JOHANNESBURG, Nov.20 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's First National Bank (FNB) on Wednesday said they have given notice to close all cryptocurrency-linked bank accounts by the end of March 2020 because of risks associated with them.
Responding to Xinhua inquiry, FNB confirmed that they have issued notice to close the accounts.
"FNB can confirm that it has given reasonable notice to terminate its banking services to virtual currency exchanges and intermediaries trading in virtual currency," said FNB in their response email.
"FNB considers this to be a prudent course of action following a comprehensive review of the potential risks currently associated with these entities, particularly given that appropriate regulatory frameworks are not yet in place," it said.
The bank said they might change their policy in the future when there is a regulatory framework.
FNB declined to shed more light on how many accounts are affected citing confidentiality.
"The decision to terminate our banking services to these entities does not apply to individual customers. Due to the confidential nature of our customer relationships, FNB cannot provide any information on specific bank accounts," it said.
