Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), the Austrian banking group, announced a group-wide agreement with Vienna-based crypto broker Bitpanda on Sept. 23 that will let its network banks in Central and Eastern Europe offer digital assets to a potential customer base the companies put at around 18 million.

Until now, Bitpanda’s work with Raiffeisen banks has been set up one bank at a time, starting in Austria. Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien (RLB NÖ-Wien), one of the regional Raiffeisen banks that together own about 61% of RBI, added Bitpanda trading to its Mein ELBA banking app in January 2024. Bitpanda describes it as one of the first traditional EU banks to offer crypto inside an existing banking app.

The new agreement sets up a single framework for the whole RBI group instead. Bitpanda Enterprise, the broker’s business-to-business arm, will supply the underlying infrastructure. Each RBI network bank will choose what to offer and when, based on its local market and regulation, Bitpanda said.

“We are seeing growing demand for crypto assets in our markets, which we are addressing with a strong, reputable partner,” RBI CEO Michael Höllerer said in the release. Höllerer was chief executive of RLB NÖ-Wien when it introduced the Austrian integration in 2024.

First Markets Planned for 2027

The announcement left the timing to each bank. RBI plans to start in the first half of 2027 with its banks in Albania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Bitpanda’s Bank Partners

Other Raiffeisen banks in Austria have signed on individually. Raiffeisen Salzburg, a separate regional group, said on Sept. 21 that it has offered Bitpanda access in the same app since August. In that release, Bitpanda Enterprise listed N26, Société Générale and Deutsche Börse Group among its partners.

Elsewhere in European banking, Deutsche Bank said on Sept. 16 that it will hold bitcoin and ether for institutional and corporate clients, with the first going live this year after the regulatory process is complete.

Bitpanda co-founder and co-CEO Christian Trummer said in the release that the partnership combines “the reach and trust of traditional banking with digital asset technology to create infrastructure that works across markets and borders.”

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