Customers of one of the world's largest banks, HSBC, have noticed that it has stopped allowing their credit cards to be used to buy any kind of cryptocurrency.
Moreover, customers are still allowed to buy cryptocurrencies using debit cards, and the decision was made in accordance with UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules.
HSBC, one of the world's largest banks with 32 million customers in 62 countries, is far from being an opponent of cryptocurrency. In late December, it was reported that the UK bank had registered trademarks for the NFT marketplace and the metaverse.The bank has also demonstrated its readiness to process virtual payment card transactions. No official announcement of the developments has yet been made and HSBC has chosen not to comment on information about its trademark registration.
This follows a few months after HSBC bought virtual land at The Sandbox for cyber sports-related gaming initiatives. Suresh Balaji, HSBC's head of marketing for Asia Pacific, said there was "great potential" to create new experiences through gaming platforms, but financial details are not yet known.
In November, Wells Fargo and HSBC together announced the successful processing of more than $200 billion in financial transactions using distributed ledger technology. Moreover, the bank is actively exploring this new technology.
