Customers of Fibank (First Investment Bank) will be able to invest in digital assets directly from their banking app after the Bulgaria-based bank partnered with Bitpanda Enterprise, the institutional infrastructure arm of Bitpanda. The service is expected to go live in early 2027 and will run on Bitpanda Enterprise’s infrastructure. It will give Fibank’s more than one million customers access to crypto alongside their existing banking services in the My Fibank app. Bitpanda will be the sole provider of crypto asset services under the arrangement.
Bitpanda Enterprise supplies the underlying infrastructure
Under the partnership, Bitpanda Enterprise provides the digital asset infrastructure and capabilities behind the service, while Fibank integrates the offering into its existing app. Bitpanda Enterprise’s technology combines investment infrastructure, liquidity, custody, payments, stablecoins, and tokenisation within one ecosystem, serving banks, fintechs, brokers, trading firms, family offices, and corporate clients. Through its institutional partnerships, it provides digital asset access to end users across the EU, the UK, the UAE, and LATAM. Its partners include N26, Société Générale, Deutsche Börse Group, selected Raiffeisen Banks, RAKBANK, and Onda Finance.
The partnership reflects a change in how consumers reach digital assets. Early adoption was driven largely by crypto exchanges and crypto-native users, but digital assets are increasingly offered through the banking and financial services people already use. Nadeem Ladki, Global Director of Bitpanda Enterprise, said banks are playing a central role in bringing digital assets into mainstream finance. The official added that the partnership puts this into practice in Bulgaria through a banking environment customers already know.
Fibank widens the scope of its app
For Fibank, the integration is part of developing My Fibank into a digital platform through which customers can access a wider range of financial products. According to Fibank’s CEO, Nikola Bakalov, customers’ financial habits are changing, and the app needs to evolve with them. Fibank also said it was important that the service is being introduced with a European technology partner and in compliance with applicable European requirements. The bank serves retail clients, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporate customers, with activities spanning corporate banking, trade finance, international payments, and card services. Its operations are centred in Bulgaria, with a regional presence through a branch in Cyprus and a subsidiary bank in Albania.
