Do credit cards lock your account if they see you buying bitcoin?

[Drysprinkles291]

It's a decentralized cash equivalent, which makes me wonder? Has anyone experienced buying bitcoin or other cryptos using credit cards? Legit fear or not really an issue?

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[jackg]

Probably not an issue.
They might see bitcoin as a store of value or they a,so might not care to screen every transaction. Paying an exchange normally changes the bank account and other information periodically so it probably won’t even get noticed, they’d also have to get the exchanges bank details from somewhere also which I don’t think they’d bother to do

[lukew]

I know Bitcoin purchases were being blocked when it was at the 10 grand mark last year, but that was more due to people not knowing what Bitcoin is and the impending price drop that would have seen people loosing a lot of money.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Never bought bitcoin with a credit card, but when Circle was in the business of selling bitcoin, I did a lot of little buys over the course of a few months, and one day the bank manager pulled me aside when I was in there cashing a check, and she asked me about "all these Circle transactions".  So I told her they were all for bitcoin--and that was the end of it.

On a related note, if you're buying bitcoin with a credit card on which you're probably paying an exorbitant interest rate, you're crazy for doing so.  I'd imagine that not many credit card companies would care if you're buying crypto as long as you're paying all the interest they're charging you.  In any case, I've never heard of anyone getting their card frozen for anything crypto-related.

[magneto]

A while ago I believe there was an article about coinbase's credit card deposit/buy BTC services not available to certain credit card holders within the US due to the providers blocking access, but apart from that, I haven't heard anything of this nature.

There may be cards that doesn't allow you to purchase bitcoins interest free, aka you'd be paying all the interests on your purchases at the regular cash advance rates.

If your purchase is legitimate and you're not doing anything shady, and your credit card provider isn't blocking it proactively, there shouldn't be any issues. But if you want to be clear about their policy and interest charged on crypto purchases, then you should clarify with them directly.

[mk4]

It completely depends. In a local bitcoin-related Facebook group in my country, allegedly, some people have been having problems with certain banks, with their bank accounts being locked. So yea, it depends on the bank you're using. I suggest just buying bitcoin peer-to-peer through sites like LocalBitcoins[1] instead though; having these kinds of issues regarding your bank is going to be a huge pain in the ass.

[1] https://localbitcoins.com/

[gentlemand]

I've never heard of a credit card account being closed due to crypto activity. Loads of bank accounts have. My own credit card account is completely separate from any banking I have. It's a bill that arrives. But I would never buy with one. The fees are too high.

Card companies will preemptively block purchases but that's the choice of the bank issuing the card.

[LeGaulois]

Guys remember in The US last year when Visa or Mastercard or Discover or AMEX (don't remember which one) stopped to support transactions related to cryptos. It was like a mini tsunami in the news.

OP, you can get fired at any time from a bank, they have no obligation to accept you. But they usually do it in a professional way. They give you a deadline (like 2 months) so you can find a new bank. They don't call you to say "today is the last day"

Credit cards are different from Debit card. The credits card are tied with a loan (usually a "Revolving credit") I hope you're not planning to borrow money from your bank to buy bitcoins....

[leowonderful]

I bought bitcoin through a credit card about a year ago in the past and it was relatively easy, though the total amount was a bit less than $50. Banks are indeed picky about transactions, and there’s entire threads on Reddit about which banks aren’t particular about crypto transactions, but the usual answer is to just use a credit union if you’re trying to buy crypto through something similar to a bank. I don’t buy a lot of crypto nowadays, but my local credit union never had a problem with my occasional crypto purchases.

[milewilda]

Credit cards are different from Debit card. The credits card are tied with a loan (usually a "Revolving credit") I hope you're not planning to borrow money from your bank to buy bitcoins....

This is actually the problem i do faced up when i do tend out to make use of my credit card to purchase up bitcoins.Temptations is strong since you know you can pull out anytime
to buy up something. I have tried once but not really a big amount and i didnt experience any problem at all with the Bank but that was actually my first and my last transaction.

[timerland]

It's a decentralized cash equivalent, which makes me wonder? Has anyone experienced buying bitcoin or other cryptos using credit cards? Legit fear or not really an issue?

I've personally bought with credit cards on a variety of platforms, including Virwox.

I've never had a problem with it. You'll get absolutely BS rates in terms of the premium that you are paying when paying with credit cards, as well as the credit card fees themselves. But to my knowledge, as long as you pay your credit cards off on time I honestly don't see any issues.

There are certain providers who do block crypto exchanges, but you won't even be able to purchase in the first place if your bank has blocked it. There is a slight risk that your card will get locked, sure, and if you're extremely worried then give your bank a call.

If you do have a debit card though, attached to a bank account, then use that to purchase your bitcoins. It's your own money and banks can't do anything about it.

[zupdawg]

I never bought bitcoin using online payment methods such as credit card but here in my country banks don't support crypto currency. I remember few years ago I tried to open a bank account and told them some money will come from crypto and they immediately refuse me to open an account so probably in the case of credit card buying crypto in my country it is possible to get blocked if caught

[dothebeats]

I have a local credit card from a local bank, and so far, I have made 13 bitcoin purchases using that card and I haven't got any warnings whatsoever regarding the purchase. Usually, they'll send an email regarding a purchase that doesn't seem to fit their terms and issue a warning should a purchase similar to that is done again. I guess it depends mainly on the credit card issuer alongside their terms and laws of the country from where the bank originates. Most credit card companies don't really care as long as you're able to pay your debt anyway.

[squatter]

I've never heard of a credit card account being closed due to crypto activity. Loads of bank accounts have. My own credit card account is completely separate from any banking I have. It's a bill that arrives. But I would never buy with one. The fees are too high.

It's especially bad for buying cryptocurrency because it's treated as a cash advance. Cash advances come with high fees, high rates, and they charge interest from the date of the purchase.

I haven't heard of any banks specifically closing credit cards over this, but I wouldn't be surprised either. It's irresponsible to speculatively invest on credit -- that's really high risk activity in the eyes of lenders. Chase, Bank of America, Citi and Capital One all block credit card usage on Coinbase, and they're smart to do so.

[shield132]

Guys remember in The US last year when Visa or Mastercard or Discover or AMEX (don't remember which one) stopped to support transactions related to cryptos. It was like a mini tsunami in the news.

OP, you can get fired at any time from a bank, they have no obligation to accept you. But they usually do it in a professional way. They give you a deadline (like 2 months) so you can find a new bank. They don't call you to say "today is the last day"

Credit cards are different from Debit card. The credits card are tied with a loan (usually a "Revolving credit") I hope you're not planning to borrow money from your bank to buy bitcoins....

This is the first time I read bank pushes you to move in another bank, usually what I see is that banks offer loan portability even if you don't have good loan history. Well, it's not USA and here is very different situation.
Do they same applies to premium users if this "mistake" (bitcoin purchase) is made?
Btw what I want to know, LeGaulois is there difference if I buy bitcoin with credit card or debit card? On debit card they have no reaction?

[gentlemand]

I haven't heard of any banks specifically closing credit cards over this, but I wouldn't be surprised either. It's irresponsible to speculatively invest on credit -- that's really high risk activity in the eyes of lenders. Chase, Bank of America, Citi and Capital One all block credit card usage on Coinbase, and they're smart to do so.

UK banks have done similar. Strangely enough they let any old donkey deposit on gambling sites with a credit card. You'd think the odds of someone fucking up horrifically by gambling on credit would be just a teensy weensy bit higher. I guess it may depend on the grade of shitcoin you buy.

[LeGaulois]

I've never heard of a credit card account being closed due to crypto activity. Loads of bank accounts have. My own credit card account is completely separate from any banking I have. It's a bill that arrives. But I would never buy with one. The fees are too high.

It's especially bad for buying cryptocurrency because it's treated as a cash advance. Cash advances come with high fees, high rates, and they charge interest from the date of the purchase.

I haven't heard of any banks specifically closing credit cards over this, but I wouldn't be surprised either. It's irresponsible to speculatively invest on credit -- that's really high risk activity in the eyes of lenders. Chase, Bank of America, Citi and Capital One all block credit card usage on Coinbase, and they're smart to do so.

I remember reading a survey about the US citizens who bought Bitcoin (in 2017 or 2016 (I posted an infographic here) About 20% of them used a credit card to purchase with Bitcoin. Knowing the high interests theses loans have it didn't stop them, and a good percentage of them weren't paying their monthly due.
Crazy Americans, I know they have the world cup when it's about credits with their sexy interest rates...
I suppose it's their way to "Make America Great Again"...

[posi]

It's a decentralized cash equivalent, which makes me wonder? Has anyone experienced buying bitcoin or other cryptos using credit cards? Legit fear or not really an issue?

It shouldn't be an issue cause the US banks are joining the race for crypto but everything depend on your country of resident rules/regulations concerning Bitcoin and the level of security of the crypto currency exchange site you're going to buy the Bitcoin from will determine if it should be an issue.