How to get access to a Bitcoin friendly bank for your Bitcoin ATM business?
If you’ve landed on this page, it is because finding access to a bitcoin friendly bank has been nothing short of a frustrating or disappointing experience. You’re not alone. Access to solid bitcoin friendly bank is posing more of a challenge than it ought to be.
Why is finding a bitcoin friendly bank such a challenge?
When we say bitcoin friendly bank, bankers don’t like the two terms together, i.e. bitcoin and banking. Most banks either do not have the risk appetite or the systems to enable customers who deal/trade with bitcoin to have a bank account with them.
Thanks to the negative media and also the limited understanding and studying of cryptocurrency, most MLRO or Chief Compliance Officers at banks, have only a scholastic understanding of what bitcoin / cryptocurrencies are. They often view anyone dealing with bitcoin / cryptocurrencies as nothing short of evil or criminal.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Whilst finding bitcoin friendly banks can be challenging, it is entirely possible and doable. It just depends on the type of business you are in.
Bitcoin Friendly Banks for ATM / Bitcoin ATM (BTM) Business?
If you are in the Bitcoin ATM (BTM) business, then you would have already experienced how difficult it is to get access to banking.
If you run any sort of business that involves cash (Bitcoin ATMs, over-the-counter cash sales, etc.) then you need to contract with an armored car service (like Brinks or GardaWorld) to pick the cash from you and ACH/FedWire it to your account (which we can provide). In most cases, direct cash depositing is not a feature in the offering.
You have to be cognizant that most companies that do provide such a service might want you to have zero anonymous transactions on your BTMs. This means literally no anonymous transactions. Some financial institutions will insist that Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Telephone, and Address be mandatory on all transactions (even as low as $10). Some financial institutions will happily work with pricing slab-based compliance. For example, transactions of up to $100, only require a phone number. $101 to $1000, name, address and DOB is required. Anything over $1000, SSN will be required along with photo ID, etc.
Bitcoin Friendly Banks for those trading in cryptocurrencies, or providing OTC services, are an entirely different matter. What is more important in such scenarios is how are you covered from a regulatory point-of-view, meaning (for example in the United States), do you have access to a money transmitter license for your bitcoin business?
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This page was last updated on June 29, 2023.
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