Banco de Bogotá, one of the oldest Colombian banks, will participate in a pilot cryptocurrency project under the control of the Colombian Financial Authority.
The management of Banco de Bogotá announced that testing of the project will begin this month, and certain clients of the bank will become its participants, who will carry out cryptocurrency transactions in a limited volume. Banco de Bogotá customers will have the opportunity to purchase cryptocurrencies for Colombian pesos and withdraw cryptoassets in the same currency.
This will be done using the bank’s payment channels, without the participation of cryptocurrency exchanges. Through testing, the bank intends to assess the risks associated with cryptocurrency transactions and adapt its business model for this. The initiative aims to make digital assets more accessible to the country’s population.
Oscar Bernal Quintero, vice president of technology development at Banco de Bogotá, said the pilot’s main goal is to help develop regulatory requirements that will allow banks to handle cryptocurrencies in accordance with Colombian law.
At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the security of transactions. Quintero added that the project is complementary to the initiatives the bank is taking to promote technological innovation. Banco de Bogotá conducts various research and development of new digital products.
“We intend to take an active part in the digital transformation of the country and are ready to help in the development of regulation that will allow legal transactions using cryptocurrencies,” Quintero said.
Note that the citizens of Colombia show great interest in bitcoin and see it as a salvation from the economic crisis. However, the regulators have not indicated their position on cryptocurrencies. Last fall, a Colombian congressman proposed that cryptocurrency exchanges have special requirements for working with clients and submitting tax reports.
