Cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase announced in a blog today that it now offers “instant” withdrawals feature to its customers in nearly 40 countries including the US, UK, and more across Europe. While some users welcomed the move other coinbase traders complained about the platform’s high transaction fees. In fact, in the U.S., Coinbase deducts 1.5% from the transaction or a minimum $0.55 for a small transaction. In the U.K. and Europe, the instant withdrawal feature is available for a fee of 2% or a minimum fee of £0.45 in the UK and €0.52 across Europe. One coinbase user on twitter stated:
The 2% fee is a tad steep for what is all in tense and purposes a fee for something other exchanges do already for far less. And why the difference between US and UK customers??
— Paul Jones (@PaulJones_72) October 2, 2020
Coinbase allows either MasterCard or Visa debit cards to facilitate the withdrawals, depending on the user’s country of residence. Customers in the US, UK, and Europe can withdraw funds with a linked Visa debit card via Visa Direct capability. In the US, customers will be able to withdraw funds with their Mastercard with Mastercard Send.
So far, Coinbase has not hinted at discontinuing its old withdrawal methods, which some users have come to depend upon. This is especially true in the UK and Europe, where users may still opt for the Coinbase supported SEPA bank transfer that has a transaction fee of €0.15 per transfer, which is much lower than the transaction fee connected with using either Visa or Mastercard. However, not all banks in Europe support SEPA transfers.
Meanwhile in the U.S and again in Europe users can link PayPal accounts to their Coinbase wallets to receive funds, for which Coinbase does not charge any transaction fees at the moment.
While there may be several other options to withdraw funds from Coinbase and transfer them to bank accounts, it might boil down each user’s own choice. For instance, a Coinbase user from Canada, where the card-facilitated withdrawals are still unavailable, stated:
How about us Canadians 🇨🇦 that are still dependent upon PayPal to sell and withdraw funds? Any plans on showing us a bit of love?
— Joe Marques (@DaRealMeatMan) October 2, 2020
In that regard, the executive vice president, Digital Partnerships at Mastercard, Sherri Haymond said that users may still opt for premium services and said in a statement:
Today’s consumers are digitally driven — seeking out real-time payment options that cater to their individual needs.
While crypto to crypto transfers are done in a faster and simpler process, the SVP and global head of fintech, Visa, Terry Angelos believed that enabling real-time card withdrawals would make it easier for users to especially convert crypto balances into fiat.