Australian Banks Unfriendly Towards Digital Currency
Australian Banks are turning their backs on Bitcoin. Although the digital currency is still receiving a lot of attention in other countries, the changing attitude in Australia could put an end to the industry's momentum in Australia. According to Reuters, this has forced at least 13 digital currency providers out of business. Even though Bitcoin has gained a lot of popularity in these last few years, Australian Banks are claiming that there are still a lot of concerns about safety and other issues such as money laundering and terrorism finance around digital currency. These were the....
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Australian banks have advised Australian bitcoin companies they are closing their accounts, according to The Australian Financial Review. The publication has seen the letters from Westpac Banking Corporation and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Ron Tucker, chairman of The Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association, said all large Australian banks were shutting the door on bitcoin companies. The banks sent letters to Australian bitcoin exchanges, including Bit Trade and Buyabitcoin. The letters said the banks will close the exchanges' accounts and did not give any explanation. At least....
Australia's largest banks have ended all financial support and abruptly closed down the bank accounts of at least 17 Australian Bitcoin companies, including the Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association Chairman Ron Tucker's Australian bitcoin exchange Bit Trade. "The banks had not advised any of our members. To the best of our knowledge all, or nearly all digital currency businesses have received letters from their bank, or in many cases banks, advising of the closure of their accounts. This includes at least 17, with 13 of these closed permanently," Tucker told Bitcoin Magazine.....
Australian executives in the traditional finance are starting to get a bad taste in their mouths concerning Bitcoin. It seems that cyber-attacks involving digital currency ransoms are on the rise in the Aussie region, and banks are taking them seriously. On September 21, 2015, Australian banks sent letters to 17 native Bitcoin companies explaining that they would be terminating the companies’ bank accounts. The news came unexpectedly, and the banks gave no reasoning to why they sent these letters. We now know. Many people have heard of hacking attacks this past year involving Bitcoin....
Moreover, it is evident these Australian banks have no intention of supporting Apple Pay whatsoever, and collaborating in this regard seems the best possible outcome for all parties involved. Many people think the bigger banks are only opposing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, but that is not entirely correct. Over in Australia, the banks are opposing Apple Pay as well. A new collaboration between the country’s three biggest banks will shake up things by quite a margin. If their approval is granted, the institutions will negotiate with Apple to install their own mobile payment solutions on....
While it may seem clear to the general public there was no collusion effort by the investigated banks; the Bitcoin community still feels there is a lot more to this story than meets the eye. Even though there are plenty of financial institutions who have taken a keen interest in the development of blockchain technology, some Australian banks were taking a slightly different approach. By actively blocking fiat currency withdrawals from Bitcoin exchanges, rumors of possible collusion started popping up. After an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – or ACCC in....