PANews reported on July 29 that RAKBANK, a traditional bank in the UAE, has reached a cooperation with Bitpanda, a cryptocurrency platform headquartered in Vienna, becoming the first traditional bank in the UAE to provide retail cryptocurrency services. Users can now buy, sell and exchange cryptocurrencies through RAKBANK's mobile banking app, and transactions are settled directly in UAE dirhams (AED), avoiding exchange rate fees when trading in US dollars or euros.

The service executes transactions through Bitpanda's Dubai-regulated subsidiary Bitpanda Broker MENA DMCC, and user funds are deducted directly from savings or current accounts without being transferred to third-party cryptocurrency exchanges. Raheel Ahmed, CEO of RAKBANK, said that this solution provides UAE users with an efficient, seamless and fully regulated cryptocurrency trading experience. The service is currently launched by invitation and will be open to a wider range of users in the future.