The UK Cryptoasset Business Council, Startup Coalition, and Global Digital Finance have released a report entitled ‘Don’t Bank On It’, which dives into the difficulties UK crypto and Web3 firms face opening and maintaining bank accounts.
This follows an industry-wide survey that gives quantitative evidence that the problem is widespread and without urgent attention will derail the Government’s ambitions to ensure the UK’s “position as a global leader in cryptoassets”.
The report reveals that these issues are not limited to niche, early-stage, or reputationally murky projects. As well as a number of the most innovative and newest pre-seed and seed firms the respondents included publicly traded unicorn companies, making the findings all the more alarming.
Key findings include:
- 50% of firms surveyed had either been rejected from opening a bank account or had an account closed by one of the major banks.
- Only 14% successfully applied for a bank account without it being closed later.
- 81% agreed that difficulties accessing banking services are a significant barrier to success in the UK.
- 70% found it more likely they would leave the UK due to these challenges.
- 76% resorted to using banks they view as riskier due to high street banks’ refusal to offer services.