CBAUF - Commonwealth Bank of Australia to set partial payment restrictions to crypto exchanges

2023-06-08 11:17:30 ET

In an effort to help protect customers from scams, Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( OTCPK:CBAUF ) ( OTCPK:CMWAY ) said Thursday it will decline certain payments to cryptocurrency exchanges or hold them for 24 hours.

The lender said in the coming months it will also apply a limit of payments to crypto exchanges of AUD10K (US$6.7K) in a calendar month.

“With the incidences of scams increasing and in many cases customers suffering significant losses from being scammed, the introduction of 24 hour holds, declines and limits on outbound payments to cryptocurrency exchanges will help reduce both the number of scams and the amount of money lost by customers,” James Roberts, Commonwealth Bank General Manager of Group Fraud Management Services, said in a statement.

The move comes as crypto activity on Commonwealth Bank's ( OTCPK:CBAUF ) app last year reportedly experienced "significant uptake," with some 900K of its customers having transferred money to crypto exchanges in 2021 and 2022, paving the way for increased scam risks.

"Consumer interest in cryptocurrencies has been increasing and unfortunately scammers globally are capitalising on this trend and masquerading as legitimate investment opportunities or diverting funds into cryptocurrency exchanges," Roberts added .

More on the crypto landscape in Australia

• Australia to prioritize 'token mapping' in crypto regulation push

• Australia's securities regulator halts crypto exchange FTX's financial services license

• Crypto meltdown pushes Australia's Banxa to cut 30% of its headcount - AFR

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