The Swiss subsidiary of the Spanish bank BBVA announced the launch of a 100% digital investment account with which it is trying to satisfy the needs of a new type of technology-savvy clients who wish to invest «in more active assets. innovative and sustainable ”such as bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.
The information was released this September 2 on the official BBVA website where it is stated that the new service is called New Gen ( New Generation) and targets its users located in more than 30 nations. The bank’s clients in member countries of the European Union and residents in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Chile are included.
New Gen allows users to invest in both traditional and innovative assets, and includes a portfolio for cryptocurrencies that facilitates exchange with other currencies, notes the BBVA Switzerland letter.
The new product offers access to a varied catalog of companies, funds, stocks and ETFs (exchange-traded funds), among which the services linked to bitcoin stand out. The bank indicates that in the near future will include exchanges with ether (ETH) , the cryptocurrency of Ethereum.
The minimum deposit to open an account is USD 10,000 or its equivalent in euros or Swiss francs . With this figure, the bank reduces the level of demand for the public interested in investing in bitcoin, since until now access to services with cryptocurrency was allowed only to private banking clients with a minimum equity of one million dollars .
The Director of Customer Solutions at BBVA Switzerland, Javier Rubio, told the media that with this offer they want to eliminate obstacles and barriers to investment.
He reiterated that they hope to attract a new type of investors. They are particularly aimed at young people who are attracted to these new sectors, “which have great potential to transform the future.” Among these new industries, the ecosystem of crypto assets stands out.
Rubio added that the new digital account provides access to a full range of online banking services and IBAN numbers (international bank account number) in dollars, euros or Swiss francs.
To start operating with New Gen, those interested must register through an online form and then make an identification call by video.
BBVA focuses its bitcoin operations in Switzerland
BBVA Switzerland is a franchise that is part of the financial consortium headquartered in Bilbao, Spain , which specializes in private banking. As reported by CriptoNoticias, after six months of testing that began in January 2021, the subsidiary began offering the sale and custody of bitcoin last June.
So far the BBVA has limited the cryptocurrency service to its subsidiary in Switzerland with the idea of taking advantage of the most advanced regulatory framework that exists in that country, which also has a high level of cryptocurrency adoption.
In its communications, the bank always remembers the number of blockchain companies that are based in Switzerland, which is why it sees the European country as a conducive environment for its operations with crypto assets.
