South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) has partnered with local cryptocurrency platform, VALR, to allow customers to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and USDT directly through the bank’s app.

The service will provide 24/7 trading with customers able to fund their crypto purchases from their FNB accounts through existing share-investment products. The digital assets will remain ring-fenced within FNB’s infrastructure, meaning customers will not be able to transfer them to external wallets.

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The arrangement gives FNB greater control over custody, security, and compliance while allowing customers to access crypto through an existing banking relationship rather than a standalone exchange.

FNB said it plans to expand the range of cryptocurrencies available through the service and introduce educational resources covering the risks associated with digital-asset investing.

The latest development comes after ABSA bank said it has began offering crypto asset custody services initially available to institutional clients in South Africa.

The service provides the safekeeping, administration and transfer of digital assets within a regulated banking environment.

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The move comes as South Africa develops a more formal regulatory framework for crypto assets and as banks increasingly seek to serve customers already participating in the market.

For FNB, the partnership with VALR reflects a shift from treating crypto as a separate financial market to integrating digital assets into mainstream banking services while retaining controls around custody and transfers.

The launch also highlights the growing role of partnerships between traditional financial institutions and crypto platforms as banks look to meet demand for digital assets without exposing customers or their own systems to the full operational risks of external crypto wallets.

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