National Australia Bank (NAB), one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia,

 

National Australia Bank (NAB), one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia, has banned certain payments to high-risk crypto exchanges, citing potential risks from scams.  Through the move, the lender has joined the country's other biggest banks, including Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), restricting their customers from making payments to crypto trading platforms.  Chris Sheehan, the executive for group investigations and fraud at NAB, said organized, transnational crime groups are increasingly using cryptocurrency platforms to send stolen funds from scams quickly and often overseas.  NAB also stated that crypto scams cost Australians $151M last year alone as a fast-growing security threat.  The bank has yet to specify the crypto exchanges impacted by the decision. In May, Westpac became the first Australian bank to block its clients from making payments to some crypto exchanges to reduce losses from scams.  Last month, CBA, Australia's largest bank, also banned some payments to certain crypto exchanges as part of its new anti-scam policies.  The Westpac and CBA's decisions were then followed by ANZ, which brought similar restrictions to crypto exchanges.  Aussie payments provider Cuscal also recently started imposing new banking restrictions on crypto exchanges in Australia through its partner Zepto.  In June, Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, had to suspend Australian dollar (AUD) deposits and withdrawals through bank transfer since its local partners, Westpac and Zepto, halted support.