RAKBANK has launched its crypto brokerage service via its mobile app for retail customers, making it the first conventional bank in the UAE to enable crypto trading services for its customers. RAKBANK will be providing its customers with seamless, fast, and efficient access to digital assets in a fully regulated way.
As per the blog post, RAKBANK customers can buy, sell, and swap cryptocurrencies by accessing UAE regulated Bitpanda’s crypto trading platform through RAKBANK’s mobile banking app.
The platform is owned and operated by Bitpanda, to which RAKBANK facilitates the access. All transactions will take place in AED, eliminating foreign currency transfer fees and forex losses altogether. What’s more, transactions are executed directly from the customer’s RAKBANK current or savings account, avoiding the need for lengthy and inefficient processes to move money in and out of crypto exchanges.
Bitpanda is also regulated by multiple European regulators. Its institutional service, Bitpanda Technology Solutions, is already trusted by leading global financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, and N26.
Raheel Ahmed, Group CEO of RAKBANK, commented, “RAKBANK is proud to be the first conventional bank in the UAE to enable simple, secure, and regulated access to a world class digital assets platform. We recognize the opportunity this solution will provide to customers in the UAE, as we believe they deserve a more efficient and seamless crypto buying, selling and swapping journey that is fully regulated and entirely in AED. With this service through our award winning digital app and collaboration with a leading crypto trading platform, we are staying true to our strategy of being the digital bank with a human touch.”
Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, Deputy CEO of Bitpanda, added, “Collaborating with RAKBANK is a big moment for digital assets in the region. Together, 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. This is exactly how the future of finance should look: simple, compliant, and built to meet real user needs.”
The service is currently by invitation only and will be rolled out to more customers over the coming months.
UAE Banks starting to enter the crypto domain using crypto exchanges
The UAE banks have already started entering the crypto domain. Recently for example Axiom Recruit in the UAE, was searching for a Principle Blockchain Architect engineer as a leading UAE Bank is building out their DeFi and Stablecoin infrastructure.
This announcement came as more and more banks globally and across the UAE enter the digital asset, stablecoin, and crypto space. In a recent article, crypto exchange executives and crypto custodian executive weighed in on how this will effect the crypto ecosystem across the globe. In the UAE several banks have already entered the crypto space including Mbank, Zand Bank, Liv bank by Emirates NBD and even FAB bank with their work on a stablecoin.
