Customers and users of American banks and financial institutions such as First Citizens Bank and Bay Federal Credit Union will soon have access to bitcoin services, thanks to a partnership between NYDIG and NCR.
The digital asset management firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) and the corporate payments firm NCR Group, which is listed on the stock exchange, signed an alliance to bring the potential of Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies, to millions of American citizens.
NCR Corp, a corporation that offers enterprise payment solutions for the financial industry, with more than 130 years in the market, informed Forbes magazine that it is opening new Bitcoin services for a wide range of banking, credit union and other financial institution clients in the United States. Through the digital asset management firm, NYDIG, NCR aims to open the bitcoin market to 24 million clients and users through 650 banking and financial institutions the country.
According to report, community banks, commercial banks, lending companies and other financial institutions will soon offer Bitcoin purchasing and custody services through mobile applications and payment solutions designed by NCR Group, while NYDIG will serve as the custodian of the crypto assets.
NCR Group's plans are made possible by the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approved, last year, for commercial banks in the country to provide custody services for digital assets.
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“We believe in the benefits of cryptocurrencies”
NCR Digital Banking President, Douglas Brown, noted that the corporation believes and trusts in the potential and benefits that cryptocurrencies can offer to users.
“We strongly believe in the benefits of cryptocurrencies and their strategic application.”
NCR Group has been delving into the cryptocurrency and digital asset market for some time now, in order to understand the full potential of these assets, as well as their use cases and financial implications.
In May, NCR Group teamed up with Flexa, a company that offers cryptocurrency payments in the United States, to allow customers of 600 stores of the convenience chain Sheetz, use their bitcoins to pay for gas bills and other goods and services. NCR Group also enabled payments with other cryptocurrencies such as: ether, Litecoin y dogecoin at Sheetz stores.
NCR Group is the largest provider of business payment solutions in the world. The company operates in 160 countries, serves more than 180.000 restaurants and retailers, and has more than 34.000 employees. NCR Group plans to open the bitcoin market to all of its thousands of customers in the future.
Competition for exchanges
NCR Group's new initiative seeks to capitalize on the current demand for digital assets, to help banks and financial institutions offer new services that attract more customers and investors, in a strategic and reliable way.
For Brown, it is important that traditional banks and financial institutions begin to enter and participate in the cryptocurrency and digital asset market, with intuitive and easy-to-use products for their customers. In this way, they will be able to offer direct competition to the services of exchanges and cryptocurrency exchange platforms, which dominate the current market.
The involvement of traditional banks in the crypto industry will also ensure the future and survival of these entities.
On the other hand, Yan Zhao, co-founder of NYDIG parent company Stone Ridge, noted that a significant portion of bank customers and users have abandoned their bank accounts in favor of managing their money through crypto exchanges. Therefore, Zhao noted that instead of losing these customers, or prohibiting them from making transactions to exchange accounts, the best thing banks and credit institutions can do is embrace the rise of digital assets and offer their customers direct financial services that allow them to buy cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
Continue reading: US Bank and other banks bring Bitcoin closer to investors, clients and users
