Switzerland: Crypto Bank Seba Partners With Mortgage Bank Hypothekarbank

Swiss-based crypto bank Seba partners with bank Hypothekarbank Lenzburg AG to implement its Finstar system as their open-banking platform.

Switzerland-based crypto bank Seba Crypto AG has signed an agreement with Swiss mortgage bank Hypothekarbank Lenzburg AG to use its core banking system, Finstar, Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reports on Jan. 31.

The partnership will allow for the implementation of Seba’s decentralized software into Finstar, as well as allowing Seba to use Finstar’s conventional services.  Additionally, Seba will be able to use Finstar to process and store transactions made with cryptocurrencies and other blockchain-based products. The project is set to be completed in Q2 of 2019, a Jan. 31 press release notes.

Hypothekarbank will reportedly be responsible for overseeing application management and data center operations. According to the press release, Seba will handle blockchain and crypto-specific developments independently.

Seba CEO Guido Bühler was quoted in the press release as saying:

"[t]oday's announcement is a sign of the new reality in the financial world where, as a regulated institution, we want to build a bridge between traditional banking and the digital ecosystem."

Back in September 2018, Seba raised $103 million to help set up a bank that would offer cryptocurrency services, as reported by Cointelegraph.

In November, Seba stated that it expects to receive a banking and securities license from Swiss financial regulator, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, in the first half of 2019. The license, which the entity has yet to receive as per the recent press release, would allow the bank to legally conduct crypto trading and investments with other banks and investors.