Wells Fargo Bans Crypto Transactions

By Rishma Banerjee

The fourth largest bank in the US, Wells Fargo, along with its mail delivery service Pony Express made it public that none of its customers is allowed to purchase Bitcoins with their savings. This is in sharp contrast to the steps taken by other leading banks who are increasingly incorporating crypto-technology within their mainframe.

Nasdaq CEO, Adena Friedman, firmly believes in the potential of digital assets and has said that Bitcoin might turn out to be the “global currency of the future.” CEO at JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, recently apologized for being too critical of cryptocurrencies, further revealing that the company is working to launch its own digital currency. More recently, Senator Jerome Powell referred to it as a store of value and legitimised Bitcoin and in his speech on the second day of testimony in the U.S Senate.

On the other hand, Wells Fargo does not support the concept of cryptocurrency or using it for transactions. In a reply to a worried customer on Twitter, the bank authorities said,

“Thanks for reaching out to us. Unfortunately, Wells Fargo does not allow transactions involving cryptocurrency. -Josh”
The goals of the bank clearly state,

“Customers can be better served when they have a relationship with a trusted provider that knows them well, provides reliable guidance, and can serve their full range of financial needs.”

Therefore the ban is contradictory to its own clauses. In June 2018, Wells Fargo had banned the purchase of crypto-assets using its credit cards. At that time, a representative of Wells Fargo had said :

“Customers can no longer use their Wells Fargo credit cards to purchase cryptocurrency […] We’re doing this in order to be consistent across the Wells Fargo enterprise due to the multiple risks associated with this volatile investment. This decision is in line with the overall industry.”

Nevertheless, in order to return to its traditional and admired roots, and to satisfy the needs of all its customers, Wells Fargo should join the bandwagon of the new economic model, whose backbone is a decentralized, borderless, and secure digital currency, such as Bitcoin.