At a glance
- From 1 Dec 2026, Westpac will limit payments it identifies as going to crypto exchanges to A$10,000 a month per customer, the bank says on its website. That is about $7,030 or €6,320.
- Westpac says the change is meant to protect customers from scams. Withdrawals from exchanges back into Westpac accounts are not affected.
The limit is cumulative over a calendar month and covers payments made through Online Banking, the Westpac App and credit and debit cards, according to the bank. It applies only to exchanges that Westpac itself has identified.
Conversions use ECB reference rates for 28 Oct 2026: AUD/USD 0.70328 and AUD/EUR 0.63171.
How the limit works
Payments above the limit may be rejected, Westpac says. The bank also says it cannot guarantee that every payment to a crypto exchange will be identified or blocked.
Each holder of a joint account has a separate limit, according to the page. From 1 Dec, Westpac branches will no longer process payments to crypto exchanges, and the bank says no exemptions or higher limits will be offered.
Why Westpac says it is doing this
Westpac cites the National Anti-Scam Centre, which it says linked crypto to 46% of the scam losses reported to it last year. The same move was reported on 29 Oct by The Defiant and TokenPost.
Why it matters: a hard monthly cap at a major Australian bank limits how much a scam victim can lose through that channel, but it also limits regular investors who fund exchange accounts with larger sums.
The change lands as Australia’s regulator works on draft rules for crypto platforms. Scams are a regional problem too: this morning Singapore police warned about tampered Ledger wallets sold in local shops.
What’s still unclear
Westpac’s page does not list which exchanges it has identified. It also does not say whether payments to an exchange through other routes, such as a third-party payment provider, count towards the limit.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.