Australia's Bendigo Bank blocks high-risk payments to crypto exchanges

Australia’s Bendigo Bank has go the 4th large slope successful the state to denote blocks for “high-risk crypto payments,” citing the request to support customers from concern scams.

The slope said connected July 31 it implemented caller rules connected instant payments to crypto exchanges which adds “some friction to definite genuine payments,” explained its caput of fraud Jason Gordon.

It cited combatting fraudulent payments and enhancing protections for its 2.3 cardinal customers arsenic reasons for the blocks.

Screenshot of Bendigo Bank's informing astir concern scams. Source: Bendigo Bank

A Bendigo Bank spokesperson told Cointelegraph that definite instant crypto transactions that it identifies arsenic higher hazard volition beryllium blocked, but the slope is not disclosing further details astatine this time.

The spokesperson said it identifies high-risk transactions by employing “a operation of factors” but refused to remark connected specifics. The slope said it was not disclosing what exchanges whitethorn beryllium affected by its changes.

Bendigo Bank’s blocks travel akin actions successful caller months from 3 of Australia’s Big Four banks — Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac.

In an interrogation conducted earlier the caller Bendigo Bank announcement, Chainalysis’ APAC Policy Head Chengyi Ong warned that specified actions volition unit Australia’s crypto nationalist to interact with offshore exchanges.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Ong argued that specified blocks won’t halt transgression actors from utilizing different platforms, crypto oregon not, portion uncertainty implicit banking entree could besides thrust crypto exchanges and users extracurricular the jurisdiction of authorities.

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Instead of cutting disconnected exchanges, Ong says banks — alongside regulators, telecommunication providers and societal media platforms — request to cooperate astatine each constituent of the scam lifecycle.

“[We request to target] each the imaginable onslaught vectors and each the imaginable points of enactment betwixt a unfortunate and a scammer. We person to tackle each azygous 1 of those touchpoints.”

Dr. Aaron Lane, Senior Lecturer with the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub told Cointelegraph the “best thing” banks tin bash for user extortion is to constructively enactment with exchanges, adding:

"Debanking arsenic a hazard instrumentality should beryllium reserved for idiosyncratic cases of superior and unacceptable risk, not a wide posture towards an full manufacture oregon plus class."

Australia has been weighing crypto-specific laws for implicit 3 years, and Dr. Lane urged lawmakers to instrumentality crypto instrumentality betterment “out of the too-hard basket.”

Ong’s and Dr. Lane’s comments travel an official statement from the Department of the Treasury successful June that included akin warnings.

The Treasury said it understands its inaction connected debanking volition stifle fiscal services contention and innovation and could “drive businesses underground and to run exclusively successful cash.”

Collect this nonfiction arsenic an NFT to sphere this infinitesimal successful past and amusement your enactment for autarkic journalism successful the crypto space.

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Additional reporting by Brayden Lindrea.