First Australian neobank partners with BTC Markets to increase speed and stability of digital asset investments

Volt, the first direct Australian bank that operates exclusively online, entered into a partnership with digital currency exchange BTC Markets (BTCM) to provide the latter and its clients with improved stability, reliability, and speed of digital asset investments. This is facilitated by Volt’s banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform. At first, BTCM will obtain integrated banking capabilities by getting access to a corporate cash management account with payment automation and notifications in real time.

BTCM clients to use their own Volt accounts

Rather than making deposits into BTCM trust accounts, the exchange’s users will have their own Volt accounts, integrated within the BTCM environment. Under the Financial Claims Scheme, the maximum protected deposit amount will be $250,000 per account holder.

Andrew Clouston, Volt Chief Customer & Partnerships Officer, said:

Providing innovation and access to banking solutions

The neobank points out that this partnership shows BaaS can enhance competition on the banking market in Australia and provide novelty and access to banking solutions for fintechs and their clients. This type of partnership sets a precedent in Australia, coming in the wake of a recent Senate inquiry, which accused conventional banks of denying cryptocurrency operators basic banking services.

Caroline Bowler, BTCM CEO, said:

According to BTCM data, 13% of Australians owned cryptocurrencies toward February 2021. The exchange’s 325,000 Australian customers have traded the equivalent of $17.1 billion in digital assets so far.