Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) is rolling out Easy Bank Transfers, which are described as “a seamless and secure way for UK users to add money to their Coinbase account.”
As part of Coinbase‘s mission to increase economic freedom in the world, they are “committed to finding ways to reduce friction and increase accessibility to the cryptoeconomy.” The company explains that they “build products that empower our users and make adding their own funds and getting started in the cryptoeconomy as straightforward as possible.”
Coinbase has partnered with TrueLayer, Europe’s Open Banking platform, in order “to enable Easy Bank Transfers, which rely on open banking technology.”
Coinbase claims it is “one of the first major crypto platforms to offer users rapid, secure deposits into their Coinbase account via open banking.” Users can now “link their bank account directly with their Coinbase account, without needing to enter their bank details, for a more convenient and user-friendly experience, with all the security features they expect from Coinbase.”
Depositing money into Coinbase “should always be a fast, seamless, and secure experience built with infrastructure suited to the digital age.” It should “avoid common issues that can occur when making manual payments in the legacy banking system.”
Easy Bank Transfers “solve these issues for Coinbase users: users no longer have to manually type out payee details, rely on copy/paste, be sent through long verification steps, or anxiously wait for confirmation that a payment was successful.”
As explained in a blog post, users select their bank “within the Coinbase app, and choose how much they want to add to their account.”
Users are then “redirected to their banking app to authenticate themselves using their bank’s security checks, before the payment is authorized.”
Moments later, users are “automatically redirected back to Coinbase to view their deposited funds.” Easy Bank Transfers are possible “thanks to Open Banking technology.” Open banking is “a trusted framework that gives people more financial control over their own data and bank accounts.”
With open banking, users can “connect their bank to trusted third-parties, like Coinbase, who can then build digital tools and services enhanced by the information provided by the user.” All the while privacy is strictly “controlled by the user who has full control over who is able to access their data.”
Open banking delivers several other key benefits for Coinbase users, including:
- Security – No one can get access to users’ login details or banking passwords through Open Banking.
- Ease of Use – Transferring funds via open banking is often faster than making a conventional online transfer, especially on mobile, because of how your bank account is linked to Coinbase.
- Control – The user has full control over who sees their banking information, and is able to specify exactly what level of access is permitted.
- Safety – Companies can only take payments with the user’s authorisation as the account owner.
- Easy Bank Transfers will become available to all UK users within the coming weeks.
Cryptocurrency is “not regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is not subject to protection under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme or within the scope of jurisdiction of the UK Financial Ombudsman Service.”
Investing in cryptocurrency “comes with risk and cryptocurrency may gain in value, or lose some or all value.” Capital gains tax may “be applicable to profits from cryptocurrency sales.”