Major European bank Raiffeisen taps Bitpanda to offer crypto to 18 million customers
The partnership is designed as a common framework, with each RBI network bank able to decide when and how to launch services according to local regulatory and market requirements.
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), a major Austrian financial institution offering corporate and investment banking, retail banking and other financial services, has partnered with Bitpanda to allow its customers to buy digital assets, according to a Sept. 23 press release.
RBI and Bitpanda Enterprise are building a common framework that could allow Raiffeisen network banks across Central and Eastern Europe to offer digital asset services to as many as 18 million customers.
Rather than introducing one uniform product across the region, the framework will allow individual banks to determine their own offerings and rollout schedules based on local conditions, the companies said.
The initiative expands on Bitpanda’s existing partnership with Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien, which demonstrated that customers could access digital assets directly through a traditional banking environment. Bitpanda Enterprise will provide the technology infrastructure behind the rollout.
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The companies said the approach could help bring digital assets into mainstream banking relationships, giving customers access through institutions they already use. It also keeps the underlying digital asset infrastructure within a European banking and technology ecosystem.
The deal comes as Bitpanda is expanding partnerships with traditional banks to broaden its retail offering beyond crypto to include assets such as stocks, ETFs and precious metals.
The Vienna-based crypto broker is also keeping open the possibility of a public listing, although its IPO plans are currently on hold because of unfavorable market conditions.