BlocksInform
Coinbase has been very active over the last couple of months. It is currently considering adding five more coins; it has announced crypto gift cards; is apparently ready to list Ethereum classic; and it has secured a $20 bln investment from a “whale”.
Now it is trying to appeal to its British customer base by allowing its customers to buy cryptocurrencies with their national currency, the British pound. This is a big step, as this means that the U.K. citizens no longer need to convert their currency into Euro, the currency used in the eurozone by countries such as Germany and France. The process will now be easier and less expensive, as foreign exchange fees will not be present anymore. It will also be significantly faster.
“UK banks have been conservative in terms of working with crypto businesses and we’re proud to be one of the first companies to get access to domestic banking,” said Zeeshan Feroz, the CEO of COINBASE UK.
The Coinbase’s decision is a promising one. The U.K. is the world’s fifth-biggest economy and one of the richest ones as well. Facilitating crypto transactions could really increase their volumes on the market. It could also attract more customers who are not willing to go through the hassle of currency conversions which are currently in place.
At the moment, only U.K. citizens will be able to use the new feature, which will be powered by “Faster Payments.” The latter is a company that allows British clients to make quick purchases and intra-banking transfers. Once installed, its users will be able to access its funds in GBP as soon as two hours after withdrawal.
“Generally speaking, Coinbase strives to provide our customers globally with the easiest way to convert fiat in to crypto[currency] and back. We will continue to invest in partnerships and infrastructure that helps us deliver this,” emphasized a representative of Coinbase.
The maximum value of a transaction will be ?250,000.00 ($326 030). This is the amount that the Faster Payments system can handle.
Coinbase has also made it clear that “it has every intention to introduce similar improvements in other countries.”
The trading pairs including GBP-BTC and GBP-ETH are expected in the coming weeks.
