FAQ's about buying instantly

Below are frequently asked questions about buying, selling and converting crypto on the Kraken app and Kraken web.

Requirements, fees and minimums

Yes.

To buy, sell and convert with cash (EUR, USD etc) you’ll need an account verified to the Intermediate or Pro level.

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    The minimum amount for buying and selling each currency is: 1 USD, 1 EUR, 1 GBP, 1 CAD, 1 CHF, 1 AUD, 110 JPY.

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    Card purchases have a minimum of 10 EUR, 10 USD, 14 AUD, 8 GBP, 12.50 CAD, 10 CHF.

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    Digital wallet purchases have a minimum of 10 EUR, 10 USD, 14 AUD, 8 GBP, 12.50 CAD, 10 CHF. 

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    For converting between cryptocurrencies: the minimum is the equivalent value of 1 USD.

Kraken fees for buying, selling, or converting assets using Instant Buy consists of a displayed fee and, where applicable, a spread which is included in the price. Any spread is calculated before orders are executed and may differ for similar transactions. This is because the spread is determined based on a combination of factors, including but not limited to transaction size, asset, payment method and market conditions.

Card purchases

To find out why your card purchase failed, please sign in and click the button below to begin:

Here are the common reasons you may be unable to add a payment card:

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    Account Verification: Ensure your Kraken account is verified to the Intermediate or Pro level to enable card payments.

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    A maximum of four attempts to save your payment card is allowed within a 30 day rolling period. Deleting saved cards will not reset this limit so be mindful of this before removing any of your saved card details. Card information is securely stored and displayed according to PCI compliance regulations.

Important!

These limits are currently fixed, and we are not able to manually adjust them.

Deleting saved cards will not reset this limit, so be aware of this before removing any of your saved card details.

If you are not able to add a card, you can instead deposit cash to your Kraken account and buy crypto with these funds. Check out our different deposit options here!

Here are the most common reasons why a card purchase would fail:

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    Your card issuer does not allow payments to crypto platforms.

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    The browser or app was closed or refreshed before the crypto order could complete.

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    Some banks do not support 3DS, an authentication step currently enforced on every transaction.

When a purchase fails, your card issuer may temporarily reserve the funds as a pending charge. If the transaction is not completed, the issuer will cancel the hold.

Here’s what you need to know:

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    Pending Charges: Your available balance may differ from your actual balance, and the transaction may show as pending.

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    Refund Timeline: Most pending charges are dropped quickly, but it can take up to 7 business days for the hold to expire.

If the pending charge persists beyond this timeframe, contact your card issuer for further assistance.

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    As a security measure when making card purchases, there are a maximum number of failed transaction attempts that are allowed within a rolling 24 hour period. This includes Recurring, Custom, and Instant Buy transactions where a card or digital wallet is used as the payment method.

    If you have reached this limit, you will need to wait until 24 hours have passed before attempting another purchase.

This limit is currently fixed, and we are not able to manually adjust it. You can instead deposit cash to your Kraken account and buy crypto with these funds. Check out our different deposit options here!

Currently Kraken supports EUR, USD, CAD, GBP, CHF and AUD for card payments. The default payment currency is pre-determined by your verified country of residence. Once you select your card as the payment method, the cash spending amount automatically changes and the purchases will be charged to your card in the same currency.

Buying and selling

If your purchase cannot be completed, it could be due to one these scenarios:

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    You do not have enough funds in your account balance for the transaction.

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    Your funds are currently being used for open orders or margin positions.

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    The transaction value is below the minimum requirement.

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    The crypto asset you want to buy may not be a supported pair with the currency you want to pay with.

Any error messages seen during the 'sell' process could be linked to one of the following reasons:

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    Your funds are currently being used for open orders or margin positions.

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    The transaction value is below the minimum requirement.

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    The crypto asset you want to sell may not be a supported pair with the currency balance you want to use to deposit the cash.

Deposits and withdrawals

Withdrawal hold

Certain instant purchases, such as first time debit or credit card or digital wallet purchases, will trigger a withdrawal hold for up to 72 hours. Withdrawal holds may also be triggered by deposits from certain banks as well as security reasons. Additional cash purchases made during this 72 hours will also be locked for the remainder of the 72 hours.

For enhanced security, debit and credit card purchases using USD will experience the 72 hour lock discussed above on all purchases, not just your first purchase.

If your deposit or withdrawal was placed on hold review this article for more information. Withdrawal issues can also occur if you have funds locked in open orders or margin positions.

Currency pairs and other FAQs

You can buy, sell and convert any asset to any other asset. Please note the following exceptions:

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    There are some geographic restrictions which may affect the assets that are available in your verified country of residence.

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    Cash-to-Cash pairs are not available in the USA.

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    ETH2.S-ETH is not available.

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    Newly listed coins may have a delay of a few days before becoming available.

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    This feature is not available on the Kraken Pro app or the Kraken Terminal, which have limitations to tradable currency pairs. 

When using Instant buy, sell or convert on the Kraken app or the Buy Crypto Widget, you may receive the message “We can’t process quotes for this pair right now. Please try again later”. If you receive this message it is due to the low liquidity of the cryptocurrency you are trying to buy, sell or convert. This means that the order book for the selected cryptocurrency is not sufficiently populated to provide a fair price for your instant transaction.

ConsumerWeb__can_t_process_quotes_for_this_pair.png

Solution:

If you receive this message you can follow the steps below for possible solutions:

  1. 1

    Wait, these periods of low liquidity are typically short.

  2. 2

    Try a smaller volume for your transaction.

  3. 3

    You can try to place a market or limit order.

Transactions may not be cancelled once initiated. All purchases are final and non-refundable

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