Bitpanda Receives Payment License from the European Union

In an official blog post published on April 4, 2019, the Viennese cryptocurrency brokerage platform Bitpanda confirmed that it has received a license to operate as a payment service provider in Austria.Specifically, Bitpanda received the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) license, an order that provides oversight into the operation of service providers in both the European Economic Area (EEA) and the European Union.With this license in hand, entities in the European financial and technological space can launch new products and services for customers while following clear rules on how to operate within their common market. Bitpanda’s PSD2 was issued by the Austrian financial watchdog Financial Market Authority (FMA).Bitpanda has kept any future expansion plans under wraps, but obtaining the PSD2 license means the firm can now get a piece of the banking industry’s action and offer new payment solutions beyond its crypto offerings.“Our goal is to bridge the gap between the modern and traditional financial world,” managing director Philipp Bohrn said, per the blog post. “The payment service provider license will allow us to tear barriers down.’’Bitpanda’s head of financial services and co-managing director, Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, added that the company’s goals are to “make digital assets spendable anywhere [their] users want.”Established in 2014 as Coinimal, Bitpanda has built itself into one of the most popular and trustwo...