The RBC bank forced the country to take BTC ATMs out of circulation because these devices violate its regulations.
For regulatory reasons, a Bitcoin ATM (BTC) that worked in a mall of Aruba was taken out of circulation. It is known that this cashier was the only one on all the island which operates with BTC and that, until the moment, has been disabled.
According to the company that owns the ATM, Bitcoin Aruba, which is also an organization responsible for managing and promoting the use of cryptocurrencies, the decision is due to some pressures made by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Said financial institution would make stronger pressures against the owners of the place where the cashier operated. According to Bitcoin Aruba’s statements, this cashier fails to comply with the local regulatory framework and the regulations of the banking institution.
During an interview, the technology consultant, representative and spokesperson for Bitcoin Aruba, Yuri Feliciano, commented that the only BTC cashier that worked on the island was operating in the Bar-Restaurant called “Local Store Aruba”, which is located in the Oranjestad locality. However, the measure forced the bar to stop providing the service and remove it from the place.
According to Feliciano’s statements, the Canadian bank forced the store to eliminate the cashier since it mainly fails to comply with the bank’s regulations. For this reason, Bitcoin Aruba, the organization that owns the BTC ATM, is currently evaluating the new location where it will place the equipment. To make it possible, Bitcoin Aruba has contacted several banks to ask them about their regulations and rules to install the ATM.
“Yes, we own the ATM, but the RBC bank has forced the Local Store to take out the machine since they say it violates its regulations. We are looking for a new location that has not banking with RBC. We have called different banks and there are two of them that do not have problems with the machine”, Feliciano concluded.
The ATM was operative in the Aruba Local Store since last July. According to what Feliciano said, the machine began its operations from day one and maintained a good flow of transactions. This was possible since, as explained the spokesman and owner of the machine, the inhabitants of the island are very interested in cryptocurrencies. He claimed that there is a real demand for BTC.
To conclude, Feliciano said that very soon they will announce, through the social networks and local media, the new location of the ATM so that inhabitants of the island and tourists can access the services offered by the cashier and the organization responsible for promoting it.
It is known that this is not the first Bitcoin ATM that suffered the same destination. Previously, one of these ATMs was taken out of circulation for similar reasons. The suspension of the activities of these ATMs in the Caribbean island is a great obstacle that the cryptocurrency industry faces and must overcome.
By María Rodríguez
