Raiffeisen Bank International has expanded its partnership with Bitpanda to provide Bitcoin services across Europe.

Raiffeisen Bank International is set to open Bitcoin across Europe, expanding its partnership with Bitpanda.

Austria's Raiffeisen Banking Group is about to open up Bitcoin accounts for 18 million customers.

The company said in a statement on Wednesday that it has teamed up with broker Bitpanda under the initiative.

Raiffeisen's announcement comes at a time when leading banks around the world are launching crypto trading and acceptance services, with in the past 18 months BBVA, Santander's Openbank, Germany's Union Bank and Savings bank, SoFi, PNC, Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley all having either launched or announced plans to offer retail clients cryptocurrency trading.

RBI Chief Executive Officer Michael Höllerer stated that the main driving force is customer demand. "We are seeing a growing demand for crypto assets in our market, and we have responded by joining hands with strong and reliable partners", he said, adding that the bank was committed to "meeting customers' needs as best it can".

The deal builds on a partnership that started in Austria last year.2024 Raiffeisen Landesbank Niederösterreich-Wien (RLB NÖ-Wuen) became the first traditional bank in the European Union to offer crypto trading within its core banking system using Bitpanda's technology.

The new agreement changes from a complete market segmentation to a unified direction for the entire group.

Bitpanda Enterprise provides tools for banks, fintech firms, brokerages, securities trading companies and family offices to offer digital asset products to retail and corporate customers with services covering investment infrastructure, custody, settlement, stablecoin and tokenization focusing on regulatory compliance and scalability.

RBI considers Austria and Central and Eastern Europe as its main markets, with subsidiary banks in 11 countries of the region. The group employs approximately 42,000 people to serve customers.18.8 Million turnover is generated through approximate branches.1,300 Most are located in central and eastern Europe; the company's shares are traded on the Vienna Stock Exchange by Raiffeisen Bank at a regional level holding an estimated 61.2% remaining freely circulating stock.61.2%

Source: Bitcoin Magazine Arranged by Mathew Di Salvo