ZBD, the innovative fintech company creating next-gen payment experiences for interactive entertainment, and ClearBank, the enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking, announce a new partnership, coming on the heels of ZBD being granted an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in the Netherlands.
ZBD was one of the first companies to secure a MiCAR license in the EU in December 2024 and the EMI approval now marks the next major step in the Fintech’s regulatory and geographic expansion. With both MiCAR and EMI licenses, ZBD is now among a very select group of companies authorised to offer a comprehensive range of fiat and crypto services across the entire European Economic Area (EEA), marking a pivotal moment in the company’s global expansion. To allow ZBD to make the most of its capabilities under the EMI and MiCAR, they have partnered with ClearBank as their EU and EEA banking partner.
The EMI license enables ZBD to store and transfer fiat e-money, offer debit cards, and in the future issue virtual IBANs for businesses and consumers. ZBD is leveraging this capability to launch revolutionary fintech products for the gaming industry. To do so, ZBD is working with ClearBank, a leader in banking for modern fintechs, bringing novel use cases to market.
ClearBank will provide ZBD with operational accounts for business expenses and safeguarding accounts for holding client funds. This enables ZBD EU users to fund a EUR balance in their virtual account, effectively introducing EUR capabilities into the ZBD ecosystem to complement existing Bitcoin capabilities.
“We’re honoured to be chosen as ZBD’s European partner. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to delivering secure, scalable, and forward-thinking solutions, and we’re excited to be part of ZBD’s growth journey, unlocking our clients' potential to innovate revolutionary fintech products. We look forward to supporting their continued success.”
Ezequiel Canestrari, Chief Operating Officer, ClearBank Europe
With this new capability, ZBD now stands ready to achieve its vision of making money move through the internet as seamlessly as information. With its mix of digital-asset, and now fiat, capabilities and licensing, as well as a new banking partnership, ZBD is positioned to break down the barriers between traditional and innovative payment rails.
This latest licensing milestone complements ZBD's achievement of being one of the first companies to obtain a MiCAR license for crypto-asset services in December 2024, enabling the fintech innovator to bring its approach to instant embedded payments into the world of traditional finance. It does this by merging the instant and cheap money transfer capabilities of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network with the broad acceptance of traditional fiat payments.
As ZBD continues to transform how payments are used in the gaming and interactive payments space, it can now power novel use cases such as enabling gamers to pay-in to a game in euros, earn rewards in another game in Bitcoin, seamlessly transfer their balance across multiple games, platforms and ecosystems for free, and cash out in their preferred currency. By enabling consumers and businesses to pay and accept payments in their preferred currency —whether digital or fiat— and instantly move that money across the internet at near-zero fees, ZBD is pushing money into the digital-native age without requiring users to use complex wallets or manage multiple balances.
Marca Wosoba, COO, ZBD
"Securing the EMI license is a crucial step in our mission to be the next-gen PSP for interactive entertainment. By combining our innovative Bitcoin-based solutions with traditional fiat services, we're creating a truly comprehensive and innovative financial ecosystem for our users across the EEA. We are very excited to be partnering with ClearBank at this key milestone for our business, to enable us to make full use of our licensing capabilities and bring revolutionary payments products to market."
