U.S. banking group Vast Bank announced on Thursday it has teamed up with cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase to complete an end-to-end cryptocurrency transaction. The bank claims it is the first nationally chartered financial institution to both purchase and provide custody services for a digital asset on behalf on a customer and directly from their banking account.
While sharing more details about the transaction, Brad Scrivner, President and CEO of Vast Bank, stated:
“Digital assets have always been a part of our long-term strategy. Given the OCC’s recent approval on the matter, we chose to accelerate the initiative so-as-to empower our customers through an easier, more enjoyable financial services experience. Providing our customers with the ability to seamlessly purchase and custody digital assets through their bank account is another big step in our never-ending journey to make banking surprisingly easy.”
Vast then revealed that through the partnership with Coinbase Institutional and Coinbase Custody, it will provide market access to seven exchanges, algorithmic order execution, deep liquidity, and crypto wallet management. Vast will also operate at a global scale with operation in major financial centers, provide competitive pricing, and using crypto features.
“For Vast Bank, serving their customers is the top priority. In 2018, they started their digital transformation to provide a digital-first approach with SAP. Vast Bank was the first U.S. customer to implement SAP Banking Services and uses the S/4HANA finance solution and the SAP HANA platform to provide a blue-chip banking experience to their customers and to expand their offerings through partnerships with other financial services providers.”
SAP’s Global Head of the Banking Industry, Falk Rieker, went on to add:
“Vast Bank created a seamless user experience by digitizing its operations, creating one source of truth for financial data, and putting customers in more control of their finances. With this breakthrough, Vast Bank is at the forefront of providing cryptocurrency-related services in an equally seamless manner. As we have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for digital banking services will continue to grow, and Vast Bank is positioned to stay ahead of the competition with the SAP HANA platform as their foundation.”