Payments Giant NCR Bringing Bitcoin Trading to 650 U.S. Banks and Their 24 Million Customers

Payments giant NCR and New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) are collaborating to allow 650 U.S.banks to offer bitcoin trading to their 24 million customers through their mobile applications.

24 Million Customers of 650 Main Street Banks May Soon Have Access to Bitcoin Trading

New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) said Wednesday that 650 banks and credit unions in the U.S. will soon be able to offer bitcoin trading to their customers through their mobile applications.

The bitcoin option is made possible through a collaboration between NYDIG and enterprise payments giant NCR. NYDIG is a bitcoin technology and financial services subsidiary of Stone Ridge, a $10 billion alternative asset manager.

NCR’s president of digital banking, Douglas Brown, was quoted by Forbes as saying:

We’re firm believers in the benefits of crypto and the strategic application. And that’s true for our banking relationships, as evidenced by NYDIG, and across retailers as well as restaurants and the like.

Founded in 1884 as National Cash Register, NCR now has over 34,000 employees in 160 countries; its products are distributed in 141 countries. The company was acquired by AT&T in 1991 but re-established as a separate company in 1997. NCR’s website says that the company is “the #1 global POS software provider for retail and hospitality” and “the #1 provider of multi-vendor ATM software.”

According to research firm RBR, NCR is the largest provider of point of sale software to grocery and other retail stores globally, with a 45% market share. The company serves 180,000 restaurants, retail chains, hotels, and more.

Bitcoin purchased via NCR’s platform will be sourced from various regulated OTC exchanges and sold at a markup, the publication conveyed, adding that the bank will set the transaction fee. NYDIG will provide custody of the bitcoin. However, Brown said that in the future, NCR may custody the cryptocurrency itself.

NCR’s chief technology officer, Tim Vanderham, is also working with nearly 200,000 restaurants and other retail clients to help them accept bitcoin payments, Brown further revealed, noting NCR may also make bitcoin trading available via 800,000 ATMs and more.

NYDIG has been busy partnering with various companies to enable financial institutions to offer bitcoin trading to their customers. The company announced a collaboration with Finserv last week to let 10,000 financial institutions offer bitcoin trading. It is also collaborating with Q2 to enable 18 million users to buy and sell bitcoin.