Crypto withdrawal to your bank on hold: what to ask, and what to send

You withdrew euros from an exchange to your bank account and the money has not arrived, or the bank has announced a review. Three different situations hide behind the words "on hold": a normal processing delay, a review of the transaction by the bank, or a refusal. They call for different reactions, and the final decision always belongs to the bank.

1. First, find out where the money is

Start on the exchange side. A withdrawal can still be "processing" there, held by the platform's own checks before it is even sent. Kraken, for instance, explains that a withdrawal can be held temporarily after a password change, when the name on the exchange account differs from the name on the bank account, or when a withdrawal limit is reached; some holds last hours, others wait for its support team. Source: Kraken.

Note the date and time of the withdrawal, its exact status on the exchange, the transaction reference and the IBAN used. If the status says "sent" or "completed", the money has left the platform and the question moves to your bank.

2. Tell a delay from a review, and a review from a refusal

A delay. Within the European Union, a euro transfer must in principle be credited to the beneficiary's bank by the end of the next business day after it is received, a deadline set by the Payment Services Directive and transposed into national law, in Belgium in the Code of Economic Law. Weekends, public holidays and cut-off times add to that. Beyond a few business days, it is no longer a simple delay. Source: Directive (EU) 2015/2366, Article 83.

A review. Under EU anti-money-laundering rules, banks must examine transactions that fall outside a customer's usual profile and, where necessary, look into the source of the funds. In Belgium these obligations are set out in the law of 18 September 2017. A large amount arriving from a crypto exchange can trigger such a review; meanwhile the money may be held while the bank asks for explanations or documents. The same rules forbid the bank from telling you whether it has filed a report with the financial intelligence unit (in Belgium, the CTIF-CFI). Do not try to obtain that information: the bank cannot give it. Source: Directive (EU) 2015/849 and Belgian law of 18 September 2017.

A refusal. The bank may decide not to accept the funds, return them to the exchange or, in some cases, end the relationship. It does not have to explain that decision in detail. You can, however, ask in writing what is missing on the documentary side and which documents would allow the review to be reopened.

3. Ask your bank five precise questions

A written exchange beats a phone call nobody remembers. Ask for:

• the exact status of the transaction: being executed, under review, or refused;

• the list of documents and formats expected, with the deadline for your reply;

• the secure channel for sending personal documents;

• the department and the person handling your file;

• what happens to the funds if the file is not accepted: returned to the exchange, kept on a blocked account, or something else.

Record each answer with its date. If the bank says it cannot give any information, ask at least for the list of documents: that belongs to the customer relationship, not to the secrecy of any investigation.

4. Provide what explains the transaction, not just the balance

The review is about the link between the money you originally invested, the transactions you carried out and the amount now arriving. An exchange statement showing the withdrawal is rarely enough on its own. The useful documents are the ones that rebuild that path: proof of the initial investment, transaction exports, statements identifying your exchange accounts, bank records of transfers to and from the exchanges, and a dated timeline.

How to prepare those documents is covered in a separate guide: how to prove the source of your crypto funds to your bank. Never send a private key, a recovery phrase or a password: they are not evidence of anything.

5. What not to do

Splitting a withdrawal into several smaller transfers, routing the money through a relative's account, or switching banks without answering the pending request: none of this speeds anything up, and each can make your file look worse. Answer the request you received, within the deadline given, with documents that are consistent with one another.

If the bank does not reply within a reasonable time or you dispute a decision, first file a written complaint with its complaints department; a reply is expected within 30 days. Without a satisfactory answer, a consumer in Belgium can turn to Ombudsfin, the financial services ombudsman, free of charge and within a year of the complaint to the bank. For a dispute with a bank in another EEA country, the FIN-NET network points you to the competent national body. Source: Ombudsfin and FIN-NET (European Commission).

A report to answer the bank

Coinpliance analyses your transaction history and prepares a report on the origin and path of your funds for your discussions with a bank, in Belgium and internationally. The report organises the facts and the documents; it does not replace the bank's decision and guarantees neither release nor acceptance.

See our crypto-to-bank support service, or book a first 30-minute video call, free and with no obligation.

Sources consulted on 16 September 2026: Kraken, Directive (EU) 2015/2366, Directive (EU) 2015/849, the Belgian law of 18 September 2017, Ombudsfin and FIN-NET, each linked next to the relevant passage.