• Cost-effective access to Faster Payments System (FPS) – offering all the advantages of the UK’s faster payments infrastructure to UK resident customers, without incurring the costs of being a direct scheme member.
• Significant growth in UK customers using real-time deposits into Coinbase GBP wallets to purchase digital assets.
• ClearBank supports the safeguarding of Coinbase GBP customer funds.
• Virtual accounts provide Coinbase with the flexibility to support more than 3million GBP customer wallets with a small number of real accounts.
• Scalable platform giving Coinbase optionality to add further products and features to bring value to their customers, and further protect consumer wealth.

Coinbase is a regulated digital asset exchange, with a mission to increase economic freedom. It provides a proven platform for investors to buy a range of digital assets including leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin and many others, in over 100 countries worldwide.

Coinbase wanted access to the Faster Payment System (FPS) to speed up the processing of deposits and withdrawals on their exchange. It needed a banking partner who could provide a solution that would automate the reconciliation of customer funds during the firm's rapid growth.

As a result, it examined the market for a banking partner that was dynamic, could pragmatically work with Coinbase to deliver the best customer experience possible and could scale to meet their growing transaction volumes.

As a firm leading the digital assets industry, Coinbase wanted to ensure that the fiat leg of the customer journey was underpinned by an experienced partner.

It was determined to find a partner that aligned with its purpose and vision to deliver the best possible payment experience. After examining its options for a firm that understood and appreciated the nuances of the digital assets sector, it selected ClearBank.

ClearBank has been powering Coinbase’s GBP on/off ramps and wallets since 2019, through a single API delivering access to the UK Faster Payments System (FPS) and CHAPS. The exchange has appreciated working with a stable partner delivering reliable connectivity to support a high-quality customer experience.

Coinbase has seen a significant acceleration in the GBP-based purchases of digital assets due to the improved customer experience of real-time fiat deposits, facilitated by ClearBank.

Using ClearBank’s virtual account structure, Coinbase can support millions of safeguarded GBP wallets with one or just a small number of real accounts. Each customer has their own virtual account, which, on the surface, behaves exactly like a real account. The underlying virtual account structure means Coinbase can also notionally segregate their customers’ money from its operating accounts, while keeping the funds centralised in one or more real accounts.