A Swiss crypto bank makes European banking history
AMINA Bank, a regulated Swiss crypto bank, has become the first European bank to officially go live with Ripple Payments. This integration marks a significant step in connecting traditional banking infrastructure with blockchain technology. The partnership gives crypto-native clients a more efficient way to move funds across borders without dealing with the typical friction points of older banking systems.
Ripple announced this integration builds on AMINA’s earlier adoption of Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD. It’s interesting to see how these pieces fit together over time. The bank had already been working with Ripple’s stablecoin, and now they’re expanding that relationship into full payment infrastructure.
Bridging the gap between traditional and digital finance
For years, crypto companies have struggled with traditional banking networks, especially when handling stablecoin transfers and global settlements. Myles Harrison, Chief Product Officer at AMINA, explained that legacy correspondent banking systems simply weren’t designed for digital assets. Stablecoin transfers create particular friction because most banks don’t support them properly.
Ripple Payments changes this dynamic. By connecting directly to Ripple’s licensed infrastructure, AMINA can now route transactions through both fiat and stablecoin channels simultaneously. This should mean faster fund movement, lower costs, better transparency, and improved reliability across borders.
Harrison mentioned this upgrade gives AMINA’s clients a competitive advantage as web3 businesses expand globally. I think he’s right about the timing – there’s definitely a growing need for these kinds of solutions.
Ripple’s expanding European presence
Ripple sees this partnership as part of its broader strategy to mature digital asset payments worldwide. Cassie Craddock, Ripple’s Managing Director for the UK and Europe, described AMINA as acting as an “on-ramp” for innovators who need access to traditional financial infrastructure.
She emphasized that Ripple’s technology helps banks support multi-currency payouts, RLUSD transactions, and stablecoin-based operations within a compliant, licensed framework. Ripple Payments already handles more than $95 billion in processed volume and covers over 90% of global FX corridors.
With AMINA now live, Ripple’s footprint in Europe expands further. This comes at a time when MiCA regulations are creating clearer pathways for licensed digital asset activity. The regulatory environment seems to be shaping how these partnerships develop.
Why this matters for crypto banking
AMINA Bank has grown quickly since receiving its FINMA banking license in 2019. This year, it added regulatory approvals in Hong Kong and the EU under MiCA. The Ripple integration now layers payments infrastructure on top of those licenses, giving AMINA one of the most advanced crypto-banking stacks in Europe.
For Ripple, this demonstrates how its technology can operate within a regulated bank without compromising compliance or reliability. For AMINA’s clients, it should mean fewer delays, fewer intermediaries, and faster access to liquidity.
As crypto companies expand across borders, partnerships like this are becoming more essential. Ripple and AMINA aim to set a new standard for how banks support digital assets – treating them not as a side feature, but as a core part of modern financial services.
It’s worth noting that while this is a significant development, we’ll need to see how it performs in practice. Real-world implementation often reveals challenges that aren’t apparent in announcements. Still, this represents meaningful progress in bridging traditional finance with blockchain-based systems.
