Coinbase to Allow US Users to Deposit Paychecks Directly in Crypto

Coinbase will enable direct paycheck deposits, the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange giant announced in a blog post Monday.

The nine-year-old, publicly traded company said it will allow users in the U.S. to deposit “as much or as little” of their paycheck at no fee, whether in crypto or fiat currency. Coinbase said that direct deposit would address concerns that making frequent transfers was too time consuming, and will allow users to make investments, earn interest on digital assets or pay for goods and services with greater speed and efficiency.

Users can create and modify direct payments by following a few steps in the Coinbase app. Coinbase can set up an automatic paycheck distribution or provide instructions to enable manual deposits via a company’s payroll system. The company said the service will be launched in “the coming weeks.”

In a separate announcement, Coinbase said it would allow Coinbase Visa debit card holders to earn crypto rewards on spending in dollars as well as certain cryptocurrencies without fees, and that it had improved its mobile and web apps to enable users to research assets, conduct transactions and “engage with the broader cryptoeconomy.” The company said that beginning this week, cardholders will be able to earn 1% on DAI tokens or 4% on AMP or RLY tokens. They can already earn 1% on ether, dogecoin and bitcoin, and 4% on the GRT and XLM tokens.

“Coinbase is building a one-stop shop for crypto-based financial services,” VP of Product Max Branzburg said in a statement to CoinDesk, adding:

“Our goal is to enable everyone to get more out of their money with the power of crypto – from getting your paycheck in crypto, to generating yield on your assets, to spending your crypto and beyond – all from a single account.”

Coinbase noted its partnerships with M31 Capital, Nansen and SuperRare Labs enable workers in the “creator economy” to receive crypto payments. The company said it would make further announcements in the coming months about how it would facilitate these types of payments by companies.