Following a short USAA-Coinbase pilot integration that launched last November, which allowed a small group of USAA members to view their Coinbase bitcoin balance on USAA.com and via the USAA’s mobile app, the American financial services provider has decided to roll out the integration to all members.
‘All members of USAA’
The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is a financial services group that offers banking, investing, and insurance to people and families that serve, or have served, in the United States military. Hence following the successful pilot scheme between USAA and Coinbase, USAA has decided to expand its Bitcoin capabilities to all customers.
In a blog post on Coinbase’s website, the company revealed that “the engagement on the pilot was strong, and as a result, USAA decided to roll out the integration to its entire membership base.”
Easier and more Convenient
Coinbase and USAA explained how customers can view their Bitcoin balance by means of a short gif:
The post concluded by saying, “as the Bitcoin blockchain continues to be more widely used, USAA has made it easier for members to conveniently monitor their bitcoin holdings and investments. For more information on the integration, www.usaa.com/externalaccounts.”
Updating to the Modern Era
The ability to view your Coinbase balance through your USAA account could be considered to be a natural step towards bringing this 93-year-old financial services institution into the age of technology, the 21st Century.
Currently, customers can add non-USAA financial accounts from providers including the Navy Federal FCU, Wells Fargo, Chase, and the Pentagon FCU, but “this integration represents the first consumer-facing bitcoin integration to be widely implemented by a Fortune 500 financial services group.”
Following the /r/bitcoin subreddit’s discovering of this news, Reddit user, /u/n0mdep, commented what many in the Bitcoin community were thinking, despite /r/bitcoin’s notorious skepticism over Coinbase:
“Bitcoin companies that bridge the gap between fiat and Bitcoin are absolutely essential to the Bitcoin ecosystem. They literally help power Bitcoin's network effects.”