FV Bank becomes principal member of Visa

By Edlyn Cardoza

FV Bank, the rapidly growing U.S. licensed global challenger bank and digital asset custodian, has announced that it has been approved as a Principal Member of Visa. This is a key milestone in further establishing the bank as a market leader and full-service bank offering both traditional banking services alongside market leading digital asset custody and now issuance of Visa cards. The new card issuing capability represents an evolution of FV Bank’s vertically integrated product suite to serve institutional and retail clients who transact in fiat and cryptocurrencies and who are not currently catered to by the traditional banking sector.

The first bank in Puerto Rico with an Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF) digital asset custody license, the Bank is also the first FinTech, blockchain and cryptocurrency focussed bank to provide institutional clients a hybrid solution — marrying integrated traditional banking services including payments with the upcoming ability to hold fiat and digital assets in the same account and the facility to seamlessly convert digital assets to fiat currency.

The new Visa debit card will complement its suite of services and is planned to be available to FV bank business and individual account holders by the end of 2021 on a waitlist basis. Whereas all existing crypto-linked card programs are on an individual basis only, FV Bank’s Visa card will give its businesses account holders the option to obtain cards for multiple authorised employees — all drawn from one business account.

“Historically, the cards offered in the market that were somewhat compatible with digital assets have been offered only by a fragmented patchwork of program managers and non-bank fintechs,” said Miles Paschini, co-founder and CEO, FV Bank. “We are proud to be the first bank to provide a truly vertically-integrated solution that combines digital asset custody, traditional banking, and card issuance services to our international customers.”

“FV bank plans to introduce credit card versions in early 2022 which will enable users to leverage digital assets as collateral for credit lines which will be accessible via the FV Bank Visa card. There is a huge demand for customers who do not want to sell their crypto but want access to spendable funds,” said FV Bank co-founder Nitin Agarwal.

“Thanks to its global presence, partnership approach and trusted brand, Visa can help make digital currencies useful and applicable for payments. Visa’s work in the digital currency field is seen as an extension of its broader network-of-networks strategy, which is focused on enhancing various forms of money movement, whether on the Visa network or beyond. We are pleased to welcome FV Bank as Principal Member license and are thrilled about the fact that they will habilitate Cryptocurrency linked to Visa Card Programs,” said Luis Guerra, Country Manager Visa Puerto Rico.

Founded in 2018 by payments entrepreneurs Miles Paschini and Nitin Agarwal, FV Bank offers an online-only banking platform that meets the need for more open access to banking for FinTech, blockchain, and cryptocurrency companies. Operating on a B2B2C model, FV Bank serves corporate, institutional, and family office clients and their respective customers, creating a global network of connected users.

FV Bank recently closed a successful Series A funding round for $8 million, the newly injected capital has propelled the bank’s digital asset custody division and Visa Principal Membership.