Banks in South Africa are blocking cryptocurrency trading on international exchanges

A customer of the Johannesburg-based Absa Bank (South Africa) received an error message when trying to buy cryptocurrency on the Binance exchange.

According to the local tech news site My broadbandBanks in South Africa block customers from using their debit or credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies on international cryptocurrency exchanges. On June 21, a customer of Johannesburg-based Absa-Bank received an error message while trying to buy cryptocurrency on Binance.

Later, Bank Absa said the transactions were blocked in accordance with the regulations of the Central Bank of South Africa. This step has been officially applied since June 18th

The Central Bank of South Africa announced on its official website that current regulations do not allow cross-border wire transfers or currency transfers for the purpose of buying cryptocurrencies.

“From a foreign exchange control point of view, the financial regulator cannot approve a transaction of this type.” – quoted in the notice on the Central Bank’s website.

The news could raise concerns about regulatory action against the South African cryptocurrency industry. In early June 2021, the Financial Sector Regulatory Authority of South Africa announced its intention to initiate regulation of cryptocurrencies with a “phased and structured approach”.

In addition, the intergovernmental fintech working group has also recommended imposing anti-money laundering regulations on cryptocurrency service providers and monitoring cross-border financial flows.

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