Bitcoin Settlement Times at Lightning Pay

At Lightning Pay, most bitcoin purchases are sent instantly once your order is confirmed. In some cases, however, we briefly hold delivery until your bank fully settles the payment. This is to ensure a higher volume of bitcoin purchases doesn't create an issue with your bank.

What this means

We'll apply a temporary delivery hold that applies when our systems indicate the potential for your bank to withhold payment for investigation. This usually happens when:

• You’re using a new bank account or making your first few purchases

• You’re buying more than you normally do

When you see this occur during your purchase, we'll clearly indicate during the purchase process that it may take up to 1-5 business hours for bitcoin delivery.

Rest assured, if you complete the transaction, your bitcoin is still purchased at the quoted rate. There are no extra fees or penalties. We simply wait for your bank to confirm that the funds have fully arrived before sending the bitcoin to your chosen wallet, invoice or address.

Why this happens

Banks sometimes mark payments as successful even though the funds have not yet cleared. In rare cases they may hold or even reverse the transaction. By holding the bitcoin until settlement is confirmed, we protect both you and Lightning Pay from issues like failed or reversed payments.

How to return to instant settlement

Once you’ve completed a few successful payments, or have built a consistent transaction history with the same bank account, we can confidently resume instant settlement. This usually happens automatically over time.