Visa rejects blames regarding Coinbase crypto traders

Visa has rejected accusations from Coinbase that it is responsible for “erroneous charges” affecting users of the cryptocurrency exchange.

Over the past two days, some Coinbase users have complained about unexpected charges that had hit their bank accounts. “You drained my bank account and now I have nothing,” claimed one user on Reddit. Another called the transactions “a breach of my personal security”.

Coinbase said overnight that “erroneous credit and debit charges are the result of Visa reversing and recharging transactions. This was not done by Coinbase”. It promised that affected customers would be refunded.

In a statement to the Financial Times, a Visa spokesperson said the company “has not made any systems changes that would result in the duplicate transactions cardholders are reporting.” He added that “we are also not aware of any other merchants who are experiencing this issue.”

Visa said it stands ready to work with intermediary banks to “ensure cardholders are protected from unauthorised transactions”.

In a blog post on its website on Thursday, Coinbase promised that it will “ensure that each affected customer will be refunded in full for any erroneous charge.”

Coinbase is America’s largest cryptocurrencies exchange operator. It has seen a rush of customers over the past few months as cryptocurrency prices have fluctuated and captured the attention of a wide range of media outlets.

It has previously faced other user complaints, including from some who have said that withdrawals in various currencies, including US dollars, have been delayed.

In January it hired an ex-Twitter vice-president to bolster its customer services department that it has said was overwhelmed by the booming demand.

Cryptocurrencies exchanges across the world have faced sometimes serious issues as they tap into the burgeoning digital currencies business. Japan’s Coincheck suffered a $500m hack earlier this year. Binance earlier this month was forced to suspend trade and withdrawals for more than 24 hours as it faced problems with a system upgrade.

Regulations have broadly not kept up with the market’s rapid growth. In the US, exchanges are generally overseen by state securities regulators, leading to a fragmented system.

Chris Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on Thursday told a Senate hearing that “a rationalised federal framework may be more effective and efficient in ensuring the integrity of the underlying market” in virtual currencies.”

The finance ministers of Germany and France also this week called for a clampdown on digital currencies, writing in a letter to other G20 finance heads that digital tokens “could pose substantial risks for investors” and potentially to longer-term financial stability.
https://www.ft.com/content/0a1d8c9a-12fb-11e8-940e-08320fc2a277