The war between traditional finance and Bitcoin is far from over the by the look of things, as Barclays has shut down several Pingit accounts belonging to cryptocurrency exchanges. As one comes to expect, Barclays did not even bother to notify the sellers in advance.

Barclays Does Not Like Bitcoin Pingit Users

The convenience of Pingit has attracted many customers in the United Kingdom, as all lets bank account owner slink their mobile phone number. This makes it a lot more convenient to receive payments, as funds can be sent to a mobile phone number rather than having to disclose bank account information.

This has also caught the attention of individuals and enterprises who sell Bitcoin on a regular basis, as they are always looking for more convenient payment solutions. Pingit makes a lot of sense for those looking to buy Bitcoin through traditional options, as it makes the process a lot smoother and faster.

Now that Barclays has decided to close down Pingit accounts belonging to Bitcoin sellers, the battle lines between both industries are drawn once again. Two major UK exchanges were caught in the crossfire, as both Bittylicious and BitBargain had their accounts closed without prior warning by Barclays. Not the best way for Barclays to conduct business, that much is certain.

While they are not the only UK Bitcoin exchanges to use the Pingit services offered by Barclays, other platforms shave not reported any issues just yet. However, this situation may change over time as banks usually do a very thorough job to shut down accounts belonging to Bitcoin-related activities.

This news comes as a strange time, considering Circle announced their expansion to the UK not too long ago. The exchange platform has a working relationship with Barclays, and Circle has obtained their e-money license from the UK Financial Conduct Authority. It seems as if the bank decided to shut down the accounts of other companies who have not obtained that license.

However, the biggest issue is how Barclays failed to notify any account holder about this impending decision to close their Pingit account. A brief message explaining the situation would do wonders, but apparently that is too much to ask from a financial institution which clearly feels threatened by Bitcoin at this stage.

Source: BitcoinX

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