The former head of technology for the Barclays group for more than a decade may soon begin championing crypto. Specifically, he is said to be eyeing a Q1 2020 launch of his latest digital banking venture, Ziglu.

Ziglu is led by a banking industry veteran

Specifically, Mark Hipperson was not only the head of technology for Barclays. He was also the former CTO of the UK challenger bank Starling. As such, he has a solid history in banking. Now, however, this banking heavyweight appears set to take on the cryptocurrency industry – as the CEO of Ziglu.

According to recent reports, Hipperson’s Ziglu will be ”the next step in the challenger bank concept”. As such, this completely digital banking concept will support several different currencies. These will be both digital and fiat currencies, and will be able to be held in the same account.

Furthermore, Ziglu is also said to be able to hold balances in multiple different currencies. In addition to this, the platform will also allow users to exchange their funds between the different exchanges.

Nevertheless, it seems that Hipperson is also applying some of the traditional banking lessons using Ziglu. For example, the usage of credit cards – or, more specifically debit cards – will be integrated into Ziglu’s offerings.

Ziglu will reportedly support crypto debit cards

The Ziglu website states that any currency that is held on a Ziglu account will be ready to spend anywhere in the world, using a Mastercard debit card. Furthermore, this reportedly includes cryptocurrencies, which can be converted instantly at the point of sale.

As such, it would appear that Ziglu is about to launch with the support of a crypto debit card. With that said, however, Ziglu will first launch in the UK. The firm has already taken steps to apply for becoming an issuer of electronic money with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Consequently, this means that Ziglu will become the first regulated crypto bank in the UK. At the moment, pre-launch applications are being taken by Ziglu – but only from UK residents. Nonetheless, this will likely soon change – as the firm states that it aims to launch in more markets.

”While we intend to expand our offerings to other countries in due course, currently only UK-residents who are at least 18 years of age may use our services and are eligible to apply for a Ziglu account.”