Financial news

Open banking platform TrueLayer has forged a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase to offer ‘Easy Bank Transfer’ for UK customers.

The news of the ‘Easy Bank Transfer’ open banking feature makes Coinbase the first major crypto platform to offer its users open banking-powered payments.

By linking bank accounts directly to Coinbase, users can make fast deposits, without needing to manually enter bank account details. The move aims to reduce the risk of errors and failed payments – situations that generally arise when manually entering details. The offering also plans to save time and provide Coinbase users with a more convenient service.

Selecting an ‘Easy Bank Transfer’ option when adding funds to their Coinbase account, UK users can authenticate payment via their mobile banking app. Once they have confirmed payment, they are redirected back to the crypto platform. Coinbase explained that it expects funds to arrive in accounts within minutes of authentication.

Daniel Seifert, regional managing director in EMEA for Coinbase, explained the benefits its customers could feel thanks to the partnership. He said: “Coinbase’s mission of increasing economic freedom in the world means making it easier, safer and faster for customers to interact and engage with the crypto economy, reducing the frictions of today’s banking system.

“We’re therefore very pleased to be partnering with TrueLayer to be able to offer our customers fast, secure and convenient in-app deposits.”

Solving payment issues with open banking

Francesco Simoneschi, co-founder and CEO at TrueLayer, commented on the existing issues with payment methods and TrueLayer’s open banking solution.

He said: “Payment methods like cards and manual bank transfer don’t support an efficient fiat to crypto on-ramp. That creates a poor user experience and unnecessary operational overheads for exchanges. Unencumbered by legacy, open banking payments powered by TrueLayer are digitally native, delivering a faster, more convenient way to pay that is better at protecting against fraud, and less costly for businesses.

“That’s why we’re excited to be working with Coinbase, to make investing in crypto faster, easier and more customer-friendly. With this collaboration, Coinbase is once again proving to be the market innovator by enhancing its fiat on and off ramps. As more investors become familiar with the benefits of open banking, Coinbase is in a prime position to win an even greater market share in the UK and Europe and we’re proud to be on that journey with them.”

The ‘Easy Bank Transfer’ feature gradually becomes available to all UK users over a period of a few weeks.