BCB Group, a financial services company that provides financial services to cryptocurrency companies including Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Galaxy Digital,received a payment operator license from the UK financial regulator.
BCB Group announced a license andnoted that its subsidiary BCB Payments has become the "first and only cryptocurrency industry oriented" company to be registered as an Authorized Payment Institution in the UK.
As UK banks are reluctant to work with cryptocurrency firms, BCB is one of the few available options for industry participants.The firm said it "focuses on B2B payment services, including account services for businesses and providing liquidity for the world's largest crypto-related financial institutions."
BCB Payments has been registered with the Officein the UK Financial Supervision Authority (FCA) in June 2018 as a Small Payment Institution - the regulator did not oversee the activities of the company. The company said that it has now obtained an authorized payment institution license and is regulated by the FCA.
"This regulatory approval for our firm, a leading provider of payment services to cryptocurrency firms, is a testament to how digital asset innovation can be driven while operating in full compliance with some of the strictest legislation in the world," Oliver saidOliver von Landsberg-Sadie, Founder and CEO of BCB Group.
The firm expects the license will allow it to attract new international customers in the UK and Switzerland.
Banking ProblemUK cryptocurrency companies came to the fore last July, when banking giant Barclays stopped working with Coinbase. The full-fledged work of the exchange was resumed only in October, when Coinbase began working with Clearbank.
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