The facility will be offered for the customers of Coinbase, Coinbase Pro and institutional investors on Coinbase Prime.
In their blog post, Coinbase said
“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. Customers will now be able to transfer pound sterling and use it to directly buy and sell these cryptocurrencies.”
Earlier in March, Coinbase announced that they were able to receive bank support from Barclays, following the receipt of e-money license from the Financial Conducts Authority (FCA).
Coinbase also announced that it will support Faster Payments Scheme, which enables fast money transfers for sums under £250,000. With this facility, the UK Coinbase customers will be able to make withdrawals and deposits near instantaneously.
“Faster payments will benefit all UK customers, enabling almost immediate transfers. This is essential for Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Prime customers in particular who will now be able to transfer funds quickly.”
As of now, only a handful of UK customers will be able to enjoy this facility. However, Coinbase stated that it will roll out the facility to all the UK cryptocurrency investors in the weeks ahead. Coinbase is currently offering Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC).
The company has also mentioned that it might add Ethereum Classic in the near future. Furthermore, the exchange is also studying the possibility of adding BAT, Stellar, Cardano and ZEC. By acquiring Keystone Capital, the company cleared the hurdles in becoming a SEC approved broker-dealer. This enables Coinbase to list security tokens or other assets.
Coinbase has little competition in the UK and the US. The crypto community hopes that it does not create a monopoly.