NatWest will refuse to provide services to business customers who accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, according to reports.

According to The Guardian, board member Morten Friis, head of NatWest’s risk committee told an online shareholder event yesterday that the bank would maintain a “cautious” approach to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which the bank considers to be “high risk.”

Friis told shareholders: “We have no appetite for dealing with customers, whether taking them on as new clients or having an ongoing relationship with people, whose main business is backed by an exchange for cryptocurrencies, or otherwise transacting in cryptocurrencies as their main activity.".

He added: “We think of cryptocurrencies as high risk and we’re taking, for that reason, a cautious approach to this. It’s an area where regulation is very much in evolution and we’ll obviously respond to that as things change.”

His comments come after office rental firm WeWork joined electric vehicle maker Tesla this week in announcing it would accept payment in Bitcoin.

The value of the digital currency has risen 93% since the start of the year, reaching record highs of $56,000 as institutional investors warm to the concept of Bitcoin becoming a mainstream asset class, despite warnings from regulators including the FCA over its potential for money laundering and undermining the financial system's checks and balances.

FStech has approached NatWest for comment.

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