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Points of Focus
- Raiffeisen Bank International and Bitpanda have created a group-wide structure for digital asset services across RBI’s 11 Central and Eastern European markets.
- The agreement builds on Bitpanda integrations that began at RLB NÖ-Wien and later expanded to 55 additional Raiffeisen banks in Austria.
- Selected CEE markets are expected to begin launching services in the first half of 2027, extending a model developed in Austria across RBI’s regional banking footprint.
Raiffeisen Bank International is extending a crypto setup already used by dozens of Austrian Raiffeisen banks across its Central and Eastern European business. RBI and Bitpanda announced the expanded partnership on Sept. 23, creating a common structure through which subsidiary banks can integrate digital asset services using Bitpanda Enterprise.
RBI operates subsidiary banks in 11 CEE markets and reported €205 billion in total assets as of June 30. Its businesses serve 18.8 million customers, giving the partnership access to a substantial existing regional customer base.
Implementation will proceed market by market, with individual banks adapting their products and launch schedules to local demand and regulatory requirements. RBI CEO Michael Höllerer said selected CEE markets are expected to begin launching services during the first half of 2027, although the group has yet to publish a full country-by-country timetable or list of supported assets.
Austria provided the template
The partnership developed first inside Raiffeisen’s Austrian operations. RLB NÖ-Wien introduced Bitpanda-powered crypto access through its existing banking environment, allowing customers to buy and sell digital assets while Bitpanda handled the underlying trading technology.
The arrangement widened substantially in 2024. By May, Bitpanda had extended the model to 55 additional Raiffeisen banks across Lower Austria and Burgenland.
Höllerer also led RLB NÖ-Wien when the original Bitpanda integration was introduced, before becoming RBI CEO in July 2026.
Until now, Raiffeisen’s Bitpanda deployments had been arranged bank by bank. The new group-wide framework gives RBI a common infrastructure layer that its network banks can draw on, covering investment products, liquidity, custody, payments, stablecoins and tokenization, while individual banks retain control over which capabilities to offer and when to launch them.
Bitpanda is moving deeper into bank products
Bitpanda has increasingly positioned its Enterprise arm as a provider to financial institutions adding crypto and other digital assets to existing services. Earlier this month, the company expanded its work with LBBW Group by supplying the technology behind BW-Bank’s digital investment product in Germany.
The RBI agreement extends that strategy across a banking group operating in multiple jurisdictions. Local subsidiaries will retain control over product design, launch timing and customer access, while drawing on the same underlying Bitpanda infrastructure.
The shift is taking place as established financial companies add more blockchain-based products to existing channels. Hana Bank recently issued a $100 million digital bond with T+0 settlement through Euroclear, while Spark’s stablecoin FX Layer surpassed $12 billion in cumulative volume in less than three months.
Large technology companies are exploring similar payment infrastructure. Apple and Google have posted roles focused on stablecoins and tokenized payment systems, adding to signs that digital asset functionality is moving deeper into mainstream financial products.
Selected CEE launches in the first half of 2027 will provide the first test of how Raiffeisen’s Austrian setup translates across different regulatory and customer environments.
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