French banking giant BPCE has announced its strategy to roll out a crypto trading service for its retail clients and customers.
Following this announcement, French banking group BPCE will start offering crypto trading services to several retail customers through the use of its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne apps, with plans to expand to more users and clients by 2026.
In addition, the service will give customers the possibility to buy and sell BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC through a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarq, with a EUR 2.99 monthly fee and 1.5% transaction commission. Furthermore, the move follows similar initiatives by other European banks, including BBVA, Santander, and Raiffeisen Bank, which have already started the process of offering crypto trading services to their customers.
Accelerating development and growth in an ever-evolving market
According to CoinDesk, a BPCE representative mentioned that the phased launch is designed to monitor adoption and system performance before scaling.
The announcement follows BPCE’s strategy to acquire Novo Banco for USD 7.4 billion. The deal came during a period of increased cross-border and domestic banking mergers in the region of Europe, where regulators have been working on industry consolidation in order to integrate the financial sector and counter growing competition from US banking organisations.
Regarding the acquisition, BPCE’s representatives also stated that the deal falls in line with what the European Central Bank (ECB) is advocating for, specifically for European banking consolidation. At the same time, the cash acquisition of Novo Banco was expected to allow the bank to expand into a second retail market outside France, where it now operates two banking groups. The Bank of France underlined that this comes as one of the largest cross-border deals in Europe in recent years, with the decision also supporting both the banking union and the entire French banking system. When it comes to the completion of the acquisition, BPCE mentioned that the deal should be finalised during the first half of 2026.
