National Australia Bank has blocked more than AUD 270 million in customer payments citing cryptocurrency scam concerns. Specifically, NAB put a stop to an undisclosd number of transactions to crypto platforms that raised red flags between March 2023 and July 2023.

However, the bank did not name any exchange in particular that was affected by these measures. Recent reports from the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange indicate that 50% of scams reported to the agency were linked to cryptocurrencies, and cryptocurrency platforms are being used by scammers to send stolen funds overseas. According to cryptoslate.com, crypto scams are some of the fastest-growing and most popular scams in Australia, as Australian citizens lost AUD 221 million to them in 2022 alone.

The recent restrictions imposed by NAB have sparked some concerns, as pro-crypto advocacy group Blockchain Australia believes they could potentially prevent the cryptocurrency industry’s growth in the country. NAB is implementing new measures to protect its clients National Australia Bank has introduced several new measures designed to protect its customers over the last six months. Some of these measures involved the introduction of payment prompts, blocking the use of links in suspicious text messages, and tackling spoofing.

According to NAB, real-time payment prompts caused the abandonment of about 12% of payments. The prompts were designed to give customers some extra time to review a transaction before confirmation. The system only engages if the transaction is uncharacteristic of the user activity.

According to cryptoslate.com, even though it slows down transaction speed, 12% of NAB’s customers were in favour of the new measure because it can help protect them from fraudulent activities. Other developments from National Australia Bank National Australia Bank is a locally owned public company that derives revenue through the provision of banking services, leasing, housing and general finance, international, investment and private banking wealth management services, custodian, trustee and nominee services, and credit and access card facilities according to ibisworld.com. In March 2023, NAB completed its first intra-bank cross-border transaction using its own stablecoin via Ethereum.

The transaction was part of an NAB pilot for an AUD-backed stablecoin, and it involved deploying stablecoin smart contracts for seven major global currencies to highlight the potential to shorten cross-border transactions from days to minutes. According to NAB officials, some elements of the future of finance will be blockchain-enabled, as a swift change in the tokenisation market can already be observed. According to the bank, it is the world’s first major financial institution to process a cross-border stablecoin transaction via a public Layer-1 blockchain.

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