A few days ago, Banca Generali announced that it will activate the service of buying and selling Bitcoin on its customers’ accounts.
Summary
Banca Generali brings Bitcoin trading to Italy
In December 2020, the Italian bank signed a strategic partnership with the Conio exchange through its entry into the equity of the company that manages the exchange. The stated aim from the outset was to support Conio’s growth, but also the distribution of their products within the bank’s digital offering.
In Italy, there is already a banking app (Hype) that allows the buying and selling of Bitcoin, again thanks to Conio, but it does not rely on existing bank accounts, requiring the opening of a new account.
Instead, Banca Generali’s initiative is the first in Italy to allow owners of existing bank accounts to buy and sell BTC directly from their account, without having to open a new one and therefore without having to follow a new KYC procedure.
How the service works
The service is expected to be activated in early 2022 for the bank’s private customers, who will simply see the Bitcoin buying and selling service appear on their home banking, using the euros held in their bank account.
There will therefore no longer even be a need to move fiat money to or from other accounts, as the money deposited in the same bank account can be used to trade BTC directly.
All private clients of Banca Generali will be able to start trading Bitcoin in the coming months using the same tools they are already using, simply as an additional feature of the platform.
Initially, BTC purchased on Banca Generali’s account will not be able to be withdrawn to personal wallets, but as was the case with PayPal in 2021, it is possible that Bitcoin withdrawals will be added over time.
Conio and Italian banks
Conio is one of the leading Italian exchanges, although it only supports Bitcoin. It was born from the efforts of a team that also includes prominent members of the traditional banking system, including Christian Miccoli, inventor of the famous online account Conto Arancio and former CEO of Che Banca!
It is therefore not at all strange that the crypto exchange has such a close relationship with the Italian banking system, and is able to forge important partnerships with the aim of bringing Bitcoin to all account holders.
Should the initiative be successful, it is to be expected that it will expand to other Italian banks, primarily the Banca Sella Group which owns and operates the Hype app.
