Indian Banks Hesitate to Support Cryptocurrencies
Just as we saw a couple of years ago, Indian banks are warning and blocking services to those who’re dealing in cryptocurrencies. The latest comes from HDFC Bank and SBI Card customers, where they inform on Twitter about receiving warning emails for dealing in cryptocurrencies. Both the HDFC Bank and SBI Card have cited the same notice of RBI’s ban from June 2018, where it warned and recommended cutting banks to cut off from those providing cryptocurrency services. Some of the cryptocurrency exchanges shut down, while others introduced a peer-to-peer system for transactions. The RBI’s decision was turned over by India’s Supreme court in March 2020, as they have failed to explain what degradation these virtual tokens are doing to the financial economy. While this resumed the banking services to cryptocurrency exchanges, banks are still reluctant to offer support for them.
— Sanat Mehrotra (@sanatmehrotra) May 28, 2021 And this continues even today, as we see top financial service providers – HDFC Bank and SBI Card warning customers on dealing with cryptocurrencies. In the email sent out by HDFC Bank, it said, “To comply with the regulatory guidelines (RBI vide guidelines DBR.No.BP.BC.104 /08.13.102/2017-18 dated April 06, 2018), the Banks are advised to exercise due diligence by closely examining the transactions carried out in the account on an ongoing basis.”
Now sbi🥴 pic.twitter.com/m8CcuCYLMv — Suraj (@Soorajapawar) May 29, 2021 Similarly, customers of SBI Card received emails stating, “Please note, usage of credit card for transactions on virtual currency merchant platforms may lead to suspension/cancellation of your SBI Credit Card in terms of the Cardholder Agreement.” This comes as a surprise to many as the RBI notice cited by their banks was overturned but wasn’t considered. Also, earlier this month, we’ve seen many cryptocurrency exchanges took offline the option to deposit INR through IMPS, RTGS, and NEFT due to issues with partner banks. This forced them to switch back to the peer-to-peer model once again.
