Barclays Slams Door on Crypto: Credit Card Ban Signals Growing Rift

Holy smokes! Another bank just gave crypto the cold shoulder. Barclays is throwing down the gauntlet, banning all crypto buys with their credit cards starting June 27, 2025. They're waving the red flag over wild market swings and the fear that customers might drown in debt if prices tank.

But wait, there's more! Barclays is also pointing fingers at the lack of safety nets. They're saying that unlike your usual investments, crypto doesn't come with the cozy blanket of the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Yikes!

Barclays’ Sneaky Crackdown on Crypto Access

Man, this move is just the latest punch in the ongoing brawl between UK banks and the wild world of digital assets. By cutting off credit card access to crypto, Barclays is playing it safe, betting that keeping customers out of debt is worth more than letting them play the market.

Sure, this might feel like a sudden gut punch, but it's totally in line with Barclays' long-held side-eye toward crypto. Remember back in 2021 when a loyal customer went ballistic on Reddit? Barclays froze their account just for trying to send some cash to Crypto.com.

Even after passing all the security checks, this poor soul had to sit through a 15-day review. And why? Barclays claimed it was for "protection," but come on, they let gambling transactions slide without a second glance. Talk about playing favorites!

And guess what? Barclays isn't flying solo here. They've got company in this anti-crypto club, with big shots like JPMorgan, Bank of America, Chase UK, and Starling all either slamming the door shut or chaining it tight on crypto deals. The industry's all over the map on this one.

The Payments Association's been shouting from the rooftops against these blanket bans, saying they're lumping digital assets in with gambling. Back in 2023, they threw down the gauntlet against a proposed UK crackdown on credit card crypto buys. Their policy head, Riccardo Tordera-Ricchi, argued that folks should be trusted to "make informed decisions within their existing credit limits."

What's Left for Customers?

With Barclays bailing on crypto via credit rails, UK crypto enthusiasts are scrambling for new ways to get in the game. MoonPay says banks like RBS are still playing nice with crypto, but others like NatWest and Metro Bank are tightening the screws or slamming the door shut.

If you're looking to dodge the ban, you might need to switch to debit, use third-party payment pals like Apple Pay or Google Pay, or hit up platforms like MoonPay that keep things non-custodial and accept a wider range of payments.

And get this—while Barclays is clamping down on retail crypto, they're diving headfirst into blockchain for big-shot institutional use. Back in 2017, their CTO was all about private, permissioned blockchain tests to smooth out trade processes.

More recently, they joined a groundbreaking institutional trade using JPMorgan's Onyx tokenized collateral network with BlackRock. Looks like they're all in on blockchain, just not for the little guy.