Why does a buy take so long?

US Customers

Coinbase uses the ACH bank transfer system for payments with your bank account. The ACH bank transfer system typically takes 3-5 business days to complete after initiating a purchase. Once Coinbase receives the payment and the transaction shows as completed in the History page, cryptocurrency is made available in your account. 

Please visit this help page for more information on buys and payment methods. 

Business days

Usually "business days" means Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm. Holidays and weekends are not counted as business days. When you place an order in the evening, the ACH transfer is not started until the following business day. Your transaction details will always show the expected completion date of your order, taking all these factors into account.

ACH transfers usually complete by the end of the business day – 11:59 PM PT, as Coinbase is based in San Francisco, CA.

European Customers

Since your local currency is stored within your Coinbase account, all buys and sells occur instantly. For more information on the timing of deposits and withdrawals, please see How long do international deposits and withdrawals take?

Canadian Customers

For Canadian Customers, purchases made using credit or debit cards are available instantly. For more information, please see Payment Methods for Canadian Customers.

Singapore Customers

For Singapore Customers, deposits via our payment provider only take a couple of minutes to complete. For more information, please see Payment Methods for Singapore Customers.