In a letter to Gamblers Consumer Forum (GCF), the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) strongly intimated that it is looking into the GCF’s complaint that individuals and businesses are being “de-banked” because of gaming transactions or links to the industry, Gambling News reported September 22.
The letter stated: “We are currently taking steps to understand the extent of denial, suspension and termination of bank accounts and have asked for information from the largest account providers to assess the impact on a wide range of customers.”
In the past some banks have closed accounts with links to gambling due to concerns over anti-money laundering.
One member of parliament has called account closures of bookmakers a “scandal.”
FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi declared, “As we undertake that work, the time is also right for a debate on how we balance access to bank accounts with the threat of financial crime, as well as firms’ reasonable risk and commercial appetites.”
Rathi added, “An important question for policy makers is whether all individuals, businesses and organizations should have the right to an account, as is the case in some other countries.”
