How Will Banking Support The Crypto Industry?

Traditional banks and cryptocurrency have had a rocky relationship. All the dirty laundry has been aired in public. David Gledhill, group chief information officer at DBS (one of Asia’s largest banks) has labeled crypto a “Ponzi” scheme. Jamie Dimon (Chief Executive of JPMorgan Chase) called Bitcoin a “terrible” store of value. Then JP Morgan launched the JPM coin. The mixed messages are coming thick and fast.

Over the years, banks seem to flirt with the idea of accepting crypto and blockchain, only to pull the rug out from under the crypto companies they were supporting. Barclays’ deal with Coinbase in 2018 is a prime example. Much heralded at the time, the deal gave Coinbase the backing of an established British bank, making it easier for customers to buy with pounds and withdraw their funds. Barclays pulled out of the deal just over a year later with no public explanation.

NatWest, another British bank, is proving itself no friend to crypto. In April 2021, they announced NatWest would refuse to serve business customers who accept payment in cryptocurrencies, which the UK lender has categorised as ‘high risk’.

“We have no appetite for dealing with customers, whether taking them on as new clients or having an ongoing relationship with people, whose main business is backed by an exchange for cryptocurrencies, or otherwise transacting in cryptocurrencies as their main activity.” – Morten Friis, NatWest – Non Executive Director and Head of the bank’s Risk Committee

Trust is the foundation of any good relationship, and crypto companies need a banking partner they can rely on. Working with banking partners that blow hot and cold on Crypto is a huge business-continuity risk. In fact, it is probably the single biggest risk a Crypto business faces. The only way to manage it is to choose a provider with a track-record in the industry.

Every day, the worldwide blockchain ecosystem generates new ideas and business concepts. Businesses whose everyday operations centre on cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology have a tremendous demand for banking services. The need for bank accounts, FX services to process payments in multiple currencies, or simply accepting and sending payments in fiat has become vitaly important. OpenPayd, for example, was an early supporter of blockchain companies and has the experience in supplying payment and banking services to them – helping both in terms of technological challenges and regulatory and compliance concerns.

“We know from talking to our clients that accessing the most basic of financial services is their biggest barrier to increasing crypto adoption. We supply our clients with payment and banking services and can help facilitate ease of use for Crypto companies which should help them overcome this hurdle.” Dr. Ozan Özerk, Founder of OpenPayd.

Innovators in the tech-heavy DeFi field can get the heavy lifting of a fiat payments infrastructure for bank transfers and card payments taken care of. It’s easing the burden of processing and reconciling fiat payments from the shoulders of crypto operations teams.

OpenPayd is building the bridge between the fiat and crypto ecosystems, providing banking services and payments infrastructure to crypto businesses. They have built a full-service banking and payments platform that can be easily integrated into any decentralised financial product, cryptocurrency exchange, mobile app, or trading platform through a single API.

Instead of fighting traditional banks for acceptance and permission, any company in the blockchain and crypto arena can now plug in a fully functional banking platform. Currently, a stream of old money is flowing into new digital assets. That stream will become a flood. Now OpenPayd has built the bridge, fiat-to-crypto transactions should no longer be an obstacle to business.

– By Sheraz Ahmed

Bio: Sheraz Ahmed is the Managing Partner of STORM Partners, a leading solution provider for the cryptocurrency and blockchain space in Europe. He is also the head of Business Development at the Crypto Valley Association. He was born in England and has spent much of his life in Switzerland.

Twitter

Linkedin

Tags: Banking, cryptocurrencies, decentralization LEADS:

Dek: Traditional banks and cryptocurrency have historically had a rocky relationship, and crypto companies need a banking partner they can rely on.

TW: From calling it a “ponzi scheme” to “a terrible store of value”, traditional banks and cryptocurrency have had a rocky relationship. How can crypto companies find a banking partner they can rely on?

FB: Instead of fighting traditional banks for acceptance and permission, any company in the blockchain and crypto arena can now plug in a fully functional banking platform.

TE: Traditional banks and cryptocurrency have historically had a rocky relationship. It’s time for crypto companies to have a banking partner they can rely on.