Swiss government bank PostFinance to offer crypto

Through a partnership with Swiss-regulated digital asset services provider Sygnum Bank, the government-owned bank PostFinance will offer its 2.5 million users access to cryptocurrencies.

Customers of Switzerland’s fifth-largest bank will soon be able to buy, sell and store the leading cryptocurrencies bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). Other crypto tokens are planned to be added in the future.

PostFinance Chief Investment Officer Philipp Merkt stated:

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. A reputable and established partner like Sygnum Bank with an excellent service offering is more important than ever.

PostFinance’s decision to offer crypto was made because customers are moving away from retail banks into digital assets, according to Fritz Jost, chief B2B officer at Sygnum Bank:

PostFinance became aware of a considerable number in the hundreds of millions each year of outflows to crypto exchanges and the like. So they saw that this is not only as an opportunity to add a new revenue stream, but also realized that this has a lot to do with client retention.

In contrast to the United States, where there seems to be a concentrated effort to suppress cryptocurrencies, Switzerland has its own approach. Sygnum, a crypto-focused institution that received a banking license from Swiss regulators four years ago, serves various institutions, such as cantonal and private banks.

Fritz Jost added that PostFinance will certainly support other cryptocurrencies in the future:

We have seen banks make crypto available to their clients before, and the next thing they want is staking and so on. I can certainly confirm PostFinance has a roadmap, and it’s a case of start with buy, hold and sell to sort of grease the wheels within the organization and clients.