Colombian Bank to Allow Deposits & Withdrawals with Crypto Exchanges in Government-Sponsored Pilot

Banco de Bogotá is the first commercial bank of Colombia that plans to test deposits and withdrawals with cryptocurrency exchanges. This initiative is part of a year-long government-sponsored pilot that will test banking services for crypto platforms. Colombia’s financial watchdog, the Financial Superintendency of Colombia (SFC), had announced earlier this year that nine crypto firms were chosen to test banking services for crypto platforms. Crypto exchanges Binance and Gemini were chosen by the SFC, which will operate with Colombian banks Davivienda and Bancolombia, respectively. Before this pilot, banks were restricted from transferring money to exchanges due to financial regulations. Starting in August, Banco de Bogotá will allow its customers to send and withdraw money from Chilean crypto exchange Buda.com. Both the parties involved, however, are still working on the terms and definition of the contract. This agreement between Banco de Bogotá and Buda.com is the second such to be launched as crypto exchanges Panda and Bitpoint started working with Colombian fintech Movii this month. Banco de Bogotá will also operate with Mexican exchange Bitso, but that partnership is yet to be started.