Digital bank FV Bank integrates USDC stablecoin for direct deposits

The global digital bank FV Bank is the latest financial platform to enable deposits in Circle-backed stablecoin USD Coin (USDC).

FV Bank on Wednesday announced the launch of a new service allowing its account holders to make direct deposits in USDC to the bank’s U.S. dollar accounts. The new feature enables customers to receive USDC on their accounts similar to traditional deposits like wire or the automated clearing house network.

According to the announcement, received USDC funds are instantly and automatically converted into the U.S. dollar (USD) at the moment of deposit. This new solution allows FV Bank users to send invoices to their international clients in USDC, enabling faster and cheaper transactions as well as conversions, the firm said.

“We believe this feature will greatly enhance the user experience and open up more frictionless commerce,” FV Bank CEO Miles Paschini told Cointelegraph.

Paschini pointed out that USDC will be the first stablecoin accepted for deposit into USD at this time, but FV Bank might consider more stablecoins in the future.

“We have chosen USDC due to its licensing, reserve attestations and the real time 1:1 liquidity,” the CEO noted.

Apart from integrating USDC, FV Bank also plans to launch its own custody service in Q4 2022, allowing customers to hold digital assets in a custodial account alongside their depositary account. According to Paschini, FV Bank’s custody will support major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other coins, “based upon our supported assets criteria.”

FV Bank is a crypto-friendly digital bank regulated by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions in Puerto Rico. The company originally planned to roll out cryptocurrency custody services in 2021, following the suit of major U.S. banks like Standard Chartered.

According to the CEO, the firm’s crypto roadmap has not suffered any issues despite the ongoing crypto winter.

“Overall, the ‘bear market’ has not impacted our business as we continue to grow and expand our services in a responsible way,” Paschini said.

FV Bank is not the only financial institution integrating USDC. On Tuesday, crypto-friendly stock trading app Robinhood announced the listing of USDC. The stablecoin will become available for transfer on both Polygon and Ethereum networks Wednesday.

Related: Circle co-founder says converged dollar books on Binance would be good for USDC

While FV Bank and Robinhood are moving to add USDC support, some major companies have recently opted to limit some USDC services.

On Sept. 6, Binance announced plans to suspend trading of USDC alongside other stablecoins like Pax Dollar (USDP) and TrueUSD (TUSD), citing liquidity and capital efficiency purposes. The Indian exchange WazirX subsequently followed Binance in announcing the same measures and offering Binance-backed Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin instead.