Bisq is a true peer-to-peer (P2P) network, so fiat and altcoin settlements occur directly between buyers and sellers outside the application.
No Easy Chargebacks!
To protect sellers from fraud, Bisq strictly prohibits payment systems where chargebacks are easy (like PayPal, Venmo, Cash App).
Top Liquid Payment Options
Europe (EUR)Max: 0.0625 BTC
Standard SEPA allows a 6-day trading window, while SEPA Instant requires settlement within 1 day.
USA (USD)Max: 0.0625 BTC
Highly liquid market for US residents. Trades must be completed within 4 days.
GlobalMax: 0.0625 BTC
Fast 1-day trade window. Caution advised as internal algorithms sometimes flag P2P activity.
USA (USD)Max: 0.0625 BTC
Lightning-fast 1-day settlements. Non-KYC users on the Strike app may have restricted limits.
How to Choose a Payment Method
Every method on Bisq balances three things: how fast the trade settles, how much you can trade before signing your account, and how reversible the payment is on the sender’s side. There’s no single “best” method — the right pick depends on what you’re optimizing for.
| You want… | Pick | Why |
|---|
| Fastest settlement | Strike, altcoin instant, Alipay/WeChat Pay | 1-hour to 1-day trade window, funds move almost immediately |
| Highest limit without waiting | Advanced Cash, altcoin trades | Up to 0.5 BTC with no account signing required |
| To trade without a bank leaving a paper trail | Cash by Mail, Face-to-Face | No digital payment rail involved, though settlement takes 4-8 days |
| Lowest chance of account freeze | SEPA, ACH, domestic wire | Bank-to-bank rails are far less likely to flag P2P activity than app-based ones like Revolut |
Account signing is the mechanism that raises your buy limit over time. Methods marked with an asterisk below skip this requirement and let you trade at a modest limit (typically 0.0625 BTC) right away — useful for your first trade, but you’ll want a signed account for anything larger. Signing happens automatically once one of your trades is confirmed as a peer’s “signed” payment account, or after your account reaches 60 days old with a completed trade.
Trade period ≠ processing time.
The “trading period” is the maximum window the buyer has to send payment before the trade is eligible for dispute — not how long the transfer actually takes. Most bank transfers clear in minutes to hours; the extra days are a safety buffer against holidays and banking delays.
Complete list of supported fiat methods
Below is the complete database of payment methods currently supported in Bisq v1.
* Methods marked with an asterisk do not require account signing to lift the initial low buying limit.
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Advanced Cash*
Trading Period: 1 day | Max Limit: 0.5 BTC
Note: Not available in the USA. (BRL, EUR, GBP, KZT, RUB, UAH, USD)
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Amazon eGift Card*
Trading Period: 1 day | Max Limit: 0.0625 BTC
Check supported markets in the official wiki.
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Cash by Mail*
Trading Period: 8 days | Max Limit: 0.0625 BTC
Follow mailing instructions carefully.
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Face-to-Face (F2F)*
Trading Period: 4 days | Max Limit: 0.25 BTC
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National Bank Transfer / SWIFT*
Trading Period: 4-7 days | Max Limit: 0.0625 – 0.125 BTC
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ACH*
USA | Trading Period: 5 days | Max Limit: 0.0625 BTC
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Domestic Wire Transfer*
USA | Trading Period: 3 days | Max Limit: 0.0625 BTC
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Interac-e-Transfer
Canada | Trading Period: 1 day | Max Limit: 0.0625 BTC
Interac Autodeposit is not supported.
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Faster Payments*
UK | Trading Period: 1 day | Max Limit: 0.0625 BTC
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Bizum* / HalCash*
Spain | Trading Period: 1 day | Max Limit: 0.02 – 0.25 BTC
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Swish*
Sweden | Trading Period: 1 day | Max Limit: 0.125 BTC
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Faster Payments System (SBP)*
Russia | Trading Period: 1 day | Max Limit: 0.05 BTC
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Alipay* / WeChat Pay*
China | Trading Period: 1 day | Max Limit: 0.083 – 0.125 BTC
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IMPS* / NEFT* / UPI*
India | Trading Period: 1 day | Max Limit: 0.025 – 0.0625 BTC
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Australian PayID*
Australia | Trading Period: 1 day | Max Limit: 0.25 BTC
Altcoin Trades (Crypto-to-Crypto)
Higher Limits, No Wait Time:
Because crypto transfers are irreversible, altcoin trades usually have higher limits (up to 0.5 BTC) available immediately, without account aging.
- Standard Altcoins: 1-day trade period. Max 0.5 BTC.
- Instant Altcoins: 1-hour trade period. Max 0.5 BTC. (Ensure you are online to confirm!)
Frequently Asked Questions
Because there is no central authority on Bisq to resolve disputes by force, methods that allow the sender to reverse a payment after the seller has already released bitcoin create an unfixable fraud vector. Bisq only supports rails where a completed transfer is final — bank transfers, SEPA, ACH, or altcoin payments.
Any method marked with an asterisk skips account signing, so you can trade immediately up to its limit — typically Strike, Advanced Cash, or Alipay/WeChat Pay for a 1-day settlement. Zelle and SEPA (non-Instant) require a signed account first, which takes one completed trade or 60 account-days.
Bisq caps new, unsigned payment accounts at a small limit (around 0.0625 BTC for most bank methods) to limit exposure to chargeback fraud while your account builds trust. Limits roughly double after your account is signed by a trade counterparty or after 60 days of account age combined with a completed trade.
Once the trade period expires without confirmed payment, either party can open a dispute in the trade chat, and Bisq’s mediation process steps in. It’s not an automatic loss of funds — see the dispute escalation process for how mediation and arbitration work.
Yes, but with more caution than a traditional bank transfer. App-based fintechs like Revolut sometimes flag repeated P2P activity for review, which can freeze your account temporarily. Using a standard bank rail (SEPA, ACH, domestic wire) for larger or repeated trades reduces that risk.
