Main French banking group BPCE is about to start out providing crypto buying and selling companies to retail prospects by way of its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne apps beginning Monday.
Clients of 4 regional banks, together with Banque Populaire Île-de-France and Caisse d’Épargne Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, will be capable to purchase and promote bitcoin ether solana and USDC immediately by way of their banking apps, The Large Whale studies.
The rollout will attain round 2 million prospects within the pilot part, with BPCE planning to increase entry to its full 12-million-strong retail base by way of 2026.
The service operates by way of a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarq, BPCE’s crypto-focused subsidiary. Every account comes with a 2.99 euro ($3.48) month-to-month payment and a 1.5% transaction fee, with a minimal cost of 1 euro per commerce.
A BPCE consultant mentioned the phased launch is designed to watch adoption and system efficiency earlier than scaling.
Different European banks have already made comparable strikes. BBVA permits crypto buying and selling immediately in its Spanish banking app, whereas Santander’s Openbank presents entry to 5 crypto belongings with built-in custody. On high of tthat, a Vienna-based unit of Raiffeisen Financial institution ppartnered with Bitpanda to supply crypto to its prospects.
