Banks in Australia Are Reluctant to Crypto, Despite Mass Adoption

By Kapil Gauhar

The Australian population has been quickly moving to adopt digital currencies that there are entire cities built around virtual currency as a form of payment with “Bitcoin Accepted Here” signs. This significant growth has put pressure on the Australian government to work on regulations helped to define the space in a better way.

However, there’s one crucial sector that still hesitates to open its arms to the Bitcoin industry – Banking sector.

Most of the banks in Australia have maintained a separation from cryptocurrency. They see the space from a particular distance, watching how it develops with a specific degree of trepidation before deciding whether to take another step closer or not.

Many banks in the country had initially taken the position of denying to allow their customers to use their bank-issued cards to buy cryptocurrency. However, digitally all of them have loosened up their policies to a particular degree. From Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) to the nation’s credit unions, they have adopted the position that now using the cards to buy cryptocurrency is fine, provided that the activity coincides with the institutions’ legal obligations and terms and conditions.

They all allege that they will keep monitoring transactions for suspicious activity. That’s precisely how it needs to be and is no different than the system for fiat transactions.

Still, no bank in Australia wants to take the plunge and start offering crypto activities. The CBA (Commonwealth Bank of Australia), which is the largest bank of the country, and Westpac believe that there’s still too much risk involved in the space, and others don’t wish to get involved for the same reasons seen by financial institutions across the world, since they’re more concerned for their long-standing business model.