According to reports, German savings banks are planning to give customers the option of converting into large digital currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) directly from the current account.
Savings banks in German-speaking countries, also known as savings banks, are working on a pilot project to introduce an in-house cryptocurrency wallet and exchange next year, local business magazine Capital reported December 13
The pilot project has to be approved by the Sparkasse committees at the beginning of next year, and the banking association plans to develop corresponding services at the beginning of 2022. A group of experts from the German IT service provider S-Payment is to design the project.
A corresponding pilot project will initially start at individual savings banks, with each of the 370 savings banks deciding independently whether or not to introduce crypto trading. According to Capital’s sources, several banks have already shown significant interest in the crypto platform.
Savings banks are commercial banks that operate savings banks in German-speaking countries in a decentralized structure, with each bank operating independently. With around 50 million customers, the savings banks reportedly have total assets of 1 trillion euros (1.2 trillion US dollars).
The German Savings Banks and Giro Association and S-Payment did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for a statement. This article will be updated until new information is available.
Related: The new federal government names crypto in the coalition agreement
With the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, Germany has developed into one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the world Issuance of a crypto-custody business license for the German branch of Coinbase at the beginning of the year. The German exchange operator Deutsche Börse also has more than 20 exchange-traded crypto products on its digital exchange Xetra.
