THELOGICALINDIAN - Citibank India is the latest lender to bind the clasp on cryptocurrencies In an email Tuesday February 13th the coffer said it has barred barter from application Citibank debit or acclaim cards to buy basic currencies Citibank isnt abandoned Other all-embracing banking institutions like LloydsJP Morgan Chase Co and Coffer of America accept additionally barred barter from application bankissued acclaim cards to buy basic currencies
In the U.S., Citibank has banned barter from borrowing money on acclaim cards for such purchases — but Citibank India has gone added with this ban on basic currency-related affairs alike on debit cards. According to central sources, the account abaft the move was to careful card-holders from accessible fraud. As of December 2024, there were 2.63 actor Citibank debit agenda and 1.61 actor acclaim agenda customers, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) abstracts showed.
“Given concerns, both globally and locally, including from the Reserve Bank of India, admonishing associates of the accessible apropos the abeyant economic, financial, operational, legal, chump protection, and security-related risks associated in ambidextrous with bitcoins, cryptocurrencies, and basic currencies, Citi India has absitively to not admittance acceptance of its acclaim and debit cards appear acquirement or trading of such bitcoins, cryptocurrencies and basic currencies,” the email beatific to barter read.
Recently Indian accounts abbot Arun Jaitley declared that the government does not accede cryptocurrency acknowledged breakable and that it will booty all measures to annihilate its use. And with the axial coffer additionally arising cautionary statements, it’s accessible added Indian banks will chase Citibank’s lead, according to VG Kannan, CEO of the Indian Banks’ Association, an industry anatomy that represents Indian lenders. “It [the government notice] does assume like a warning. Therefore, no coffer would like to accord with this affectionate of transactions, and they additionally appetite to abash barter from it,” Kannan said.
India’s cryptocurrency industry has been quick to comedy bottomward Citibank’s move. Seven Indian exchanges accept affiliated calm to actualize a axial athenaeum to advance a real-time database of traders in a bid at self-regulation, and they accept responded:
“Most purchases are done through internet exchanges not application acclaim or debit cards”
said Ajeet Khurana, arch of the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee, an industry lobby. But added assemblage are concerned. “Even if banks were to absolve this as all-important to abate their risk, I would acquisition such a appearance to be actual bourgeois and unjustifiable, which leads me to anticipate that this is arm-twisting,” said Anirudh Rastogi, managing accomplice at law close TRA, which represents several cryptocurrency businesses.
