Crypto Friendly EMI Account Vs Crypto Friendly Bank Account
Index
- Overview
- What is the difference between an EMI and traditional bank
- Crypto friendly bank account at EMI vs traditional bank differences
- Difference in service offerings between EMI and Banks for crypto accounts
- Crypto friendly bank accounts supported currencies
- Is it better to open a crypto account at a bank or EMI
- Transfer protocols offered by crypto friendly banks and EMI
- Which country can easily open a crypto bank account
- Where can I open a crypto friendly bank account
- Different types of cryptocurrency accounts
- Contact Information

1.An overview of cryptocurrency offerings and requirements
As the world evolves towards a more crypto friendly environment, demand grows for crypto friendly banking services, there are many financial institutions that already have the relevant infrastructure in place to support customers with such demands.
Opening a cryptocurrency bank account is possible for both individual and business accounts.
The process of opening a crypto friendly bank account can be completed remotely, without the need to visit the country where the bank is located.
Cryptocurrency bank accounts can be opened in both traditional banks and Neo-banks.
Neo-Banks are banks, or similar financial institutions that are entirely digital, and do not have any physical presence in the country that issued the banking license.
Crypto friendly bank accounts can be opened with 2 types institutions.
- Classic traditional banks.
- Neo Banks known as Electronic Money Institutions, or EMI for short.
2.What is the difference between an EMI and traditional bank

Electronic money institutions simply process transactions and they do not hold physically hold any funds.
The funds that you deposit or send, are kept with a safeguarding bank, also known as safekeeping bank.
You can consider electronic money institutions to be the artificial intelligence or AI of the industry, where they apply the newest technology and tasks get completely quick, operations are generally leaner and smoother.
EMI is typically do not have. a location that you can walk into for assistance. However, they do have call centers in most cases that can support with most matters.
Large Electronic Money Institutions (EMI) that were first to become crypto friendly have amassed millions of users. These EMIs open crypto friendly bank accounts usually prefer contact by email due to the overwhelming number of customers, compared to employees.
If you are the type of person that prefer speaking with a person whenever you have a question or issue, then opening a crypto friendly account at a retail or private bank is the way to go.
A bank is your classic brick and motors type of operation where they have bankers that you can speak with in person.
3.Crypto friendly bank account at EMI vs traditional bank differences
For most users, there is no difference between opening the crypto friendly bank account at any Electronic Money Institution or crypto family bank account at a traditional bank.
Both type of companies offers business and personal accounts.
For individual users looking to open a personal crypto friendly bank account for storage, daily use or trading in crypto currency, they can do so at an EMI or bank.
Companies that conduct business in cryptocurrency, and requires bank accounts for sending and receiving crypto can also open crypto friendly bank accounts at traditional banks, as well as financial institutions like Electronic Money Institution.
4. Difference in service offerings between EMI and Banks for crypto accounts
Both crypto friend banks and crypto friendly EMI offer bank accounts that you can store, send and received cryptocurrency.
Both EMI and Banks that are crypto friendly offers IBAN accounts, that works like a normal bank account you have now, where you are able to send and receive liquidated fiat from cryptocurrency sources.
Crypto friendly iban accounts offer multiple currencies after you have liquidated your cryptocurrency and can transfer these fiat currency to normal bank accounts, at banks that are not crypto friendly.
Whether you have liquidated your cryptocurrency and wish to transfer the converted fiat from liquidated crypto to another bank account or send in fiat currency to this bank account to purchase crypto currency, there is a large supported fiat currencies for both sending and receiving.

5. Crypto friendly bank accounts supported currencies
- AED – د.إ – United Arab Emirates Dirham
- ARS – $ – Argentine Peso
- AUD – $ – Australian Dollar
- BAM – KM – Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark
- BBD – $ – Barbadian Dollar
- BDT – ৳ – Bangladeshi Taka
- BGN – лв – Bulgarian Lev
- BHD – .د.ب – Bahraini Dinar 1
- BMD – $ – Bermudian Dollar
- BOB – Bs – Bolivian Boliviano
- BRL – R$ – Brazilian Real
- BSD – $ – Bahamian Dollar
- BTC – ₿ – Bitcoin (Cryptocurrency, not fiat)
- BWP – P – Botswanan Pula
- BZD – $ – Belize Dollar
- CAD – $ – Canadian Dollar
- CHF – Fr. – Swiss Franc
- CLP – $ – Chilean Peso
- CNH – ¥ – Chinese Yuan Offshore
- CNY – ¥ – Chinese Yuan Renminbi
- COP – $ – Colombian Peso
- CZK – Kč – Czech Koruna
- DKK – kr – Danish Krone
- DZD – د.ج – Algerian Dinar
- EGP – £ – Egyptian Pound
- EUR – € – Euro
- FJD – $ – Fijian Dollar
- GEL – ლ – Georgian Lari
- GHS – ₵ – Ghanaian Cedi
- GIP – £ – Gibraltar Pound
- GMD – D – Gambian Dalasi
- GBP – £ – British Pound Sterling
- GTQ – Q – Guatemalan Quetzal
- HKD – $ – Hong Kong Dollar
- HRK – kn – Croatian Kuna
- HUF – Ft – Hungarian Forint
- IDR – Rp – Indonesian Rupiah
- ILS – ₪ – Israeli New Shekel
- INR – ₹ – Indian Rupee
- ISK – kr – Icelandic Króna
- JPY – ¥ – Japanese Yen
- KES – Sh – Kenyan Shilling
- KRW – ₩ – South Korean Won
- KWD – د.ك – Kuwaiti Dinar
- KYD – $ – Cayman Islands Dollar
- KZT – ₸ – Kazakhstani Tenge
- LKR – රු – Sri Lankan Rupee
- LRD – $ – Liberian Dollar
- LSL – L – Lesotho Loti
- MAD – د.م – Moroccan Dirham
- MDL – L – Moldovan Leu
- MGA – Ar – Malagasy Ariary
- MKD – ден – Macedonian Denar
- MMK – K – Myanmar Kyat
- MNT – ₮ – Mongolian 3 Tögrög
- MOP – P – Macanese Pataca
- MUR – ₨ – Mauritian Rupee
- MXN – $ – Mexican Peso
- MYR – RM – Malaysian Ringgit
- MZN – MT – Mozambican Metical
- NAD – $ – Namibian Dollar
- NGN – ₦ – Nigerian Naira
- NOK – kr – Norwegian Krone
- NPR – ₨ – Nepalese Rupee
- NZD – $ – New Zealand Dollar
- OMR – ر.ع. – Omani Rial
- PEN – S/. – Peruvian Sol
- PHP – ₱ – Philippine Peso
- PKR – ₨ – Pakistani Rupee
- PLN – zł – Polish Złoty
- QAR – ر.ق – Qatari Riyal
- RON – lei – Romanian Leu
- RSD – дин – Serbian Dinar
- RUB – ₽ – Russian Ruble
- RWF – FRw – Rwandan Franc
- SAR – ر.س – Saudi Riyal
- SDG – ج.س. – Sudanese Pound
- SEK – kr – Swedish Krona
- SGD – $ – Singapore Dollar
- SLL – Le – Sierra Leonean Leone
- THB – ฿ – Thai Baht
- TND – د.ت – Tunisian Dinar
- TRY – ₺ – Turkish Lira
- TTD – $ – Trinidad and Tobago Dollar
- TZS – Sh – Tanzanian Shilling
- UAH – ₴ – Ukrainian Hryvnia
- UGX – USh – Ugandan Shilling
- USD – $ – United States Dollar
- UYU – $U – Uruguayan Peso
- UZS – soʻm – Uzbekistan Som
- VES – Bs. S. – Venezuelan Bolívar
- VND – ₫ – Vietnamese Đồng
- XCD – $ – East Caribbean Dollar
- XOF – CFA – West African CFA franc
- YER – ﷼ – Yemeni Rial
- ZAR – R – South African Rand
- ZMW – ZK – Zambian Kwacha
6. Is it better to open a crypto account at a bank or EMI
Benefits of opening a cryptocurrency bank account at EMI
It is important to understand that opening a cryptocurrency bank account at an EMI is every bit as secure as opening an account at a normal bank.
The main difference is that banks will keep customer deposits in their own accounts, whereas Electronic Money Institutions are required to keep customer deposits at what is known as a safekeeping or safeguard bank.
Whenever customers need to send or receive payment, the Electronic Money Institution communicates with the safeguarding bank to transmit the payment and this process is instant during normal business hours.
Most highstreets banks can be appointed as a safeguarding bank by any Electronic Money Institution, examples of high street banks are Citibank, Barclays, Lloyds, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs.
Crypto friendly EMIs have a predetermined list of criteria to determine the type of customers they will onboard, these include:
- Business Activity
- Countries where funds are to be sent and received
- Country of residence
- Ultimate Beneficiary Owner’s nationality
Advantages of opening a cryptocurrency bank account at offshore banks
Both retail and private banks offer opportunities to open a crypto friendly bank account.
Offshore banks offer the ability to open bank accounts for both business and individual use with no relation to the country where the bank is located.
Offshore crypto friendly banks welcomes international individual customers who do not reside in their country, which means It is not necessary to hold a residence permit or place a residence in the foreign country where the bank is located.
Similarly, in order to open a crypto friendly business account for a company, it is not necessary for the company to be registered in the country where the offshore bank is located.
Customers that prefer a personal touch can opt for private banking, where you are assigned a private banker who is your relationship managers, and understands your goals that we’re trying to achieve.
These relationship managers ensure you to have a smooth banking experience and caters to any special requirements that you have.
If you require urgent assistance, relationship managers will be able to expedite your request internally whereas an EMI you will have to wait with other customers in a queue.
After you have liquidated your cryptocurrency, if you keep the funds in the crypto friendly bank account, the banks may loan this amount out to other customers who are in need and offer you a certain amount of interest in return.
EMIs on the other hand, do not loan any funds out and are 100% cash reserve as any amount that you deposit are kept strictly at the partnered safeguarding bank.
Services offered by crypto friendly EMIs and Banks.
Both EMI and banks that are crypto friendly offers the same type of services such as:
- Debit cards (Visa and Mastercard are offered by EMI and bank – debit or prepaid cards)
- Credit cards (Only banks can offer credit cards as they are licensed to offer credit)
- Mass payments for bulk transactions, either sending or receiving
7. Transfer protocols offered by crypto friendly banks and EMI
EMIs and banks offer international transfer options such as SWIFT, SEPA and local sending and receiving options as seen below.
- ACH – Automated Clearing House (Primarily used in the US)
- BACS – Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services (UK)
- CHAPS – Clearing House Automated Payment System (UK)
- CHATS – Clearing House Automated Transfer System (Hong Kong)
- DKKLocan – Danish Krone Local Payments (Denmark)
- DKK RTGS – Danish Krone Real-Time Gross Settlement (Kronos 2)
- Faster Payments – United Kingdom
- Fedwire – USA Federal Reserve Wire Transfer System
- FPS UAE – Faster Payment System – United Arab Emirates
- Local HK FPS CHATS – Hong Kong Faster Payment System and Clearing House Automated Transfer System
- NOK Local – Norwegian Krone Local Payments
- PLN Local – Polish Złoty Local Payments
- SEK Local – Swedish Krona Local Payments
- SEPA instant – Single Euro Payments Area Instant Credit Transfer
- SEPA – Single Euro Payments Area, same day Euro payments across Europe
- Target2 – Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer system 2 (Eurozone)
8. Which country can easily open a crypto bank account
Crypto friendly bank accounts can be open at offshore banks for business and personal use can be opened in:
- Andorra
- Bahamas
- BVI
- Curacao
- Dominica
- Gibraltar
- Hong Kong
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Monaco
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Slovakia
- Switzerland
- Vanuatu
Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) that are crypto friendly can be found in:
- Canada
- Cyprus
- Greece
- Ireland
- Lithuania
- Malta
- Spain
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom (UK)
- United States (USA)
9. Where can I open a crypto friendly bank account
There are many factors to consider when deciding which jurisdiction is the best to open a crypto friendly business bank account for your company or individual use.
These factors include:
- Application fees
- Monthly fees
- Transfer and receiving fees
- Minimum account balance
- Business Activity
- Country of business registration
- Countries where funds are to be sent and received
- Country of residence
- Ultimate Beneficiary Owner’s nationality
- Currencies required
- Transfer protocol required
- Preferred country for issuance of iban
- Debit and/or credit card issuance
- Financial institution reputation
- Operational account for administrative purpose vs sending to and receiving payments from 3rd parties.
10.Different types of cryptocurrency accounts
Depending on the institution chosen, there are different types of Crypto accounts, they can be categorized into two types.
Completely crypto friendly
- Able to receive crypto currencies such as USDT, Bitcoin (BTC) directly into the bank account.
- Able to liquid crypto directly in the bank account and keeps the converted fiat amount in the bank account.
- Able to buy and sell crypto directly in the bank account from fiat currency.
- Able to receive fiat currency that has been liquidated from crypto, sent by cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, Kraken, Crypto.com
Semi Crypto friendly
- Only able to receive fiat currency that has been liquidated from crypto, sent by cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, Kraken, Crypto.com
How BUH consulting can assist
Our team will work with you to understand your requirements, eligibility criteria and place your business account with the most suitable banks and assign relationship managers from various that can onboard your account for your company.
Contact information
For a tailored solution, contact us to discuss about your requirements.
Email: – sam@buh-consulting.com
Phone: +971585086656
Whatsapp: +971585086656
Telegram: BUHConsultingAE
