Major French banking group BPCE is set to start offering crypto trading services to retail clients through its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne apps from Monday.
Customers of four regional banks, including Banque Populaire Île-de-France and Caisse d’Epargne Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, will be able to buy and sell Bitcoin. ether solana and USDC directly through their banking apps, reports The Big Whale.
The rollout will reach approximately 2 million customers in the pilot phase, with BPCE planning to expand the reach to its full 12 million-strong retail base by 2026.
The service operates through a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarch, BPCE’s crypto-focused subsidiary. Each account comes with a monthly fee of 2.99 euros ($3.48) and a 1.5% transaction commission, with a minimum fee of one euro per trade.
A BPCE representative said the phased launch is designed to monitor adoption and system performance before scaling up.
Other European banks have already taken similar steps. BBVA allows crypto trading directly in its Spanish banking app, while Santander’s OpenBank offers access to five crypto assets with integrated custody. Additionally, the Vienna-based unit of Raiffeisen Bank partnered with Bitpanda to offer crypto to its customers.