Bitpanda and RBI build crypto framework for 18 million bank customers

Raiffeisen Bank International has partnered with Bitpanda Enterprise to create a common digital asset framework for its Central and Eastern European banking network, potentially bringing crypto services within reach of up to 18 million customers.

According to Bitpanda, the agreement will give RBI network banks the infrastructure needed to introduce digital asset services in their respective markets, while individual banks will decide what products to offer and when to launch them based on local regulations and market conditions.

The arrangement expands a model already used by Raiffeisen banks in Austria, where customers have been given access to cryptocurrencies through their existing banking environment. Instead of requiring customers to open a separate account with a crypto platform, Bitpanda provides the infrastructure behind the service offered through the bank.

RBI operates subsidiary banks across 11 Central and Eastern European markets and serves more than 18 million customers. Bitpanda Enterprise will provide the underlying digital asset technology for the network, creating a common setup that participating banks can use when introducing their own services.

RBI Bitpanda partnership builds on Austrian crypto rollout

Raiffeisen’s work with Bitpanda began at Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien, or RLB NÖ-Wien, which became one of the early traditional European Union banks to give customers access to cryptocurrencies within its existing banking setup.

Bitpanda supplied the technology behind that service, allowing customers to access digital assets while continuing to use their bank as the main point of contact. The latest RBI agreement takes the same approach beyond an individual Austrian bank and creates a framework that can be used across multiple markets.

Other Raiffeisen banks in Austria have since moved in the same direction. Raiffeisen Landesbank Tirol introduced access to digital assets through Bitpanda Enterprise in June, adding another regional bank to the infrastructure provider’s growing list of traditional banking partners.

The new arrangement does not mean crypto services will become available to all RBI customers at the same time. Each network bank will determine its product offering and launch schedule based on demand, local rules and its operating requirements.

RBI’s footprint gives the partnership considerably more potential reach than the earlier individual integrations. The banking group has around 42,000 employees and roughly 1,300 business outlets, with most of its customer base located in Central and Eastern Europe.

Bitpanda is building its banking infrastructure business

The RBI deal comes as Bitpanda has been expanding the institutional side of its business beyond its original retail crypto platform.

Bitpanda Enterprise provides banks and other financial companies with infrastructure for trading, custody, liquidity, payments, stablecoins and tokenization. Its systems can be integrated into a financial institution’s existing products instead of requiring the institution to build its own crypto infrastructure from the ground up.

Earlier in September, Bitpanda Enterprise expanded its work with BW-Bank as European banks continued adding digital asset products to existing financial services.

Bitpanda has worked with other major financial institutions as well. In May, IG Europe selected Bitpanda to provide liquidity, trading connectivity and market data for its planned European crypto trading expansion.

The Austrian company has maintained ties with Deutsche Bank since 2024, when the German lender began providing local IBANs and real time payment infrastructure for Bitpanda customers in Germany. The relationship has since expanded into other areas of digital asset infrastructure, with Deutsche Bank preparing crypto custody services for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Bitpanda reported €371 million in adjusted revenue for 2025, up 16% from the previous year, while its user base reached 7.4 million. Crypto.news previously reported that the company was expanding its white label infrastructure business alongside its retail operations.

European banks are adding more regulated crypto services

RBI’s framework comes during a period of growing participation by traditional banks in the European Union’s regulated crypto market.

Banks represented nearly 23% of entities listed on the European Securities and Markets Authority’s crypto provider register by Sept. 16, after their number roughly doubled from around 40 in late June to about 80. The total number of listed crypto providers rose from 243 to 349 over the same period.

German cooperative banks have accounted for part of that growth. Six more institutions joined the register in August, taking Germany’s total number of authorized crypto asset service providers to 79 at the time.

EU rules give banks a separate route into the crypto market under the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation. Credit institutions can provide covered crypto services after submitting the required information to their home regulator, while crypto companies generally need authorization as crypto asset service providers.

Bitpanda has positioned its regulated infrastructure as a way for banks and financial companies to enter that market without developing their own trading and custody systems. The company operates under MiCA licenses in Europe and has continued supplying infrastructure to institutions expanding their digital asset offerings.

Its regulatory record has faced scrutiny as well. Austria’s Financial Market Authority fined Bitpanda €70,000 in August over breaches involving crypto asset white paper and marketing requirements. The proceedings were completed through an expedited procedure and became the Austrian regulator’s first published final penalty under MiCA.

At the same time, traditional banks have continued taking a larger role in regulated crypto services. ESMA data showed banking institutions accounting for almost one in four listed crypto providers by mid September, though the services permitted for each institution differ and can include custody, transfers, order execution, portfolio management or exchanges between crypto assets and funds.

For RBI, the Bitpanda framework leaves those product decisions with its individual network banks. Participating institutions can introduce digital asset services when their local regulatory and operating conditions allow, using Bitpanda Enterprise as the common infrastructure layer behind their customer offerings.