UK MPs Question Banks on Crypto Account Access

On Aug. 11, Gurinder Singh Josan MP and Lord Vaizey of Didcot, co-chairs of the Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group, wrote to the chief executives of major UK banks and banking service providers. The letter asks whether banks provide accounts to crypto firms, what restrictions they apply to digital asset transactions and whether those policies will change once the incoming regulatory regime takes effect.

The letter requests detailed explanations of banks’ approaches and asks for written evidence by Aug. 31. The inquiry, launched on July 21, covers exchanges, custodians, payment firms, wallet providers, tokenisation companies and stablecoin issuers.

The APPG stated: “Access to banking services could be one of the single biggest barriers to growth for U.K. crypto and digital asset businesses, and could potentially undermine the success of the U.K.’s forthcoming crypto regime.”

Lawmakers have received reports that crypto businesses struggle to open or maintain bank accounts and face payment limits or other restrictions that affect daily operations.

Banks were asked to identify the regulatory, legal, compliance, commercial and risk factors that shape their approach. The letter asks whether account decisions will be adjusted to reflect a firm’s individual risk profile rather than the sector in which it operates.

The APPG also asked what steps policymakers could take to make it easier for legitimate crypto businesses to access financial services and whether current practices discourage investment and growth in the sector.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby previously told Parliament the government would not expect Financial Conduct Authority-authorised crypto firms to face restrictions by banking services providers simply because of the sector they belong to.

The APPG wrote that responses will be reviewed and used to develop recommendations for parliamentary and regulatory action as the government finalises the incoming regime.