Coinbase gives UK crypto payments pace
UK-based customers of Coinbase will be able to make same day deposits and withdrawals from their crypto accounts to their British bank accounts. The company has begun rolling out this support to Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, and Coinbase Prime customers, and plans to extend the service to all customers in the UK over the next few weeks, reports David Penn at Finovate.
“Until now, the process of converting Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin into euros and then into pound sterling, via international bank transfer, took several days,” Coinbase UK CEO Zeeshan Feroz says. “Customers will now be able to transfer pound sterling and use it to directly buy and sell these cryptocurrencies.”
Feroz highlighted the securing of an e-money licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), support for the Faster Payment Scheme, and becoming the first digital currency trading platform to obtain a bank account with a major UK bank.
“Faster payments will benefit all UK customers, enabling almost immediate high-limit transfers” Feroz adds. “This is essential for Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Prime customers in particular who will now be able to enter and exit their positions quickly.”
Last month Coinbase announced that it would enable its customers in Europe and Australia to buy virtual gift cards from more than 120 retailers using funds from their cryptocurrency accounts.
In a busy spring for the San Francisco-based fintech, Coinbase launched a set of institutional grade solutions for digital currency trading in May; acquired digital payments for microtasks innovator Earn and added its first CTO in April; and acquired Memo.AI in January, bringing the chatbot builder’s engineering talent to the Coinbase team.
Founded in 2012, the company has an estimated valuation of more than $1.6 billion.
