Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the largest bank in Australia, has announced new measures to battle scams in the country. As part of these measures, the bank will temporarily decline “certain” payments to cryptocurrency exchanges. The CBA will decline or hold crypto payments for 24 hours or more and place a A$10,000 ($6,650) limit on the payments made to exchanges in the coming months.
New Measures to Combat Scams
James Roberts, CBA General Manager of Group Fraud Management Services, stated that the bank’s introduction of 24-hour holds, declines, and limits on payments to crypto exchanges would help reduce both the number of scams and the amount of money lost by customers. The CBA will monitor the impact of these measures and they will be subject to review. Roberts also added that the bank is committed to being part of the solution with government, regulators, banks, telcos, and other industry sectors to keep Australians safe.
The CBA’s move is a major turnaround for the bank, which announced in November 2021 that it would enable crypto trading for Aussies on its banking app, CommBank. The CBA was supposed to become the first Aussie bank to roll out such services, supporting ten crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC). However, a tussle with Australia’s financial regulators last year prevented the launch of a pilot of the crypto-trading service.
The CBA is not the only major Australian bank to prohibit customers from transacting with a crypto exchange. Westpac, another major bank in Australia, banned its users from making payments to leading crypto trading platform Binance as part of recent protection measures against scams.
Meanwhile, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) instructed banks to report their exposure to crypto-related ventures and start-ups.
As the interest in cryptocurrencies increases globally, scammers are capitalizing on this trend and masquerading as legitimate investment opportunities or diverting funds into cryptocurrency exchanges. Banks and regulators around the world are taking measures to combat such scams. The CBA’s new measures to temporarily decline or hold crypto payments and place a limit on payments to crypto exchanges aim to reduce the risk of customers being scammed. The bank’s commitment to being part of a broader solution with government, regulators, and other industry sectors is also significant.