Irish crypto companies have severely complained of high fees from the banking partners abroad, as local banks in the country have refused to provide services to them. The Ireland news outlet, The Irish Times reported the news on Wednesday, citing regulatory uncertainty.
The Banks reportedly refused to offer banking support to the Irish crypto companies, following a recent European Union (EU) directive, which has not been changed into law. All the accounts held with the local banks were closed down, which prompted the companies to seek for foreign banks.
Among the Irish crypto companies affected by the development includes a Bitcoin (BTC) ATM provider known as Boinnex. The company’s banking account held with AIB, one of the Big Four commercial banking institutions, was recently closed down.
Irish crypto companies face high fees from foreign banks
According to Bryan Tierney, the founder of Boinnex, AIB claimed that digital currencies are unregulated and also, they are not legally considered to be a currency. The bank further wrote to Tierney:
“Entering into a formal relationship with entities carrying out this type of business activity is outside of our risk appetite at this time.”
To stay afloat, the Irish crypto companies, including Boinnex, have to be forced to collaborate with banks outside the country, according to Tierney. However, most of the companies are being charged at a very high rate.
Delay of 5MLD
The problem could be related to the fact that Banks are concerned that cryptocurrencies are not regulated. The fifth AML derivative by the EU was delayed from translating into law in the country as of January, due to election and other political factors.
Meanwhile, the Irish crypto companies have admitted being compliant with the country’s Central Bank in the past two years. The settled legal costs for AML and KYC requirements. While still advising that companies are not in supervision, the central bank applauded the fact that they could still regulate themselves, Tierney commented.
The founder of Boinnex went on to say that the development with the banking sector goes against the country’s claim for promoting blockchain. However, both the central bank and AIB have denied discriminating against digital currency companies.
