Allied Payment Network, a digital payments provider for financial institutions, plans to allow clients to buy, sell and hold bitcoin through a new partnership with NYDIG.

The partnership also allows Allied Payment Network to make a bitcoin allocation for its corporate treasury, it said Tuesday.Customers of Allied Payment Network's clients will be given access to NYDIG's platform when making bill payments through online or digital banking.Allied's aim is to help its clients – many being small, local or regional institutions – compete in the marketplace with a differentiated service."Providing access to bitcoin does just that, and is a game-changer for many community institutions that are struggling to compete," Ralph Marcuccilli, Allied's founder, said.In that sense, the partnership is similar to one NYDIG recently entered into with Texas-based fintech firm Q2, the online banking software provider to 450 small and medium-sized banks and credit unions.