Customers of U.S. banks will soon be able to buy, hold and sell bitcoin through existing accounts, according to NYDIG.
Institutional bitcoin solutions provider NYDIG has announced a partnership with leading fintech company Fidelity National Information (FIS) to bring bitcoin services to hundreds U.S. banks in the coming months. The partnership could allow countless customers to buy, hold and sell bitcoin through their legacy bank accounts, according to the firm.
“What we’re doing is making it simple for everyday Americans and corporations to be able to buy bitcoin through their existing bank relationships,” the head of bank solutions at NYDIG, Patrick Sells, told CNBC.
Hundreds of banks are already enrolled in the program, according to Sells.
The partnership seeks to simplify the process by cutting out the middlemen of bitcoin exchange services. According to NYDIG President Yan Zhao, banks are “seeing deposits going to the Coinbases and Galaxies and Krakens of the world,” and want to capture that movement, per CNBC.
NYDIG will be in charge of bitcoin custody and trade execution, while FIS, “a vendor to banks with nearly 300 million checking accounts,” will take care of the link to lenders, according to the report.
This partnership will enable banks to “drive fee income and better attract and retain customers,” per a news release on the partnership.
“As demand for bitcoin as a store of value continues to grow, FIS is focused on enabling our core banking clients to respond to growing market demand and better serve their customers,” said Rob Lee, head of global core banking and channels at FIS, per the release.
“Once a financial institution enables this solution, their customers will be able to view and manage bitcoin holdings alongside their traditional accounts in a single view,” according to the release. This new solution will encourage more people to own bitcoin, further driving adoption by simplifying the bitcoin purchasing, holding and selling experience.
