Key takeaways:
- Swiss Post, the parent company of PostFinance, is renowned for taking a pro-crypto position, developing its crypto custody services, and producing collectible crypto stamps.
- A growing customer demand motivated the bank’s entry into the cryptocurrency market.
PostFinance, a retail bank that the Swiss government owns in its entirety, is getting ready to start providing its clients with storage and trading options for cryptocurrencies.
PostFinance and Sygnum announced on April 5 that they have partnered up to offer a variety of controlled digital asset banking services to their clients as a result of PostFinance’s partnership with Sygnum.
With the collaboration, PostFinance customers can purchase, store, and trade popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether through PostFinance.
Through Sygnum’s institutional business-to-business offering, which gives banks market access to regulated and compliant digital products, the crypto services are made possible. A “range of cryptocurrencies” is supported by the B2B network, which has more than 15 partner institutions and offers services that generate income like staking.
Fritz Jost, Chief B2B Officer at Sygnum Bank, claims that outflows from Swiss retail banks into the digital asset class were a factor in PostFinance’s decision to join the cryptocurrency market. By Fritz:
“PostFinance became aware of a considerable number in the hundreds of millions each year of outflows to crypto exchanges and the like,”
According to Philipp Merkt, PostFinance’s chief investment officer, the bank’s entry into the cryptocurrency market was motivated by growing demand from customers, and he explained:
“Digital assets have become an integral part of the financial world, and our customers want access to this market at PostFinance, their trusted principal bank.”
PostFinance, a division of Swiss Post, the country’s postal agency, was established in 1906. The publicly traded company is well known for its pro-crypto attitude, and in 2021 it will launch digital collectibles connected to actual stamps on its crypto custody platform.
Through the new collaboration, PostFinance can also offer services that generate income, like crypto staking, which involves locking crypto assets for a predetermined amount of time to support the safety of a blockchain network in return for rewards on users’ holdings.
Soon after Swiss Post unveiled the debut of Crypto Stamp 3.0, a new crypto stamp variant with fungible and nonfungible token versions combined with artificial intelligence technology, PostFinance announced its cryptocurrency trading services. On May 2, 2023, the new crypto postage from Swiss Post is expected to go on sale.
