Major Bank to Launch Crypto Trading Services for Retail Customers: Report

Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International announced its plan to offer cryptocurrency trading services to its retail customers.

This pioneering step will commence by the end of January 2024, marking a new era in the bank’s 97-year history.

Raiffeisen Bank to Launch User-Friendly Crypto Trading Services

Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank, headquartered in Vienna, has announced its plan to offer crypto trading services to its retail customers throughout the European Union and Eastern Europe.

The launch of these services is set for January 2024 and will be offered in collaboration with the crypto exchange Bitpanda. The initial rollout will be in Vienna, home to approximately a quarter of Austria’s population.

Curt Chadha, the Head of Innovation at Raiffeisen Bank, highlighted the user-friendliness of the new service, stating, “The customer can use their mobile device to enter Bitpanda through the Raiffeisen app. The experience will be familiar, so confirming a trade will work exactly like an account-to-account bank transfer with the same security customers are used to.”

Raiffeisen Bank, with assets totaling around $215 billion and serving 17.8 million customers across the European Union and Eastern Europe, sees this step as a chance to meet the needs of a tech-savvy demographic looking for secure and diverse investment options.

This group includes customers keen on making smaller investments in digital currencies instead of larger investments usually associated with wealthier individuals.

Partnership with Bitpanda to Enable Diverse Offerings

Bitpanda, established in 2014 in Vienna, operates under the supervision of Austria’s FMA and Germany’s BaFin. The platform enables regulated trading in diverse assets, including stocks, ETFs, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies, offering a comprehensive suite for modern investors.

The partnership with Bitpanda is significant as it will enable Raiffeisen Bank to offer a diversified range of regulated trading, investment, and custody services.

Bitpanda had signed a letter of intent to cooperate with Raiffeisen Bank earlier this year that stated the two were working together to offer crypto to the lender’s customers.

Michael Höllerer, the General Director of Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien, which oversees the bank’s activities in Vienna and the neighboring area, at the time expressed that the exploration of their collaboration with Bitpanda is designed to introduce a new, secure dimension to their offerings which he believes, will empower all customers to build their wealth conveniently.