National Australia Bank blocks A$270 million in payments to high risk crypto exchanges citing risk of fraud

National Australia Bank has introduced new blocks on some crypto platforms where scams are more prevalent.
The banking institution intervened in more than A$270 million worth of customer payments between March and July.
Nearly 50% of the scams reported to the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange were linked to cryptocurrency in the past thirty days.

The National Australia Bank (NAB) is one of the four largest banking institutions in Australia. The bank is a member of an independent initiative to fight financial and cyber crime in the country.

According to a recent report, the bank cited the risk of fraud and blocked A$270 million worth of payments to cryptocurrency exchanges. Several Australian banks have identified the risk associated with crypto exchanges and taken similar measures, including Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ANZ.

Also read: Celsius liquidates nearly $25 million in crypto after SEC charges lender and former CEO for fraud

National Australian Bank blocks payments to high risk crypto exchanges

One of Australia’s largest banks halted millions of Australian Dollars worth of payments to crypto exchanges, between March and July to help protect customer funds from potential scams. According to the bank’s recent report, 40% Australians are extremely willing for payments to be slower if they were better protected from scammers. The bank therefore introduced blocks on payments initiated towards platforms where scams are more relevant.

The NAB intervened in more than A$270 million worth of transactions without disclosing further details of the platforms.

The bank took additional measures for scam protection as nearly 50% of dubious funds reported to the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange were linked to cryptocurrency in the past 30 days. The bank considers crypto scams as a fast growing security threat and Australians lost more than $221 million to them in 2022.

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