BofA to Decline All Cryptocurrency Transactions on Credit Cards

• February 02 2018
• Laura J Keller, Jennifer Surane

Bank of America Corp. just became the largest U.S. lender yet to bar customers from using their credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies.

Bank of America Corp. just became the largest U.S. lender yet to bar customers from using their credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies.

The nation’s second-biggest bank said it “will begin declining credit card transactions with known cryptocurrency exchanges” starting today, according to a memo sent yesterday to employees. It said the policy will apply to all personal and business credit cards issued by the bank.

Betty Riess, a spokeswoman for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, confirmed the bank will no longer allow the transactions.

More card issuers are limiting their customers’ ability to purchase digital currencies on credit cards. Capital One Financial Corp. and Discover Financial Services have said they aren’t supporting the transactions. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest U.S. card issuer, has been allowing the purchases.