UK Parliament Launches Inquiry Into Crypto Banking Access — Here Is What It Is Investigating

A cross-party group of UK lawmakers has opened a formal inquiry into whether crypto businesses and consumers can access banking services in the country — a problem the industry has been raising for years and that a significant body of evidence suggests has not improved. 

The Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), co-chaired by Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Labour MP Gurinder Singh Josan, launched the inquiry on Monday with a six-week call for evidence running from July 21 to August 31.

The Data Behind the Inquiry 

According to local media reports, the APPG said the inquiry will assess whether banking barriers risk undermining the government’s stated ambition of making the UK a global leader in digital assets — a goal that sits uncomfortably alongside reports that even FCA-registered crypto firms continue to be denied basic banking services.

A January 2026 survey by the UK Cryptoasset Business Council, titled “Locked Out: Debanking the UK’s Digital Asset Economy,” drew responses from ten of the UK’s largest centralized exchanges (CEXs). 

Approximately 40% of all bank-to-exchange transfers in the UK are blocked or delayed. Eight of those ten exchanges reported an increase in customers experiencing blocked or limited transfers over the previous 12 months. 

One exchange reported that banks had turned away nearly £1 billion in customer transactions over a single year. Separately, 70% of exchanges surveyed said the restrictions were hurting investment, expansion, or hiring in the UK.

Among the banks identified as imposing the most restrictive policies, Chase UK, Starling Bank, TSB, Virgin Money, and Metro Bank impose complete bans — blocking all bank transfers and card payments to crypto exchanges entirely. HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, and Santander have also restricted crypto-related payments.

In March, Economic Secretary Lucy Rigby told Parliament that under the new regulatory regime, the government “would not expect” FCA-licensed crypto firms to be “subject to restrictions by banking services providers simply because of the sector they belong to.” 

Crypto Regulation Is Coming October 2027 

The APPG will also look abroad — examining how the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, and the European Union (EU) have handled crypto banking access — for lessons that might inform UK digital asset policy. 

Written submissions are invited from banks, payment service providers, crypto firms, fintechs, trade associations, regulators, academics, legal experts, and consumer groups. The group plans to publish a report with findings and recommendations to the government after the evidence period closes.

The inquiry opens just weeks after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) finalized the UK’s new crypto regulatory framework on June 30, with its authorization gateway set to open in September 2026 and the full regime taking effect in October 2027. 

As CryptoDepth reported earlier this month, Coinbase secured a UK investment services license that will allow British users to trade derivatives and equities alongside digital assets on the platform, adding further urgency to banking access by these firms. 

Featured image generated with OpenArt.