UK banks are being pressed by a cross-party group of lawmakers to explain whether they will change their treatment of cryptocurrency companies once the Financial Conduct Authority’s new authorization regime takes effect in 2027.
Gurinder Singh Josan MP and Lord Vaizey of Didcot, co-chairs of the Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group, have written to chief executives of major banks and banking-service providers as part of an inquiry into the sector’s access to accounts and payment infrastructure.
The letters ask lenders whether they currently serve crypto and digital asset businesses, what policies govern those relationships, and which legal, regulatory, commercial, compliance and risk factors influence their decisions. The lawmakers also want banks to identify restrictions placed on crypto-related payments by retail and business customers.
The inquiry places the banking sector under direct parliamentary scrutiny as the UK prepares to move crypto businesses into a more comprehensive regulatory framework. Firms that receive FCA authorization could soon be able to point to a formal UK regulatory status when seeking accounts, payment services and other core banking facilities.
Banks asked about treatment of FCA-authorized firms
Josan and Vaizey specifically asked whether authorization by the FCA would materially alter a bank’s assessment of a crypto business. Their question reflects a longstanding gap between the UK’s efforts to regulate digital asset activity and the willingness of many lenders to support companies operating in the sector.
The lawmakers said they had received reports from crypto firms that had repeatedly struggled to open or maintain UK bank accounts. They also cited complaints about payment caps and transaction restrictions imposed on customers attempting to move money to or from crypto platforms.
Banks have generally framed such controls around fraud prevention, anti-money-laundering requirements, sanctions compliance and concerns about consumer losses. Yet account access can determine whether an authorized crypto business can operate in practice. A company may be able to meet FCA standards, but it still needs bank accounts to pay staff, receive customer payments, settle invoices and access the UK payment system.
The parliamentary group’s inquiry, launched on July 21, seeks evidence from banks, crypto companies and other affected parties through Aug. 31. It plans to submit findings and recommendations to the UK government after reviewing the responses.
All-Party Parliamentary Groups do not make law or regulate financial firms, but their inquiry could build political pressure for clearer expectations around banks’ treatment of supervised crypto businesses.
A new UK authorization system takes shape
The request comes as the FCA expands its oversight of the crypto market beyond the rules currently focused on anti-money-laundering registration and financial promotions.
Under the upcoming framework, companies carrying out regulated cryptoasset activities will need authorization under the Financial Services and Markets Act. The planned system would bring crypto activity closer to the structure used for other financial services, with firms expected to meet standards relating to governance, consumer protection, operational resilience and financial crime controls.
Applications are scheduled to open on Sept. 30 and remain available until Feb. 28, 2027. The new regime is expected to take effect on Oct. 25, 2027.
That timetable creates a practical test for UK banks. By late 2027, some crypto firms may have undergone a more extensive FCA authorization process, while others may be unable or unwilling to obtain approval. Lenders will need to decide whether the distinction changes their risk models or whether crypto businesses will continue to face sector-wide restrictions regardless of individual compliance records.
Josan and Vaizey referred in their letter to comments from Lucy Rigby, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. Rigby told Parliament earlier this year that the government would not expect FCA-licensed cryptoasset firms to be restricted by banking providers solely because they operate in the crypto sector.
Her statement does not compel banks to provide accounts. Lenders retain obligations to manage their own financial-crime, credit, operational and reputational risks. It does, though, draw a line between a firm-specific assessment and a blanket refusal based solely on the type of business involved.
Payment limits affect customers as well as businesses
The inquiry also extends beyond corporate bank accounts. Several UK banks have introduced limits, delays or outright blocks on payments connected to crypto platforms, often arguing that such transfers carry elevated scam risks.
Those measures can leave customers unable to deposit funds with a platform, withdraw proceeds to a bank account, or make transfers that fall within their bank’s internal risk rules. The experience varies widely between lenders and can change without a consistent industry standard, making it difficult for customers and platforms to predict whether a payment will be accepted.
Banks face a difficult balance. Authorized crypto firms may have stronger compliance controls than unregulated operators, but payment providers still have to monitor transactions for fraud and suspicious activity. The parliamentary group is seeking details on how banks draw those distinctions and whether their policies account for a crypto firm’s regulatory status.
The answers could reveal whether FCA authorization becomes a meaningful signal for banking access or remains only one factor among many in lenders’ internal assessments.
The inquiry tests the link between regulation and access
The UK government has argued that a clear regulatory framework can support innovation while strengthening consumer safeguards. The banking issue exposes a more immediate question: whether firms that comply with the new framework will be able to obtain the ordinary financial services needed to compete and operate.
If banks indicate that authorization will improve their willingness to serve crypto businesses, the 2027 regime could reduce one of the industry’s persistent operational barriers. If they maintain broad restrictions despite FCA approval, crypto firms may face a regulatory framework that legitimizes their activities without resolving the payment and account-access problems that have constrained them.
For now, the parliamentary inquiry gives banks a formal opportunity to set out where they see the risks, which controls they require, and whether an FCA-authorized crypto firm will be treated differently from an unregulated one.
For deeper context on evolving regulation, explore how future crypto regulation could reshape banking access worldwide.
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