This week marks the launch of PostFinance's long-awaited crypto offering, making the subsidiary of the Swiss Post the first systemically relevant financial institution in Switzerland to clearly position itself in the sector. This is a milestone for the Crypto Valley.
In July 2022, PostFinance made headlines with the announcement of a crypto plan, expressing its desire to become active in the industry early on, similar to US financial giants. The bank has already had positive experiences through its trading app Yuh - a partnership project of PostFinance and Swissquote - with high customer demand. A year later, Switzerland's largest retail bank got more specific. In collaboration with Swiss crypto bank Sygnum, PostFinance prepared for a launch in spring 2024. The timeline has been adhered to. Starting tomorrow, February 21st, in the course of the morning, the bank's 2.5 million customers will be able to trade and hold cryptocurrencies.
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Crypto investments via the main bank
As a retail bank, PostFinance's crypto service is aimed at investors of all sizes. The entry threshold of 50 US dollars for savings plans and individual orders is intended to make the service particularly accessible. The entire offering is seamlessly integrated into PostFinance's existing interface and is handled like other asset classes. Additionally, bank customers can use the service via e-banking around the clock (24/7), as the crypto markets do not adhere to traditional banking hours.
PostFinance believes that, today, trading crypto assets is clearly part of normal financial transactions for people. However, access to this asset class has historically been complex. Systemically important banks, at least in Switzerland, have been rather hesitant. Hence, PostFinance has seen over 1 billion Swiss Francs flow to crypto exchanges since 2019. A survey among crypto-affine customers in 2021 revealed that over 90% would actually prefer to stay with their regular bank.
"Cryptocurrencies represent another investment opportunity and are here to stay. The advantage is that our 2.5 million customers can now invest in cryptocurrencies simply and safely through their regular bank. Alongside traditional asset classes like cash, bonds, and stocks, cryptocurrencies are an attractive investment opportunity within alternative investments, such as real estate and commodities." - Philipp Merkt, Chief Investment Officer at PostFinance
Broader offering than the competition
For its initial offering, PostFinance provides access to eleven different cryptocurrencies. Besides Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the lineup includes familiar faces like Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Tezos (XTZ). Additionally, PostFinance prominently covers the DeFi sector with Chainlink (LINK), Uniswap (UNI), Aave (AAVE), and Compound (COMP). The scaling solutions Cosmos (ATOM) and Polygon (MATIC) are also featured. All cryptocurrencies have undergone a comprehensive due diligence review by the bank. This move meets the industry's desire to offer more than just the two largest cryptocurrencies. The Zug and St. Gallen cantonal banks offer six and two of these assets, respectively.
Ultimately, the retail bank sees significant potential in the entirety of the blockchain universe. Over the last two decades, technology companies dominated the investment world. For the next twenty years, Head of Digital Assets Dr. Alexander Thoma anticipates a rising dominance of themes such as artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability, the Internet of Things (IoT), digital assets, and the metaverse. Blockchain technology forms the foundation for this. With its crypto offering, PostFinance also aims to prepare its internal organization for the "megatrend". Further services like staking are already under review.
Details of the offering
Prior to the launch, the CVJ.CH editorial team was given exclusive access to PostFinance's crypto offering. We opened crypto accounts on various devices, traded different assets and set up a savings plan. The offering is well rounded and easy to use. Every cryptocurrency is accompanied by the familiar charts and a profit or loss statement. The fee structure looks as follows:
- Transaction fee: 0.95%
- Custody fee (waived in the first year)
- 0.15% per year for CHF 0+
- 0.10% per year for CHF 500,000+
- 0.05% per year for CHF 1,000,000+
