Crypto-adaptive commercial bank BankProv is collaborating with crowdfunding marketplace Republic to offer escrow accounts to BankProv customers who want to raise funds on their platforms.
Republic will be modifying BankProv’s Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS)service, which was outsourced from financial technology company Treasury Prime. With the new collaboration, Republic will use Treasury Prime’s API-based financial services to offer escrow accounts to BankProv customers.
BankProv’s CEO Dave Mansfield commented on the new partnership and said:
“Our focus on developing specialized Banking as a Service (BaaS) technology tailored for our customers allows us to deploy industry-first solutions to underserved markets.”
With the new escrow service, BankProv’s corporate clients can collect fundraising for their projects in crypto and fiat money.
BankProv
BankProv is a 200-year-old Provident Bancorp subsidiary and legally operates as the Provident Bank. BankProv defines itself as the “future-ready commercial bank” for corporate clients. Its services revolve around crypto, renewable energy, and innovative financial technologies.
The bank offers Bitcoin ATMs, crypto-backed lending options, crypto deposit solutions, and USD accounts for crypto-native companies. Its escrow accounts will be a new addition to the bank’s crypto services.
Crypto Bank vs. Crypto-friendly Bank
Since the crypto space still lacks a well-rounded regulatory framework, it is difficult to tell what makes a crypto bank. In the U.S., any institution can use the title ‘bank’ as long as it is licensed to hold U.S. dollars. In this respect, banks that have crypto integrations can’t be considered crypto banks.
New-generation banks like Revolut, Juno, and ally offer banking solutions and crypto integrations. Revolut, for example, allows its users to access and trade crypto assets and the stock market from its platform. Ally has a Coinbase integration, where users can link their bank accounts or credit cards to their Coinbase wallets and use them for trading crypto. On the other hand, Juno offers interest on savings in USDC and allows users to convert their paychecks to crypto.
Some argue that it is enough to allow users to hold crypto to become a crypto bank. Others, like Cornell’s Law School Professor Dan Awrey, think the term crypto bank “ensures a concrete meaning.”
While Awrey doesn’t specify what that concrete meaning would refer to, it is possible to say that BankProv has higher crypto-adoption than other new generation banks and is most close to being referred to as a crypto bank. Even though it may still not be enough to be called a crypto bank, BankProv offers USD accounts to crypto companies and crypto-backed lending options, which other new-generation banks do not provide.
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