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05-Feb-2018<br />

Lloyds Banking Group bans customers from buying virtual currencies on credit cards<br />

Finextra<br />

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Lloyds Banking Group has banned customers from buying bitcoin on credit cards, afraid that<br />

wild gyrations in cryptocurrency prices could leave it footing the bill for unpaid debts.<br />

The banking group has told its nine million cardholding customers at Lloyds, Bank of<br />

Scotland, Halifax and MBNA that it will not recognise virtual currency transactions on its<br />

credit cards with effect from today.<br />

A sharp acceleration in the price of bitcoin and other virtual currencies such as ether and<br />

XRP in the run-up to Christmas provoked an explosion of interest in the market among<br />

ordinary savers suffering from years of low interest rates.<br />

However, a 57% crash in value during New Year's trading has caught many novice<br />

investors flat-footed and nursing huge losses.<br />

Bitcoin ended last week down 30% at $8,291.87 - way below the $19,000 it reached last<br />

November.<br />

The crackdown comes as law enforcement agencies and regulators promise to tighten antimoney<br />

laundering rules to counter the use of anonymous virtual currencies by criminals who<br />

are looking to evade detection by the authorities.

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