JP Morgan's Chase UK bank is bringing in a ban on cryptocurrency purchases due to an "increase in fraud and scams related to crypto assets".

The ban will come into effect from 16 October and will apply to all debit card and outgoing bank transfers.

A spokesperson for Chase UK told Investment Week the bank was "committed to helping keep our customers' money safe and secure".

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They said: "We have seen an increase in the number of crypto scams targeting UK consumers, so we have taken the decision to prevent the purchase of crypto assets on a Chase debit card or by transferring money to a crypto site from a Chase account."

Several other UK banks have placed limits on crypto-related transactions, but this move is one of the first outright bans on the asset.

According to data from Britain's fraud reporting agency Action Fraud, there has been a 40% increase in consumer losses to crypto fraud in the past year, surpassing the £300m for the first time.