Following multiple complaints on social media about blocking of accounts and threat by Kuda Bank to report its customers to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the bank has now issued a statement.
Kuda Bank warned its customers that it will close accounts found to be engaged in the transaction of cryptocurrency.
Below is the full statement;
“kuda exists because we want everyone to enjoy affordable banking services and to get benefits like overdrafts and free debit cards easily. We have built a bank that puts your needs first, and we will continue to do our best to protect you and your money.
Let’s be crystal clear: We are on your side. We are your bank. There should never be any doubt about this.
But as much as we are on your side, we are also a licensed financial institution and our banking license comes with regulations and rules that we must obey.
If we disobey these regulations and rules, we will not be allowed to continue running a bank for you or anyone else. There will be no bank of the free if we break the law.
So when a kuda customer uses their account in a way that breaks the law, we must do what the law demands.
In some cases, this could be as simple as asking the customer to explain what they use their account for. This is part of a standard KYC (Know Your Customer) process for any financial institution.
In cases of clear fraud, the law demands that we report the customer to the appropriate authorities and close their account with us so that they won’t continue to defraud other people of their money with that account.
Remember that it could be you being defrauded, and we must do everything in our power to prevent this from happening.
If we do not do what the law demands in these cases, we will also be considered to be breaking the law.
This is why, for example, we have advised everyone not to use their kuda account for cryptocurrency transactions of any kind, otherwise we’ll be forced to close their account as demanded by regulations. As of today, licensed financial institutions like ours are prohibited from enabling cryptocurrency transactions and we are not allowed to ignore this prohibition. It is simply what the law demands.
We’re not an unreasonable organisation, so anyone who uses their kuda account for legitimate personal or business transactions has absolutely nothing to be concerned about. Even if we notice an unusual transaction on an account, a simple explanation to our team will usually be enough to take care of things.
We want to keep you happy, support your legitimate business and continue to celebrate your successes with you.
If you have any complaints about the way we have handled your account with us, or you’re unhappy with a request we have made about your transactions, please send a message to complaints@kudabank.com and we’ll reply you as soon as possible.
We are your bank and we’re here for you. We will always work with and for you, never against you.”
