Know Which Banks Accept Bitcoin, Get The Complete List (2024)

Asking which banks accept bitcoin is not a simple question with straightforward answers. Many banks are still resistant to bitcoin. “Capital One is currently declining credit card transactions to purchase cryptocurrency due to the limited mainstream acceptance and the elevated risks of fraud, loss, and volatility inherent in the cryptocurrency market,” a Capital One spokesperson told Breitbart News recently. TD Bank and PNC Bank have also blocked transactions involving cryptocurrencies, as well as, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup, and Discover have all banned the purchase of bitcoins on their credit cards.

For years, bitcoins (also known as cryptocurrency) have had a wild ride. Ten years ago, no one had ever heard of the term “bitcoin” let alone knew how to use it or whether it would be a reliable, accepted form of currency. Concerns were based on the fact that bitcoins are anonymous and decentralized. Now that more businesses and e-commerce websites are accepting bitcoin, it looks like it won’t be disappearing any time soon.

Why Some Banks Don’t Accept Bitcoin

It should be said that many banks view bitcoin and altcoinsas industry disruptors, a potential market anchor, or both. This stems from volatilityin the bitcoin market, which gave the banks cover to impose new regulations onbitcoin. This volatility is also what makes bitcoin purchasing by credit card sorisky for financial institutions since it is possible that these credit card purchasesmay not have enough future value to satisfy the repayment requirement.

But that doesn’t mean there are no banks that accept bitcoin, or they haven’t tried to work around this or cash in on the bitcoin buying spree to enable them to accept bitcoin transactions. A recent statement from Coinbase revealed that “…the MCC (merchant category code) for digital currency purchases was changed by a number of the major credit card networks that allow banks and card issuers to charge additional ‘cash advance’ fees—which could be as high as 23.99 percent—and which aren’t charged or collected by Coinbase.” These are separate from the exchange’s transaction fees, which as being charged in conjunction with these fees.

The banks may also be swayed by speculation that the U.S. Congress is considering ways to regulate bitcoin sales. As recently as March 2020, Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) introduced the “Crypto-Currency Act of 2020,” a bill that looks to “provide not only clarity but legitimacy to crypto assets in the United States,” a rep from Gosar’s office told the website, Cointelegraph.

Bucking the Trend

Despite all the rumors and stereotypes that cryptocurrencies are a threat to banks, the number of bitcoin-friendly banks is growing, enabling people to buy BTC with a bank account as a method of payment. The number of banks which accept bitcoin is slowly increasing. The banks that have declared bitcoin a “no-go” represent 69.2 percent of the American credit card market. While this represents an overwhelming front of the opposition, there are still options available for those who wish to use credit cards for altcoin purchasing.

While the major banks in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia have all signed on to banning credit card purchases for altcoins, The National Bank of Canada still allows bitcoin purchases. Additionally, many of the smaller banks and the online-based banks are actively supporting altcoin credit card purchases. Some, like Simple Bank, are taking things a step further and allowing commingling of exchange and wallet features.

A word of caution:It should be said, though, that even if a bank allows you to purchase altcoinswith a credit card, it is advisable not to do so. Credit card purchases onsecurities usually incur a transaction fee, which effectively raises the finalprice of the securities. This makes it harder to get a favorablereturn-on-investment for said securities and, if the credit card purchase is infact a loan for funds not currently held, makes it harder to pay off thesecurities. It is advisable that—if possible—a debit card transaction or banktransfer is used to make altcoin purchases.

The Current (and Future) State of Banks and Bitcoins

Blockchaintechnology is already used in several areas within financial services,including international payments. Now, some U.S. banks are creating their ownblockchain-based systems, including digital currencies, to enable B2Bcryptocurrency payments between their customers. Proponents say the potentialbenefits include reduced transaction fees and faster money transfers. Japanesebanks are also creating payment systems based on digital currencies.

Some banks do allow purchases on debit cards and banks arecontinuing to look into options such as Digital Asset Receipts (DAR) that wouldprovide a layer of insurance, protection, and monitoring with regard to bitcointransactions. At the time of this writing, the future of DAR is stilluncertain.

Below are our lists of banks that have explicitly statedwhether they would accept or reject altcoin credit card purchases. The non-inclusion of a bank fromthis list does not mean that the bank supports or rejects credit cardpurchasing; it should only be read that verifiable information about thatbank’s motivations could not be found at the time of article publication. Thelists are accurate as of March 2020 and subject to updates as more informationbecomes available.

Banks That Accept Bitcoin

Banks That Explicitly Ban or Limit Bitcoin Purchasing

Now that you’re clear on which banks accept bitcoin, get started making the most of your Crypto.