Swiss government-owned bank PostFinance is partnering with digital asset firm Sygnum to offer crypto trading services. The post Swiss State-Owned Bank to Launch Crypto Trading Services appeared first on Tokenist.
Switzerland’s 5th Biggest Retail Financial Institution Offers Crypto
PostFinance’s launch of crypto services is made available through Sygnum’s institutional business-to-business (B2B) solution that gives banks access to regulated digital assets. Its B2B network comprises over 15 partner banks and supports a broad spectrum of cryptocurrencies.
The foray into crypto PostFinance comes amid growing demand from its customers, according to Phillipp Merkt, the bank’s Chief Investment Officer. Crypto assets “have become an integral part of the financial world, and our customers want access to this market at PostFinance, their trusted principal bank,” said Merkt.
PostFinance is a fully-owned subsidiary of Swiss Post, the national postal service of Switzerland. Founded in 1906, it is the fifth-largest retail financial institution in the country and is known for being crypto-friendly. The bank is also developing its crypto custody offering and digital collectibles backed by physical stamps.
PostFinance Sees Crypto as an Opportunity
According to Sygnum’s Chief B2B Officer Fritz Jost, PostFinance’s decision to launch crypto trading services is partly due to recent outflows from the local retail banks into digital assets.
“PostFinance became aware of a considerable number in the hundreds of millions each year of outflows to crypto exchanges and the like. So they saw that this is not only as an opportunity to add a new revenue stream, but also realized that this has a lot to do with client retention.”
– asid Sygnum Bank’s Chief B2B Officer Fritz Jost.
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