Is this really non-custodial?

Yes — until the moment of sale. Your BTC sits in your wallet on your device; the off-ramp partner only sees a Lightning invoice when you confirm the withdrawal.

Do I need to verify my ID?

Yes — but at the off-ramp partner (Strike / MoonPay / regional), not in the wallet. One-time, ~3 minutes.

How is this faster than Coinbase ACH?

Coinbase ACH takes 1–3 business days because ACH runs in batches and closes on weekends. Lightning Pay uses instant rails (FedNow, SEPA Instant, Pix) that settle 24/7 in seconds.

What about large amounts?

Up to ~$50k routes through instant rails. Above that, wire is cleaner — Lightning Pay arranges it on request.

What if my bank declines?

Rare on the receive side. If it happens, the partner re-quotes and routes via SWIFT or your secondary bank. No funds are stuck.

Yes. The off-ramp partners (Strike, MoonPay, regional) are licensed money transmitters in their respective jurisdictions. They handle KYC and AML reporting.

Can I do this without any KYC?

No — any fiat-to-bank rail requires KYC at the rail level. The wallet itself has no KYC; only the cash-out partner does.

Bitcoin to Bank Without an Exchange

Why skip the exchange?

The traditional path to cashing out Bitcoin involves four steps and three different sets of risk: deposit BTC to a centralized exchange (custody risk), wait for confirmations, sell against an order book (spread risk), then withdraw fiat via ACH or SEPA (delay risk, often 1–5 business days). At every step the exchange sees your balance, can freeze the account, and is a single point of failure.

A Lightning off-ramp collapses all four steps into one: BTC leaves your wallet over Lightning, a regulated partner converts to fiat at quote, and the money lands in your bank account in minutes — 24/7, no exchange account required.

How non-custodial bank off-ramps work

Step	What happens	Who handles it
1	You request a withdrawal in Lightning Pay	Your wallet
2	Partner returns a fiat quote (locked 30s)	Strike / MoonPay / regional partner
3	You confirm; wallet pays a Lightning invoice	Your wallet → partner
4	Partner converts BTC to fiat, hedges instantly	Partner
5	Partner sends fiat via instant rail to your bank	FedNow / SEPA Instant / Pix / etc.
6	Money lands in your bank account	Your bank

Where the custody actually sits

Before sale

BTC is in your self-custody wallet on your device. No exchange can freeze it.

During sale (≈1 second)

BTC moves over Lightning to the off-ramp partner, which immediately hedges on a derivatives venue.

After sale

Fiat is in your bank account. Partner never holds either side overnight.

Which bank rails are supported

Region	Currency	Rail	Speed	Cost
US	USD	FedNow / RTP	<60s	0.5% flat
US	USD	ACH (fallback)	1–3 days	0.5%
Eurozone	EUR	SEPA Instant	10s	0.5%
UK	GBP	Faster Payments	Instant	0.5%
Brazil	BRL	Pix	Instant	0.5%
Mexico	MXN	SPEI	Near-instant	0.5%
India	INR	UPI / IMPS	Instant	0.5%
Global	Various	SWIFT wire (large amounts)	1–2 days	0.5% + wire fee

Non-custodial off-ramp vs cashing out on an exchange

Factor	Lightning Pay direct	Coinbase / Kraken / Binance
Account required	Wallet only	Full KYC exchange account
Custody before sale	You	Exchange
Settlement to bank	Minutes (instant rails)	1–5 business days (ACH/SEPA)
Total cost	0.5% + small spread	0–2% spread + fee + withdrawal fee
Weekend / holiday support	24/7 on instant rails	Standard rails closed
Risk-engine holds	None	24–72h reviews common on large/first transfers
New-deposit holds	None	7–10 days on freshly funded BTC
Account freeze risk	None	Yes

Step-by-step: BTC → your bank, no exchange

1
Install Lightning Pay
Download, create a wallet, back up the seed.
2
Fund the wallet
Either move existing BTC in, or buy directly via MoonPay / Strike. BTC lands in self-custody immediately.
3
Open Withdraw → Bank
Pick currency. Lightning Pay shows the available rail and quote (BTC → fiat, 0.5% markup, expected arrival time).
4
Enter bank details
Account/routing (US), IBAN (EU), sort code + account (UK), Pix key (BR), UPI ID (IN). One-time setup per account.
5
Confirm
Lightning leg settles in <1 second. Fiat hits your bank within minutes on instant rails.

Limits, KYC and large amounts

Default per-transaction limit: $5,000–$25,000 (partner-dependent)
Monthly limit, basic tier: $25,000–$50,000
After verification (one-time, ~3 min): Up to $100,000+/month
Above $50k single transfer: Wire payout recommended; available on request
KYC trigger: At the off-ramp partner only, not in the wallet itself
Source-of-funds questions: Banks may ask above ~$10k inbound. Keep wallet history handy; answer honestly.

Tax — same as any sale

Selling BTC for fiat is a taxable event in most jurisdictions, regardless of whether the sale happens on an exchange or through a non-custodial off-ramp. Lightning Pay's built-in Tax Assistant tags every withdrawal with the matching cost basis lot (FIFO or HIFO, your choice), exports Form 8949 line items for US filers, and produces a CSV compatible with Koinly, CoinTracker and TurboTax. The off-ramp partner also reports under applicable regimes (1099-DA in the US, CARF in the EU/UK).