- Unfortunately, you cannot buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using your CommBank credit card.
- Learn how to get around this restriction.
- CommBank will be introducing their own crypto exchange in their app.
When you decide to purchase cryptocurrencies from Australia for the very first time, things might look a bit complicated at first.
Australia’s cryptocurrency ecosystem has grown tremendously in recent years, with many Australian-owned and regulated cryptocurrency brokers and exchanges servicing the market. As a result, it’s easy to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from Australia.
However, CommBank only supports cryptocurrency purchases in a limited way.
CommBank’s policy
CommBank chose to restrict crypto purchases made with a CommBank credit card due to the unregulated and highly volatile nature of virtual currencies, seeing their restrictive policy as a duty of care to their customers.
However, CommBank does permit the purchase of crypto using a CommBank debit card or bank transfers from a transactional account.
Is CommBank likely to change its policy?
On November 3, 2021, Commbank announced strategic partnerships with Gemini and Chainalysis, with the goal of becoming the first bank in Australia to offer customers the ability to buy, sell, and hold crypto assets directly through the CommBank app. 1
CommBank intends to progressively roll out specific features throughout 2022, providing customers with access to ten selected cryptocurrency assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.
It is not clear if this means CommBank credit cards will be allowed to fund crypto asset purchases. If not, it may be only a matter of time before they are.
Alternative options
There are a number of ways around CommBank’s credit card restrictions.
- Use a different credit card, if you have one from a different bank that does not block crypto purchases. Find out how it works here and compare options here.
- Use a CommBank debit card instead of a CommBank-issued credit card.
- Deposit funds in your exchange account using a payment processor such as POLi, PayID, PayPal, Osko by BPAY, and Australia Post.
- Transfer funds from your CommBank transactional account to your exchange wallet.
- Transfer crypto you already own to your exchange wallet, but check first that it supports whatever coin it is you want to send.
Check what deposit options your crypto exchange supports. These vary considerably.
Verdict
While CommBank continues to block credit cards from being used to purchase crypto assets, there are many other payment options available.
Article source
1 Commonwealth Bank. “CBA to offer crypto services, https://www.commbank.com.au/articles/newsroom/2021/11/CBA-to-offer-crypto-services.html”. 3rd November, 2021.
