Over 50 million German citizens could soon trade crypto directly from their checking accounts

Over 400 savings banks in Germany could soon allow customers to start trading cryptocurrencies from their accounts starting early next year. The German Savings Banks Association may soon enable digital asset purchases to more than 50 million customers. 

German savings banks to embrace cryptocurrencies

German savings banks are working on a project that will enable them to allow the trading of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, by their customers. The proposed service could enable crypto access to over 50 million people. 

The project is being prepared by a dedicated team at S-Payment, an IT service provider to allow customers to buy digital assets directly from their checking accounts. 

The savings banks’ committees will be able to vote on the project early next year. If the banks were to approve the project in early 2022, the first version of cryptocurrency wallets would be launched in the same year. 

The pilot of the wallet will start off with individual savings banks, and they can then be able to decide whether to support cryptocurrency trading.

According to the report by German magazine “Capital,” the banks involved are showing early interest, as investors in the country are increasingly looking for alternative investments. 

A spokesman for the German Savings Banks Association said that the interest in the new asset class “is huge.”

Helmut Schleweis, the president of the German Savings Banks Association stated that the current rising prices and low-interest rates are a “toxic mix fueling an erosion of wealth,” as the new product is planned for launch amid rising inflation. 

The government in Germany recently signed a coalition agreement, citing that cryptocurrencies and blockchain would be two of the main focuses for the country’s development in the coming four years.

The new offering could remove the need for middlemen such as cryptocurrency exchanges and users who wish to trade digital assets would not be required to be taken through additional verification processes.