BROOKFIELD, Wis.– Financial institutions of all sizes now can enable consumers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin through their bank accounts via an integration announced between Fiserv 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,” the company said.
Fiserv said the offering is an extension of its commitment to open banking technology, and that 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.”
Additional Functionality
Fiserv reported California-based First Foundation Bank is already working with it and NYDIG to bring these capabilities to market.
In addition to enabling FIs to allow their consumer members/customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin alongside their bank accounts, the two organizations said they are also working toward implementing additional functionality, including the ability for banks to implement bitcoin-based rewards programs.