It is no secret most banks do not like cryptocurrencies in the slightest. Various financial institutions effectively prevent their customers from buying cryptocurrencies. It now seems the Emirates NBD bank in Dubai has joined this rather sad list of institutions. As of this week, the institution will no longer process Bitcoin-related transfers, both for buying and selling cryptocurrency. It is an unfortunate incident which also affects local BitOasis exchange.
Quite a few banks have halted Bitcoin-related transactions over the years. In most cases, these are individual decisions, rather than orders from the local central bank. Such decisions often create a lot of friction. More specifically, banks have a tendency of not warning customers in advance regarding such changes. No one wants to find out such changes have been introduced after they fail to send or receive money.
Emirates NBD Will Reject Suspicious Bitcoin Transactions
In the case of Emirates NBD, the decision takes a lot of people by surprise. For some unknown reason, the bank recently changed their policy. As a result, Emirates NBD will no longer process Bitcoin-related transactions on behalf of customers. This is not related to a specific trading platform, but a general rule of thumb. Not a positive development for the cryptocurrency ecosystem in Dubai, that much is evident. Unfortunately, it seems this decision also affects international transfers.
BitOasis comments on this situation as follows:
“It is unfortunate to see one of the UAE’s major financial institutions taking such a position on products built using this innovative and much in demand technology,” the statement added. “We continue to actively build strong relationships with other leading financial institutions as well as regulators in the UAE, with the aim of fostering an environment more conducive to blockchain technology adoption.”
It is unclear what the future holds for cryptocurrency in Dubai. We do know Emirates NBD has no plans to revise their policy again in the future. The bank doesn’t prevent users from undertaking such transactions, but they may reject specific suspicious transactions regardless. It seems this will apply to virtually all transactions which can be linked to cryptocurrency trading platforms. This development shows we direly need more decentralized trading solutions for fiat currency. Developing such tools will not be easy, though.
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