SBI Card, India’s second largest credit card issuer, may ban its customers from using credit cards for cryptocurrency purchases, according to the Economic Times.
Citi India has already imposed a ban on credit card use for buying cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin this week. According to Business Today, Indian banking majors including SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Yes Bank suspended the accounts of major domestic bitcoin exchanges last month.
In an email to the media giant, SBI Card said it is in talks with Visa and Mastercard to prohibit such transactions.
"Given the government and the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) concerns around cryptocurrencies, we are actively working on preventing use of our cards for transactions involving cryptocurrencies. We are in discussions with card networks, Visa and Mastercard, to ensure that such transactions are not cleared for processing on our cards. We are cognizant of the matter and are monitoring it regularly,” Hardayal Prasad, MD & CEO, SBI Card said.
The move follows recent statements made by Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that the government will take the necessary steps to eliminate the use of cryptocurrencies as legal tender.
Globally, UK-based Lloyds Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and a number of US banking majors including JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup, have blocked the use of credit card for buying cryptocurrencies.
