Colombia’s Financial Superintendent Approves Nine Crypto Platforms to Work With National Banks

In Colombia, the entity managed by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, the Financial Superintendence of Colombia (Superfinanciera) has revealed the authorization of alliances between Colombian banks and digital currency exchanges. So far, Colombia’s financial department has approved nine partnerships between exchanges and national banks in order to make cryptocurrency operations more accessible to citizens.

Colombia’s Financial Superintendent Wants to Spread Crypto Accessibility

The Republic of Colombia in South America has been friendly toward crypto assets like bitcoin (BTC) and other digital currencies over the years. More recently, during the first week of January 2021, the Superintendence of Corporations in Colombia explained in an official circular that local firms can leverage capital to purchase bitcoin.

Now the Financial Superintendence of Colombia (Superfinanciera) or FSC has revealed a trial between regulated financial institutions in the country and digital currency exchanges.

The organization tied to Colombia’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit shared a tweet on January 29, 2021, that informed the public about the alliance between a number of national banks and a select group of crypto exchanges. The mission is to enable more cryptocurrency operations to make the crypto economy in Colombia more accessible.

Colombia's Financial Superintendent Approves Nine Crypto Platforms to Work With National Banks

The initiative started in 2020, and a number of exchanges had to get approval from the FSC in order to participate. To date, the financial watchdog approved nine digital currency exchanges so far, and the platforms Movii and Panda Exchange were included.

“The Evaluation and Monitoring Committee of the government pilot that will enable cash-in and cash-out operations in financial products of deposit on behalf of crypto asset exchange platforms selected nine out of fourteen initiatives that applied for tests,” the FSC explained. Essentially, the Colombian government’s crypto sandbox was created to enhance new technologies and financial products.

The Colombian Superintendence further said:

The pilot project does not have an impact on the current regulatory framework suitable for crypto assets, that is to say, it does not change the allocation of responsibilities in the information and risk management of this kind of transactions nor it could be understood as an authorization for the financial system to use the public’s savings to perform these operations or for the exchange platforms to be under the supervision of Superfinanciera.

Panda Exchange Founder: ‘The Colombian Government Opened the Door to Real Crypto Adoption’

News.Bitcoin.com has reported on the expansion of Panda Exchange during the last few years. In 2018, Panda expanded its crypto-to-fiat trading markets, in 2019 the company launched a number of hybrid point-of-sale (PoS) crypto ATMs in Bogota and Venezuela.

Colombia's Financial Superintendent Approves Nine Crypto Platforms to Work With National Banks

Panda is partnered with Movii and in order to become registered and a verified Panda Exchange user, all an individual needs is a valid Movii account.

“Our platform has been working on this initiative and subsequent approval since last quarter of 2020 in order to be included in that important and innovative ruling,” the company explained during the announcement.

Panda further added:

Now it is easier than ever to take part of the cryptocurrency world, thanks to this ruling, crypto assets trading could be part of your everyday life. [Panda Exchange] meets all the legal and financial requirements set to be authorized to enable operations in crypto-assets for Colombians through our partnership with Movii.

Speaking with news.Bitcoin.com, Panda Exchange founder Arley Lozano said his team was thrilled to make crypto assets more accessible to his Colombian brothers and sisters. “This is an opportunity that our team was waiting for and finally the government has opened the door to the real crypto adoption,” Lozano stressed. “We are extremely happy to be one of the crypto platforms that was chosen by Colombia’s financial authorities,” the exchange founder concluded.

What do you think about the Superfinanciera approving nine crypto platforms for this initiative? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.