UK bank customers lodged more than 10,000 complaints about blocked or restricted transfers to crypto platforms in roughly three months, according to a new report from crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto.
The report, “Blocked: Britain’s Crypto Access Problem”, published on Tuesday, counts 10,092 complaints from 9,803 people between May and August 2026. All concerned transfers to crypto platforms registered with the Financial Conduct Authority.
The complaints were filed through an online tool run by the group, and came from all 650 UK parliamentary constituencies.
Which banks drew the most complaints
Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland, received 2,297 complaints, more than 22% of the total. The report says Lloyds has no published policy on crypto transfers.
Barclays received 1,569 complaints, NatWest Group 1,278 and HSBC UK more than 1,000. Virgin Money received 103 and the Co-operative Bank 76, the fewest overall.
The report notes the figures are not weighted by each bank’s market share, and customers could complain about more than one bank.
Caps versus outright bans
Some banks cap crypto transfers rather than block them.
Barclays limits them to £2,500 per transaction and £10,000 every 30 days. NatWest allows £1,000 a day and £5,000 every 30 days, and Santander UK £1,000 per transaction and £3,000 every 30 days. Banks with limits like these received 6,198 complaints in total.
Starling, TSB, Chase UK, Metro Bank, Virgin Money and the Co-operative Bank block crypto transfers outright. They received 989 complaints, which the report suggests may be because their customers know not to try.
What the banks say
Barclays said it introduced limits “to help protect customers from crypto-related scams and losses,” adding: “The protection of our customers’ funds is our highest priority.”
NatWest has said it began blocking or limiting transactions to crypto exchanges from 16 March 2023, citing a growing risk from fraudsters.
What the group wants
Stand With Crypto is calling on banks to replace blanket restrictions with case-by-case risk checks, publish plain-language policies, and let customers challenge or opt out of controls on transfers to FCA-registered firms.
It also wants the FCA and HM Treasury to say publicly that sector-wide blocks and hard caps on transfers to registered crypto firms are unlikely to be justified on anti-fraud grounds.
The wider picture
A January survey by the UK Cryptoasset Business Council estimated that banks blocked or delayed around 40% of transfers to the UK’s 10 largest exchanges.
In July, Parliament’s Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group launched an inquiry into the issue. In August, its co-chairs, Gurinder Singh Josan and Lord Vaizey of Didcot, wrote to the chief executives of major banks about how they treat crypto firms.
What happens next
The FCA’s new crypto regime takes effect next year. The pressure point is whether banks keep blanket limits on transfers to firms the regulator has authorised, or move to the case-by-case checks campaigners are pushing for.
