Switzerland’s InCore has become the first financial institution in the country to offer banking services to cryptocurrency exchange Kraken.
Announced on Friday, this integration will allow the crypto traders on Kraken fund their trading accounts with four fiats - Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, euro, and British pound.
“Private and institutional clients who want to diversify their portfolio in an intelligent and innovative way with Kraken can transfer fiat assets via InCore Bank to the crypto exchange,” Mark Dambacher, CEO of InCore Bank, said.
“As digital assets, cryptocurrencies are a valuable addition to modern asset management and will be indispensable as a payment and investment value in the future. Therefore we are delighted to offer this service to Kraken clients.”
Changing the targeted client base
This came as the bank is strategically focusing its business towards cryptocurrencies, tokenization, and Blockchain applications.
Initially, European clients can only deposit euros in their accounts using the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), a payment integration project by the European banks for instant transfers. But companies have plans to add the other three fiat deposit methods as soon as Q3 2020.
Headquartered in the United States, Kraken is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Europe according to euro-based volume, according to a research report by Finery Tech. Last month, the crypto exchange also extended its services to Australia, by adding the Australian dollar (AUD) to its platform.
“We are pleased to work with InCore Bank to further strengthen the links between the crypto industry and traditional financial institutions. They deeply understand the potential of digital assets, making them an ideal funding partner for our clients. We are constantly working to offer our clients additional options for funding their accounts,” Maximilian Marenbach, head of banking and payments of EMEA at Kraken, added.
