Barclays Customers No Longer Allowed To Buy Crypto as Bank Sounds the Alarm

• Around a dozen U.K. banks, including Barclays, Halifax, and Starling, have banned crypto transactions.
• U.K. investors can purchase crypto directly through Revolut, Ziglu, and Wirex.
• Mastercard and Visa are increasingly integrating with crypto and stablecoin payments.

One of the U.K.’s biggest banks has become the latest to prohibit cryptocurrency transactions with its credit cards, citing concerns over irrecoverable losses for customers.

It joins around a dozen banks that have denied over 50 million customers access to crypto in the U.K., though there are still plenty of options for the nation’s retail investors.

Barclays Ban

According to the Barclays website , the bank will block crypto transactions made with Barclaycard credit cards from June 27, 2026, due to “certain risks” associated with crypto.

The bank states that it’s imposing this ban as “a fall in the price of crypto assets could lead to customers finding themselves in debt they can’t afford to repay.”

It adds that crypto assets are not protected, and should a transaction fail or go wrong, it isn’t covered by the U.K.’s Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

This ban extends to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated platforms like eToro and Coinbase.

U.K. Crypto

When it comes to crypto, the U.K.’s retail investors have been left behind after at least ten banks, including Starling, Lloyds , Halifax, and Nationwide, have banned crypto transactions.

Between them, these banks have tens of millions of customers in a country of over 68 million people.

Some banks, like NatWest , haven’t outright banned transactions, though they have placed heavy restrictions and limitations on them.

Thankfully for U.K. investors, newer banks such as Monzo have maintained a crypto-friendly but cautious policy around crypto.

Revolut, Wirex, and Ziglu, on the other hand, have gone all in, offering in-app crypto purchases and transfers amongst other Web3 features.

As another bank shuts off access to crypto, these customers are likely to move to a crypto-friendly bank.

Given the increasing number of banks placing bans, Revolut, Wirex, Ziglu, and others could be eyeing a record year in 2025.