In a bid to get a slice of the growing cryptocurrency market share in India, banking platform Cashaa has announced its launch in India. It will be releasing personal account services for the same by mid-August, it said.
“We planned to release it during Independence week as a symbol of the freedom of money. We will start issuing cards to account holders by the end of this year,” Cashaa said in a press release.
Unicas, a joint venture between Cashaa and United, claims to be the ‘world’s first cryptocurrency financial institution with physical locations’ created to “satisfy the regulatory requirements” in India.
The company plans to launch personal accounts services in India including savings accounts for Indian Rupees and cryptocurrency, loans for buying cryptocurrency, lending against cryptocurrency and card services, the company said.
Even after Supreme Court order struck down the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s ban on cryptocurrency last year, private and public sector banks in the country have warned their customers against using their services to trade in cryptocurrencies.
“Recently, Indian banks appear to be cracking down on crypto and exchanges even though India hasn’t formally banned cryptocurrencies. Indian crypto exchanges are struggling to keep fiat coming in as banks are halting transfers to crypto-related accounts. As a result, these exchanges are now turning to Cashaa to maintain their fiat services,” Cashaa noted.
Responding to The Indian Express on whether the company has sought permission sought from the RBI, Cashaa’s Chairman of Advisory Board Kumar Gaurav said that United operates as a multi-state cooperative society and thus doesn’t need the central bank’s permission for this model.
“As we give services to members only, we do not need the RBI’s permission for this model. United is also a member of the National Federation of Urban Co-operative Banks and Credit Societies Ltd (NAFCUB) vide membership No. 1753 and certified with ISO 9001:2008 for Quality Management Systems,” Gaurav told the publication.
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