Crypto Wallet Abra Adds In-App Support for 'Thousands' of US Banks

Cryptocurrency wallet and investment app Abra now allows users to connect accounts from “thousands” of U.S. banks, the firm announced Thursday.

The expanded bank options come courtesy of an integration with Plaid, a fintech service that enables applications to connect with users' bank accounts using APIs.

Until now, Abra users in the U.S. and EU have had the option to fund their wallets via a bank transfer. With the new feature, they will have banks connected in-app for funding their purchases.

Bill Barhydt, CEO of Abra, said:

“The addition of these new liquidity enhancements in our app gives users more ways to move between crypto and fiat.

“Consumers need to be able to invest their money wherever they choose, regardless of where they bank,” said Plaid’s head of sales, Paul Williamson. With the integration, Abra users who bank with smaller institutions will have more investment options, he said.

In the same announcement, Abra said it has expanded native withdrawal support to all 30 supported cryptocurrencies. Previously, it users could withdraw only bitcoin BTC$67,272.43, BCH$527.13, LTC$53.51 and ether ETH$1,971.48.

With the extra withdrawal options, users will have more options for storing their holdings, including hardware wallets, the firm said.

Abra is also expecting to expand crypto deposit support “in the near future,” the firm’s VP of product, Willie Wang, said.

Notably, the firm will soon allow global users to buy fractions of traditional investment instruments.

Back in Februry, Abra said its app will utilize the bitcoin blockchain and smart contract technologies to support fractional investments in stocks and exchange-traded funds. The app currently offers investment in 50 fiat currencies and 30 cryptocurrencies.

Abra image via CoinDesk archives