Benker is to become the first officially licensed blockchain neobank launched in Europe following approval by the Bank of Lithuania under the Electronic Money Institution (EMI) category.
Now open for pre-registration, it is the first financial services provider in the European Union to operate entirely on blockchain.
The neobank will run on Natrix, a purpose-built hybrid blockchain created for the financial sector to meet all GDPR, bank secrecy and regulatory requirements. BENKER will achieve the highest level of Compliant Client Autonomy, where users have complete control, autonomy and real freedom, assuring sustainability of the market where users and financial market participants are on the same level.
Viktor Bodnár, CEO of BENKER, hopes that the new bank will be a catalyst for fundamental transformation in personal finances, offering customers greater autonomy. On his vision for the future of the market, he said: “We’re introducing a new brand in financial services that can challenge the established order by extending existing legal and regulatory safeguards with the advanced technology-based guarantees achieved through blockchain. In obtaining our EMI licence we have been allowed to radically diminish client exposure to the actors of financial markets, and I see this as a move towards the ‘New World Order’.”
“By adding blockchain to the way in which customer accounts are managed securely, we are offering constant transparency, traceability and complete control over financial matters for our clients, creating the highest level of freedom. This is what we’re calling Compliant Client Autonomy and it’s an idea that is at the heart of BENKER.”
Following a two-year planning, development and application phase, and now with its EMI licences receiving full approval, the neobank will offer services for both individuals and SMEs, and a platform on which to buy and sell gold.
Bodnár finished: “We’ve worked hard to create a fully compliant and secure blockchain neobank, and I’m delighted that it is now going live in 2022. The result is a system in which clients and service providers are finally on the same level, and within all legal and regulatory requirements. This will make managing personal finances in the future more efficient than ever.”