Ex Barclays exec starts fiat/Bitcoin bank.

[Jet Cash]

The launch of the new Ziglu bank is scheduled to start in the next few months.
https://www.ziglu.io/

Ir is being started by an ex Barclays exec, and a long term banker. It is only in the UK, but it will allow customers to hold multi-currency accounts, including a variety of fiat, and also Bitcoin. Funds can be transferred between accounts at minimal cost ( so they say ).

[BitcoinBarrel]

That's a new milestone that hopefully more banks will follow suit.

[Coyster]

I do not know if we bitcoin enthusiasts are to be excited about this news, I don't really think bitcoin was ever designed to be kept or saved in a bank, that a is centralized system imo, we are supposed to be in total control of our funds, that is why we use a bitcoin wallet and not a bank.

[ene1980]

Ir is being started by an ex Barclays exec, and a long term banker. It is only in the UK, but it will allow customers to hold multi-currency accounts, including a variety of fiat, and also Bitcoin. Funds can be transferred between accounts at minimal cost ( so they say ).

The only doubt i have is that i am not aware of the stance towards the crypto market for the British government and banks are supposed to follow the rule of the land and if there is no law that is clear enough for them to start a business related to a market that is not regulated how can they carry on the business, the news is positive for the market as a company is willing to hold customer assets including crypto based and we need services for every sector of the market for a smooth experience for everyone.

[target]

I do not know if we bitcoin enthusiasts are to be excited about this news, I don't really think bitcoin was ever designed to be kept or saved in a bank, that a is centralized system imo, we are supposed to be in total control of our funds, that is why we use a bitcoin wallet and not a bank.

They are excited. They are not going to use it though.

These people are avoiding KYC to exchanges so its obvious they will also not going to use this Ziglu bank. They'd be happy to freeze the coins you have if you don't submit KYC and this is the scariest time of crypto bcause I think they are all up to collecting which coin belongs to these banks who tries to stop decentralization.

[betty11]

Bankers are secretly pro-bitcoin but because of their pay master, they will need to keep defending their business so it won't seem they have loss the battle to Cryptocurrency. Once some of these guys leave their paid banking jobs, they start hailing bitcoin. I hope the people having their account or fund managers think for them will realized someday what they have denied themselves.

[Harlot]

Is it a good approach that a financial bank will pattern it's design more like a website of an ICO project rather than a traditional design for any bank's website? I mean the rendered images of their bank's app alone is pretty similar to a regular crypto wallet like what Coinbase have. I guessed that they are only doing this in order to make themselves know that they are indeed a bank for the crypto industry and I hope that it will work for them. UK here is a pretty big market and I know a lot of their citizens are already aware about cryptocurrencies and I think this will be a really good start for them to test out if a crypto bank like them will help make a difference in the industry.

[th3nolo]

Sounds pretty good, but they only have one problem - the availability of services is only for UK residents and they already have enough options to have financial services.

Check their customer terms.

Ziglu’s services and any Ziglu account and the Ziglu app are currently only for use by residents of the United Kingdom who are aged 18 and over. While we intend to expand our offerings to other countries in due course, currently only UK-residents who are at least 18 years of age may use our services and are eligible to apply for a Ziglu account.

I understand this is all due to regulations, but frankly, it is third world countries that need these services the most.

[squatter]

It's not really a "Bitcoin bank." It's basically just another investment platform like Robinhood Crypto. According to their terms, customers won't be able to deposit/withdraw cryptocurrencies at all:

You may not withdraw funds from your Crypto e-wallet. Should you wish to do so, you will have to issue a sell instruction to exchange the relevant digital or crypto currency into electronic money within the E-wallet, from where it can then be withdrawn as above.

[fillippone]

It's not really a "Bitcoin bank." It's basically just another investment platform like Robinhood Crypto. According to their terms, customers won't be able to deposit/withdraw cryptocurrencies at all:

You may not withdraw funds from your Crypto e-wallet. Should you wish to do so, you will have to issue a sell instruction to exchange the relevant digital or crypto currency into electronic money within the E-wallet, from where it can then be withdrawn as above.

Double checked and yes, you stand correct: this is basically what you can do with your account:

Once approved, your Ziglu account will be one or more hosted digital wallet(s) enabling you to store, track and manage your balance of electronic money issued by Ziglu and to make use of payment services provided by Ziglu enabling you to:

• load GBP£ sterling into your account;
• exchange loaded funds for certain digital currencies and cryptocurrencies to which we provide access via our approved exchanges;
• exchange digital currency and cryptocurrency for GBP£ sterling; and
• withdraw GBP£ sterling from your account to the original bank account used to load funds initially.

No interest then.
What's the point? Just a marketing stunt.

[o_e_l_e_o]

What's the point? Just a marketing stunt.

I was wondering how they were going to get round the KYC requirements for allowing users to trade "across multiple exchanges". Turns out they don't need to, because users aren't buying bitcoin at all. All they are buying is exposure to bitcoin's price movements, and can't do anything with their bitcoin other than convert it back in to fiat and withdraw it. Complete gimmick.

What's more is that this isn't new. There are plenty of similar companies and app in various countries around the world which offer exactly this; the promise of "buying" cryptocurrencies direct from the bank account you set up with them, but you can't withdraw, hold, transfer, send, or use the cryptocurrency in any way.

[gentlemand]

Pah. Just another Revolut then.

I wonder whether places like this ever looked into proper cryptoness and abandoned the idea or never entertained it at all.

Most 'challenger banks' are just white labels contracting real banks to do the work so they'll always be desperate to please them.

[NotATether]

Sounds pretty good, but they only have one problem - the availability of services is only for UK residents and they already have enough options to have financial services.

Check their customer terms.

Ziglu’s services and any Ziglu account and the Ziglu app are currently only for use by residents of the United Kingdom who are aged 18 and over. While we intend to expand our offerings to other countries in due course, currently only UK-residents who are at least 18 years of age may use our services and are eligible to apply for a Ziglu account.

I understand this is all due to regulations, but frankly, it is third world countries that need these services the most.

Yes I must agree with this. The options available to people who live in third world countries are to either continue using their national currency, which may be subject to severe inflation like what happened to Chile and Lebanon, or to somehow buy cryptocurrencies because gold and other traditional assets are completely closed off to them.

These are the kind of people who can't submit their documents for KYC verification assuming the services are even available for their country.

[bitvalak]

I think this will lead to pros and cons, because bitcoin was not created to be deposited in banks. Even though it is a specialized crypto bank.
The existence of a bank will instead make this ecosystem to be centralized, any bank will implement the same system of regulating and having control over what you have in the bank account.

[Youghoor]

The launch of the new Ziglu bank is scheduled to start in the next few months.
https://www.ziglu.io/

Ir is being started by an ex Barclays exec, and a long term banker. It is only in the UK, but it will allow customers to hold multi-currency accounts, including a variety of fiat, and also Bitcoin. Funds can be transferred between accounts at minimal cost ( so they say ).

Creating a system that support the use of both fiat and bitcoin is the best way to bring mass adoption of bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. This is a great idea to see someone trying to develop a system that will help the fusion of bitcoin and fiat... I just hope we in the crypto space will support this great idea.

[coolcoinz]

What's the point? The only possible use of this is the debit card that will allow people to pay with BTC without really paying with BTC, which means it's going to be used by people who somehow obtained Bitcoin but don't really know how to use it, don't care about its principles, or find it difficult to sell on exchanges. Now, let's think about how many people in this space are randoms (not enthusiasts) that would use this bank. 10%? Probably even less than that. How many of this 10% will choose this bank? Probably not many.

[Jawhead999]

I think if bitcoin can be used in mobile bank, it will make the price of bitcoin higher.
This way is making people who don't know bitcoin, will know it. If they interested it can make people want to buy bitcoin and invest like stock or mutual fund.
It will also make exchange quickly from bitcoin to cash in ATM.

[kryptqnick]

At first, I thought it was something interesting, a sign that banks are trying to adapt to reality. But this thing about having to exchange cryptos for fiat to transfer money anywhere is very upsetting. It's like a centralized regulated limited exchange rather than a bank to me... I don't think this will be attractive to people. Perhaps only to hodlers who for some reason prefer to keep their coins in someone else's hands, probably pay extra fees for that and definitely be asked questions about those coins as well as being fully identified as a holder of those coins.

[gentlemand]

At first, I thought it was something interesting, a sign that banks are trying to adapt to reality. But this thing about having to exchange cryptos for fiat to transfer money anywhere is very upsetting. It's like a centralized regulated limited exchange rather than a bank to me... I don't think this will be attractive to people. Perhaps only to hodlers who for some reason prefer to keep their coins in someone else's hands, probably pay extra fees for that and definitely be asked questions about those coins as well as being fully identified as a holder of those coins.

There's no way you can ever get real Bitcoin in or out. You're buying or selling price exposure and nothing else. Maybe they're not going anywhere near the real deal either.

For better or worse I think this will be appealing to quite a few people. It's totally mindless and all of it is someone else's problem. Not for me though.

I do wonder what'll happen in times of enormous volatility. And what happens if you put in 10 quid and it becomes a million quid. In theory it should breeze on back to your bank account. In reality they might have kittens despite it being entirely through them.

[1Referee]

Now, let's think about how many people in this space are randoms (not enthusiasts) that would use this bank. 10%? Probably even less than that. How many of this 10% will choose this bank? Probably not many.

I would find 1% even a lot. It's such a horrible service to offer in an already crowded market.

On top of that, it's against what crypto is invented for. People praised this space for not needing banks and whatnot, and what are the same people doing? Use centralized honeypots far worse than any actually regulated financial institution. This is not progress. This is going to a system that will fuck you up harder than anything you have used before.

You don't solve a problem by inventing something that only makes a problem become a bigger problem.