Bitcoin Forum

Citibank has banned use of credit and debit cards to buy cryptocurrencies.  

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth (https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/sbi-cards-likely-to-ban-customers-from-buying-bitcoin-other-cryptocurrencies/articleshow/62930125.cms?from=mdr)

Debit cards banned means account holders cannot use their money to buy Bitcoins

Now what ??

Firstly It's Citibank India, not the whole of the Citibank group.

Here's an article on the actual story: https://cointelegraph.com/news/citibank-india-bans-both-credit-and-debit-cards-for-crypto-purchases-cites-risks

The only unusual thing about this is the debit card part of it, many banks are banning transactions on credit cards as they fear that users will not be able to pay off their debts if cryptocurrencies go bust and also that cryptocurrencies can be easily used for fraudulent activities.

Agree. Strange they are blocking the debit card transactions but if I was a lender, i'd certainly be against credit cards being maxed due to someone buying cryptocurrencies.

everything about bans like this are strange, specially credit cards not debit cards ban because the debt is one of the biggest revenues of banks!! and why would a bank cut their own revenue if not for some other hidden reasons?
and when it comes to India, they have been scared of bitcoin for over a year now and it seems like the more their government panics about bitcoin the more people are going to buy it!

A bank won t make much money from bankrupt debtors, cc for crypto is moronic in the best of cases. Do you use your CC at the ATM?

We might want to start worrying when you can t use bank transfers.

That is taking loans to buy/gamble Bitcoins which went up from $1 to $1000 in 8 years.

First of all, It's Citi Bank INDIA - not the whole world or the total citi group.
secondly, its old news.

Your cc limit is somehow calculated based on your average monthly income. This means if you fully deplete your credit card, you won't go bankrupt but you can pay it back in monhly instances in a longer period of time. You can use your credit card (not wise though) also to buy a tropical trip if it fits your limit, there's no difference at the end, when you'll be in heavy debt at the end of the repayment period. So the reason that banks are trying to protect their customers when they ban the usage of credit card in connection with crypto is not fully understandable. It gets even more weird when it's the same with debit cards...
About bank transfers: you can issue a bank transfer, that's not the problem, and banks will let you spend your money, if you want, in the future too. The problem is that there are more and more banks where they're filtering the incoming wire transfers from exchanges and from crypto related bank accounts, and they don't credit the amount on your account but asking for clarification/reversing the transaction.

Just doesn't make sense does it? Credit is perfectly logical because you're reducing your own risk, but debit there's no risk for the bank.. They're not liable if their customers lose their funds.


Credit cards make a lot more sense, they can perceive that they're likely to not get back a lot of the debt they are owed because they don't believe in the future of cryptocurrencies.

What makes you say India is scared of bitcoin, I feel like they're mostly just afraid because they don't know how to regulate it.

Why debit cards? Well if you borrow a loan from a bank using fake credentials or bribery (a common thing in India) and you deposit that funds in another bank and you make transactions and never pay for it, then it makes much sense.
India doesn't like bitcoin, because they don't want cash to go out of their economy. Already people are, and their reserves are slowly going down. It will all make sense if you look at the bigger picture.

The banks should be careful because they are creating a vacuum and the funny thing about vacuums is that they must be filled , banks should be carefully they don't run themselves and institutions and the industry into ruins as it might create a situation where customers leave these banks and move to the institutions that would have emerged from that vacuum that they themselves would have created by refusing to facilitate a transaction that i want to do with fiat money i would have given to them for safe keeping. This is another issue why bitcoins is the future and fiat money will eventually die , no institution should be able to restrict you from spending your own money (debit card) as you see fit as long as the event is a legal one .this would never happen or be possible with bitcoins as its decentralized and really puts the power in the hand of the holder of the private key and not some people who obviously are motivated only profit margins.

Many banks are taking such steps, I think it's mostly with the idea to protect their consumers interests and at the same time protect their own interests if loans are defaulted on or because there are a large amount of scams in crypto that they're then liable to try resolve credit card disputes.

So you do not need to keep your money in banks, so as not to face such problems. It's funny and sad at the same time. It is time to understand that the banks have overcome their century.

Really? I have never used a debit card to buy Bitcoin. There are many other ways with the easiest and most common being the good old bank transfer.
There's really no reason to panic and for those of you who see it as a major inconvenience I advise to change the bank, or use one of the widely available crypto friendly card providers.

What about Indian stock markets which has gone up from 26,000 to 36,000 and now 33,000 ?? That is also taking money out of the economy.

India looks desperate to be the number one economy when China is nearby.

Sure but that's all based on the idea of credit, just in the form of a loan. A debit card you are spending your own money and so there's little risk involved for the bank.



I don't think that bitcoin will be a big challenge to money flowing out of the economy, it will be such a small part of the bigger picture. Bitcoin won't lead to a reduction in investment and such.

Reserve bank of India has ordered Indian banks to stop supporting/dealing in Bitcoin transactions.

This information is still relevant? Because I heard that such a prohibition does not exist anymore.

The only thing they're stopping is the using of their cards, which is going to make sense as they don't want people to buying bitcoin / any sort of crazy risky investment on credit. This does make sense, though people are still able to use bank transfers / wire transfers to buy bitcoin if they want to do.

Makes sense, we really shouldn't be mad about this.

Fighting dirty to survive that is what Citibank is doing. This intimidation will not save them from the consuming fire bitcoin powered by the blockchain. The earlier they reform and embrace blockchain the safer their jobs and businesses. 

More and more major credit card issuers in the United States decide they do not want to fund a "deflated ball".
A number of major US banks including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America have recently announced a suspension allowing customers to purchase Bitcoin and other digital credit cards. Mary Jane Rogers, a spokeswoman for JPMorgan, said the bank had issued a ban on credit defaults on transactions.
Allowing electronic money purchases through credit cards can pose a lot of risk to banks if the borrower pays losses and can not pay. There is also the risk that thieves will abuse the locked cards or rely on stolen identities, turning them into their accounts for electronic money transactions. The government also requires banks to track customer transactions when there are signs of money laundering - this is not easy because electronic coins are highly anonymous, so the dispersion of assets, Transferring money overseas through electronic money is a very easy way.

Well yes I agree with you, if Cryptocurrency is made like that then the answer is not allowed.
Something that is made for fraud is not good.

If cryptocurrency is made for good, the results will be good too.

I think this is a temporary measure to save inexperienced investors. the Bank is always trying to protect its customers