German bank Sparkasse is blocking any incoming and outgoing bank transfers related to cryptocurrency since a few days, Cryptoarticles reports.

The Anycoin Direct exchange in The Netherlands is unable to fulfill the Bitcoin/other cryptocurrency order immediately when a payment is processed by Sparkasse. Anycoin’s Bram Ceelen told Criptoarticles:

“We hate to be forced to work this way but Sparkasse leaves us no other choice. We are running a honest company but the bank just blocks transactions without contacting us or the customer, very frustrating. This is exactly why we need Bitcoin! The bank abuses his power without any good reason or explanation.”

Sparkasse refunds money transfers to users if they even suspect it has something to do with cryptocurrency. For example, if someone purchases Bitcoin through Anycoin Direct and uses Sparkasse to transfer the money, that transfer will be reversed sooner or later.

Not all German banks share Sparkasse’s hostility to Bitcoin. In November, CCN.com reported that Fidor Bank, a German Web 2.0 bank, is partnering with Kraken to launch an initiative that will create a specialized bank for cryptocurrencies. The project aims to create a regulated and licensed financial service institution. The project will combine several products and services from various companies to offer a great variety of financial products and services that are geared towards cryptocurrencies.

Anycoin Direct stated on Reddit:

“At this moment we only experience problems with Sparkasse, other banks like Fidor cooperate in a normal way.”

It’s not surprising that legacy banks like Sparkasse fight the threat to traditional banking embodied by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin can replace the need for centralized banking by allowing users to trade currency much in the way people trade information online.

Images from Sparkasse and Wikimedia Commons.