UK banks drew 10,092 complaints over blocked crypto transfers in 90 days, report says

Lloyds tops the complaint count

The complaints came from 9,803 people between May and August 2026, gathered through an online tool run by Stand With Crypto. They concerned transfers to platforms registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (the UK's financial regulator), and the group said they came from every one of the country's 650 parliamentary constituencies.

Lloyds, which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland, accounted for more than 22% of the total. Barclays received 1,569 complaints and NatWest Group (which includes Royal Bank of Scotland) received 1,278. HSBC UK got more than 1,000, though the report doesn't give an exact figure. Virgin Money and the Co-operative Bank drew the fewest, at 103 and 76. The figures aren't weighted by market share, and customers could complain to more than one bank.

Limits, bans and no policy at all

According to the report, Barclays caps crypto transfers at £2,500 per transaction and £10,000 every 30 days, NatWest at £1,000 a day and £5,000 every 30 days, and Santander UK at £1,000 per transaction and £3,000 every 30 days. It lists Starling, TSB, Chase UK, Metro Bank, Virgin Money and the Co-operative Bank as blocking them entirely.

Banks that apply limits received 6,198 complaints. Lloyds and Revolut, which the report lists as having no published policy, received 2,842. Banks with outright bans got 989, and the report suggests that may be because their customers know not to try.

The report says customers can't reliably use their bank's published policy to predict whether a transfer will go through.

A Barclays spokesperson told Decrypt:

"Like many other banks, we've introduced limits on payments to cryptocurrency exchanges to help protect customers from crypto-related scams and losses."

Decrypt said it had contacted Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group and HSBC UK for comment.

Surveys and Westminster scrutiny

The report cited a 2025 FCA and YouGov survey in which 13% of UK crypto users said they'd had problems withdrawing crypto to their bank account. It was the most common negative experience reported. A January survey by the UK Cryptoasset Business Council estimated banks were blocking or delaying around 40% of transfers to the country's 10 largest exchanges, and one exchange saw close to £1 billion in declined transactions over a year.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has pledged to outlaw banks from denying services to customers over crypto involvement if he becomes prime minister. Parliament's Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group launched an inquiry in July into crypto firms' access to bank accounts and services, and it also covers transfer limits and payment blocks. In August, its co-chairs (Labour MP Gurinder Singh Josan and Lord Vaizey of Didcot) wrote to the chief executives of every major UK bank.