Australian payments provider Cuscal and its partner Zepto have recently imposed new banking restrictions on cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, according to a statement from Blockchain Australia, the nation’s industry body. Last month, Cuscal cut off payment services to Binance Australia, which blamed the move without naming Cuscal. In response, Blockchain Australia invited Cuscal and other government stakeholders to a roundtable discussion on June 27 to discuss the issue.
Journalists have viewed a document titled Zepto Compliance Survey for Digital Currency Exchanges (DCE) which outlines the restrictions. The survey states that Cuscal has updated its Merchant guidelines which contain new requirements for all digital currency exchanges that are supported by Cuscal. The survey also states that if the exchanges are unable to comply with the requirements, Zepto and Cuscal will not be able to continue to support them.
The requirements include a 24-hour hold on first-time inbound payments of any size, real-time verification of user identity, and unspecified transaction limits on cryptocurrency exchange payments. According to Blockchain Australia Chair and Digital Assets Lawyer Michael Bacina, “The move will have a major impact in Australia. In a time of growing economic uncertainty, scams and fraud across the economy are expected to increase. Australians rightly expect businesses they deal with to pitch in to help tackle this problem, but they also expect to be able to spend their money and use their assets as they choose, without undue restrictions.”