Volt taps into crypto investors

The partnership will see BTC Markets (BTCM) invite its customers to open Volt bank accounts in the coming months, facilitated by the neobank’s Banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform.

Instead of depositing into BTCM trust accounts, customers will be able to use their Volt accounts, which will be embedded in the currency exchange’s interface.

Customers will be able to deposit up to a maximum of $250,000 in the accounts, under the Financial Claims Scheme.

Volt has claimed the partnership is the first of its kind in Australia between a bank and a digital currency exchange, following a recent Senate inquiry in which fintechs accused the incumbent banks of “debanking” or cutting off services to their operations.

It has also come after other BaaS partnerships Volt has used to scale up its business, such as its agreements with aggregator AFG and fintechs Railsbank and QPay.

Volt also acquired fintech mortgage manager Australian Mortgage in July, moving to use its technology to power the lending component of its BaaS platform.

Andrew Clouston, chief customer and partnerships officer, commented: “… We’re seeing rapidly-growing demand for scalable banking solutions that can be delivered seamlessly within the ecosystem of fintechs.

“Businesses are increasingly seeking to deepen the relationship with their customers and remove friction in processing payments.

“Innovative partnerships like this one with BTCM are further testament to the way neobanks like Volt will lead the future of Australian banking, providing integrated financial services and better outcomes for Aussie consumers.”

Caroline Bowler, chief executive of BTCM, commented the partnership will allow the exchange to offer faster transactions and stability when transferring funds.

“Both of these factors will generate customer confidence that their funds are in place and available and that they will be able to time the market far more easily – which is absolutely critical in such a dynamic industry as crypto,” Ms Bowler said.

“This partnership demonstrates that we are progressing in the right direction of a financially inclusive future where crypto sits alongside mainstream finance.”

BTCM’s customers have so far traded $17.1 billion in digital assets.

The exchange is currently in the process of acquiring an Australian Financial Services Licence from ASIC.

[Related: Revolut pushes for banking license]