customers, which was seen by the Associated Press, Chase said “If we think you’re making a payment related to crypto assets, we’ll decline it.”

The email continued: “If you’d still like to invest in crypto assets, you can try using a different bank or provider instead — but please be cautious, as you may not be able to get the money back if the payment ends up being related to fraud or a scam.”

Earlier this year, Natwest introduced a daily cap of £1000 for customers on crypto exchange spend, along with a 30-day payment limit of £5000.

HSBC and Nationwide made similar moves, with HSBC declining customer payments to crypto exchanges using its credit cards and Nationwide setting a £5,000 daily limit on crypto payments made using its debit cards.

From 8 October, the Financial Conduct Authority will introduce new rules on crypto advertisers to protect consumers, previously stating that firms promoting crypto must put in place clear warnings and ensure advertisements are clear, fair, and not misleading.

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