RAKBANK debuts crypto brokerage service in UAE

Conventional banks, not only in the USA but also in the UAE, have started to embrace the crypto era. Today, UAE-based RAKBANK launched its crypto brokerage service via its mobile app for retail customers, thus enabling crypto trading for its customers.

As a start, the service will be offered by invitation only and then rolled out to more customers.

RAKBANK is using infrastructure from BitPanda, a UAE-regulated crypto exchange. BitPanda is integrated within RAKBANK’s mobile banking application, allowing customers to buy, sell, and swap cryptocurrencies.

Crypto transactions are executed in AED 

Bitpanda owns and operates the platform, while RAKBANK offers access using its mobile app and accounts. RAKBANK notes in the press release that all transactions will occur in AED currency, so there will be no foreign currency transfer fees or forex losses.

The bank emphasizes that its customers will no longer need to move money in and out of a crypto exchange, because all transactions will be directly executed from the customer’s current or savings account.

Raheel Ahmed, Group CEO of RAKBANK, noted that the bank will be the first conventional bank in the UAE to enable simple, secure, and regulated access to a world-class digital assets platform. He states, “We believe our customers deserve a more efficient and seamless crypto buying, selling, and swapping journey that is fully regulated and entirely in AED.”

Deputy CEO of BitPanda, Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, viewed the partnership as a big moment for digital assets in the MENA region. He explained, “We’re showing how crypto can be offered in a safe, regulated, and simple way, directly from a major conventional bank that customers already trust.”

He adds, “This is exactly how the future of finance should look: simple, compliant, and built to meet real user needs.”

Are banks taking over the crypto scene?

In the UAE, several banks have entered the crypto space, including Mbank, Zand Bank, Liv bank by Emirates NBD, and even FAB bank by integrating their offerings with crypto exchanges, but not in the seamless way that RAKBANK has today.

It’s a new movement whereby banks are entering the crypto space with arms wide open, especially after the Genesis Act was passed in the United States.

Just last week, PNC Bank announced that it had partnered with Coinbase to expand access to trusted, secure, and innovative digital asset solutions, offering them a crypto-as-a-service platform. The partnership aims to develop an initial offering that will allow clients to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies.

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