Soon, 650 US banks will be able to provide bitcoin purchase services to approximately 24 million customers. Under the deal between NCR payment giant and digital asset management company Nydig, local banks such as First Citizens Bank of North Carolina and credit unions such as the Bay Federal Credit Union in California will be able to to provide their customers with cryptocurrency transactions through mobile applications created by the payment solution provider.
Instead of having to deal with the burdensome regulatory requirements associated with cryptocurrency custody on behalf of their clients, the financial institutions that choose to participate in the initiative will rely on Nydig’s custodial services.
This is the latest attempt by NCR, based in Atlanta, to capitalize on the demand recorded by banking institutions and credit unions for the provision of related services, as they are tired of seeing cryptocurrencies traded in exchanges through their accounts. By providing these customers with bitcoin buying services – and ultimately a way to spend them – through their existing accounts, traditional financial institutions are catching up with the growing wave of companies trying to compete directly with cryptocurrency exchanges.
“We strongly believe in the benefits of cryptocurrencies and strategically designed applications,” said Douglas Brown, president of NCR Digital Banking. retailers, restaurants, etc. “, he adds.
What is NCR?
NCR was founded in 1884 as the National Cash Register. Today it has 34,000 employees and operates in 160 countries providing everything from digital banking to ATM and POS services. The company’s share plunged 62% from January to March 2020, falling to $ 13.43, and then the coronavirus pandemic followed a similar trajectory to PayPal and many other financial technology services companies. , seeing its share record a “jump” of 238% since March 2020, when quarantine began, to date and is now trading at $ 45.44. The NCR generated $ 6.2 billion in revenue last year from non-cryptocurrency transactions.
In addition to its financial partnerships, NCR is the largest provider of POS software to grocery stores and retailers worldwide, with a market share of 45%, according to research firm RBR. In total, NCR serves 180,000 restaurants, retail chains and a number of other stores, which could accept bitcoin payments if all goes according to plan.
In May, the 135-year-old company partnered with cryptocurrency payment company Flexa, of New York, to enable customers of the Sheetz department store chain to pay for gasoline and general purchases with bitcoin, ether, litecoin. , dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Now, Brown says, “dozens” of banks and credit unions that are NCR customers are complaining that their own customers are using their savings to buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Instead of losing this money to cryptocurrency exchanges – or forcing their customers to resent them by saying they do not allow purchases – banks and credit unions decided to reap the benefits by providing these services themselves. “Many of these banks have found that one of the most important outflows for their depositors is money transfers to exchanges like Coinbase,” said Yan Rhay, co-founder of asset management firm Stone Ridge, who took over as chairman at Nydig. in December 2020. “And that is one of the reasons why banks are so excited that they will have this opportunity, as well as their customers,” he added.
“We strongly believe in the benefits of cryptocurrencies and strategically designed applications,” said Douglas Brown, president of NCR Digital Banking. retailers, restaurants, etc. “, he adds.
The goals
The first phase of Nydig’s partnership with NCR envisages that its second-largest banking customers will be able to buy, sell and trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through their mobile applications. Although the client will have the feeling that he is cooperating directly with the bank for these transactions, in essence the custodian of his assets will be Nydig.
Now, when a customer wants to buy bitcoin he has to get involved with OTC companies and cryptocurrency exchanges that sell him a little more expensive based on the size of the transactions and other factors. Nydig, for its part, receives a monthly commission per user from the bank. “I think the banks’ transaction fees will be lower than they are in the market today,” said Patrick Sells, Nydig’s chief banking officer.
Aside from the fact that they will now be able to charge their customers for investment advice, Brown estimates that banks are likely to follow PayPal’s strategy. A few months after the online payment giant allowed its customers to buy and spend bitcoins, those customers’ traffic to its app skyrocketed by 100%, increasing the likelihood of selling them other products. “Today, banking is usually everyday,” Brown explains.
Although the U.S. Banking Authority last year gave banks the right to store “keys” that provide access to cryptocurrencies on behalf of their customers, NCR customers will probably not need to do so. “Every dollar a customer gives for bitcoin corresponds to the bitcoin in the depository, in the customer’s name,” says Zhao.
In the second phase of the deal, Brown says the NCR may take on the role of custodian of its own assets. The company is also exploring applications of blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrencies, as well as other distributed global technologies that will allow it to conduct complex transactions with many counterparties.
Also, although for years some retailers have unsuccessfully accepted cryptocurrency payments – with few consumers willing to spend their digital currencies – NCR chief technology officer Tim Vanderham has been trying to help some 200,000 restaurants and other customers. retailers to adapt to accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, Brown says.
NCR’s future plans also include the possibility of buying bitcoin through the company’s 800,000 ATM network and others.
“We have big ambitions and many plans to expand the use of cryptocurrencies to all areas of our business, including retail and restaurants. And then to focus on new services focused on digital banking,” says Brown.
Who is Nydig?
Nydig was founded in 2017 as the New York Digital Investment Group, with the goal of becoming the custodian of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies of the “sister” company Stone Ridge Asset Management, with $ 11 billion in assets under management. expanded its scope to key services such as trading, and by 2020 now offered cryptocurrency account services, support for financial products and derivatives, as well as new transaction data analysis solutions. parties to integrate a bitcoin toolbox.
As of February 2021, Nydig was providing custody services for $ 4 billion in cryptocurrency assets, including at least $ 30 billion worth of bitcoin worth $ 1 billion from parent company Stone Ridge Holdings Group. Just a month later, its assets under management had exceeded $ 6 billion, and since then the company has entered into partnerships to provide banking infrastructure to US financial institutions. It is estimated that it has partnered with approximately 70% of US banks to provide them with the infrastructure to offer bitcoin trading services.
According to a survey conducted in December 2020 among 3,898 American consumers by Cornerstone Advisors, 60% of cryptocurrency holders would use their bank to invest in cryptocurrencies. But only 2% of banks showed interest in doing so. Since then, the picture seems to have changed, with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley already taking test steps in accepting bitcoin.
Although skepticism about the highly volatile cryptocurrency – which hit a record high of $ 64,500 in April to lose 50% of its value in a few days – remains high, Nydig and its banking partners -FIS, Fiserve, Q2 Holdings and Alkami Technology – are already advertising their goal of making bitcoin accessible to the general public.
