Crypto companies are not fiat-free. So as much as they would like to avoid dealing with main-street banks, it's only natural to want a regular account to deal with supplier and employee payments. Herein comes a big issue - many banks don't deal with crypto companies.
They restrict, limit or even bar the usage of crypto in their accounts.
However, even in this wary circumspect situation also, some challenger banks have welcomed clients who utilize digital currency. Let’s check some of the options open to crypto users.
1. XACE
Xace, a UK-based fintech, is claiming to be the first gaming friendly digital bank to land a licence from the Financial Conduct Authority. In practice, the company develops digital bank accounts and allows cryptocurrency or gaming operators to send and receive payments without the need for traditional banks. It supports both GBP and EUR with IBAN accounts, as well as virtual debit card. X
2. CASHAA
This one markets itself as a crypto friendly bank account. But it goes beyond that by offering a Bitcoin payment platform. So if you’re looking to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, Cashaa does it well by combining it with a bank account. Therefore, Cashaa is ideal for not only B2B crypto businesses but also B2C. You can easily set up Bitcoin payment gateways for your business. They even give you the option to convert the Bitcoin you receive into fiat instantly. Cashaa Features UK Current account authorised by the FCA, supports SWIFT, SEPA, CHAPS, and BACS payment methods, has API to automate payments with your platform, seamless integration of Crypto and Fiat for both businesses and customers
3. FIDOR BANK
Founded in 2009, Munich-based Fidor Bank AG, Germany's first Web 2.0 Bank, and Kraken are launching an initiative to establish a "specialised bank for crypto-currencies". The initiative aims to set up the world's first fully regulated and licensed financial services entity in this sector. The intention is to pool products and services from various providers of digital assets and to offer a wide range of financial products and other services related to crypto-currencies. Kraken, the leading bitcoin exchange for professionals and institutions, based in San Francisco, acts as co-creator of this initiative. Partnerships with Kraken, Ripple Labs, and Bitcoin.de have enabled Fidor Bank to establish itself as as a banking partner.
4. BCB Group
This is a business bank that focuses on the crypto ecosystem. Apart from GBP, it also supports other major currencies such as EUR and USD along with dedicated IBAN for companies and all major payment networks such as FPS/CHAPS/BACS, Euro SEPA, international SWIFT and US ABA. What sets BCB group apart is that apart from banking, they offer liquidity services. It comes with daily settlement for all major cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies and provides liquidity for some conversions. BCB Group also has a treasury to manage your Bitcoin holdings. BCB Group Features - Supports a wide range of fiat currencies and payment networks, native support for liquidity and fast settlement, offers treasury services if you don’t want to manage your Bitcoin holdings
5. WIREX
Wirex, formerly E-Coin was established in 2014 in UK by CEOs and co-founder Pavel Matveev and Dmitry Lazarichev to make digital economy accessible to everyone. Wirex is one among the top crypto friendly banks. They give perks like 0.5% payback in BTC to its users. Wirex also offers debit cards.
6. SIGNATURE
Signature is a NY based bank used by companies in and out of the US in the crypto space. They open accounts for businesses in the crypto space and are often used for day to day transactions. However, they do have higher balance requirements.
This is not an exhaustive list of all possible bank offering bank account services for crypto companies. While some of them are quite open to companies that make all revenues from crypto activities, some others are keen for companies that have regular revenue streams supplemented by crypto based revenues. All of the banks will have their thorough due diligence and KYC procedures so be prepared with the documents and answers for questions that'll come up.
We'll be discussing document requirements for bank account openings in a separate article. Meanwhile if you'd like to reach out to discuss your crypto accounting requirements, please write to neethustephen@evalua8.com
Source : goodreturns.in, cryptobuyers.co.uk, fintechfutures.com, prnewswire.co.uk, Wikipedia.org