Financial institutions of all sizes now can enable consumers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin through their bank accounts via an integration between Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, and NYDIG, a leading bitcoin technology and financial services company.
This will enable banks and credit unions to meet growing mainstream interest in bitcoin, retain and grow their customer base, and increase non-interest income opportunities.
An extension of the Fiserv commitment to open banking technology, the integration with NYDIG will allow consumers to manage bitcoin transactions directly within their financial institution’s online and mobile banking portals, providing users an easy way to buy, sell and hold the popular digital asset through their trusted financial institutions.
“Interest in cryptocurrency, and particularly bitcoin, has skyrocketed over the past several years, to the point that bitcoin investing is now a commonplace activity,” said Byron Vielehr, chief digital and data officer at Fiserv. “People continue to turn to financial institutions as a central place to manage their financial activity, and being able to offer this capability will help position banks and credit unions at the forefront of their customers’ financial lives.”
California-based First Foundation Bank is already working with Fiserv and NYDIG to bring these capabilities to market.
“Digital assets have caught the eye of consumers and investors,” said Scott F. Kavanaugh CEO of First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ: FFWM). “If our industry is truly committed to innovation and the financial future of our clients, we need to lead in this area and help create a secure and trusted platform for using bitcoin for everyday financial matters.”
In addition to enabling banks to allow their consumer customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin alongside their bank accounts, Fiserv and NYDIG are working toward implementing additional functionality, including the ability for banks to implement bitcoin-based rewards programs.
“Our partnership with Fiserv represents a leap forward in bringing integrated bitcoin transactions to institutions of all sizes, positioning them to meet growing demand and interest from their customers,” said Robert Gutmann, co-founder and CEO of NYDIG. “We look forward to fulfilling our mission of expanding consumer access to bitcoin through their trusted financial institutions with Fiserv.”
Read more:Fiserv and NYDIG team to help FIs give consumers bitcoin access
