How to send USDT
USDT is the world's leading stablecoin. It's the most prominent cryptocurrency behind only Bitcoin and Ethereum.
In the decade since its launch, it has grown to a market cap of over $150 billion. Many people present it as a leading use case in the cryptocurrency space. Specifically, it's used for global cross border payments.
Its trading volume reaches more than half a trillion on weekdays and over a hundred billion even on weekends. Such is its popularity and the stablecoin market as a whole, that annual transactions processed on these blockchain networks are higher than the combined transaction volume of Visa and Mastercard.
The beauty of USDT is its price stability. It acts as a digital dollar. So, one USDT coin is always worth one US dollar, which eradicates the issue of volatility of most cryptocurrencies.
Compared to traditional dollar payments, it provides faster transaction speeds, settling in minutes instead of days. Plus, you benefit from lower fees, costing cents compared to international wire transfers, which can cost upwards of $50.
But USDT transfers don’t come without their complications.
For new users, there are several technical hurdles to understand, including the correct network selection, security, fees and how to send USDT to other people.
In this article, you'll learn about the essential steps that ensure your USDT money transfers end up in the right place. By the end of this article, you'll understand how to send USDT to anyone, anywhere in the world.
Understanding USDT transfers
There are several factors you need to understand about how to send USDT and the way it works in order to make transactions correctly.
1. Network selection
USDT is an asset that is available on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Tron and Binance Smart Chain.
When learning how to send USDT to someone, you need to make sure you're sending it on the correct network. That means if you own USDT on the Ethereum blockchain, you need to ensure your transfer is sent to another Ethereum USDT wallet.
If you want to send Ethereum USDT to another network, then it opens up bridging complications. You'll either need to exchange your USDT from one network to another, use a DeFi bridging protocol, or use a payment provider like Acctual, which takes care of everything for you.
When considering networks, you should understand the technical capabilities of each. For example, Ethereum runs at a different speed and fee structure than Binance Smart Chain, which tends to offer lower fees and faster settlement times. Although both are far more cost and time efficient than traditional banking methods.
2. Network fees
When you send any cryptocurrency transaction, you need to account for the gas fee. This is essentially the transaction fee that the network charges in order to process and validate your transaction.
These can vary depending on how busy a blockchain is, but it should be less than a dollar in most cases, if not a few cents, on the most efficient networks.
But it's an important thing to factor into your payments, as you'll need to add on gas fees to your total payment.
3. Security considerations
There are all sorts of cryptocurrency wallets available that work with USDT. It's important to make sure you use a secure option and a trusted name in the industry.
Software wallets like MetaMask and Trust Wallet allow you to self custody your coins, so you don't need to trust a third party to store your funds. Plus, they run directly on your computer or phone, which gives great accessibility for everyday payments.
On the downside, security can be reduced as storing your cryptocurrency private keys in a wallet on an internet connected device leaves it vulnerable to hackers.
Hardware wallets like Ledger or Trezor offer higher security for your USDT storage and payments. This allows you to store your crypto offline and on an external device, then only connect it to your computer or phone in order to make a payment.
Along with this, when you're sending your USDT, you'll be required to physically press a button on your hardware wallet to confirm transactions. More secure, but slightly increases USDT transfer times.
How to send USDT to someone: Step by step process
In this next section, you'll get a detailed breakdown of how to send USDT step by step. You can follow this guide when making payments to make sure you're doing everything correctly and don't make any mistakes along the way.
Preparing for the transfer
You need to ensure you have enough funds in your wallet to make the payment, similar to having enough money in your bank account to pay a bill or another person.
If you need to add USDT to your wallet, then consider using a reputable crypto exchange like Coinbase to exchange fiat for crypto and withdraw it to your crypto wallet. Alternatively, you could follow a similar process to send USDT directly from an exchange account to another wallet.
Verifying the receiving wallet
You should double check the receiving wallet public address before making payments. It's a wise idea to do this even if you have made payments in the past, in case of any tampering.
Checking the wallet address takes two steps:
You should either scan the receiving QR code or copy and paste the public address of the receiving wallet, then double check it to confirm.
You should also then check that the blockchains match up. For example, if you are trying to transact USDT on Ethereum, Ethereum addresses typically start with "0x." Checking that the receiver is using the same chain that you're sending the payment on is critical.
It's a common mistake that people make that ends up with failed transactions and even total loss of their funds, as blockchain transactions are irreversible once confirmed. Always double check.
3. Creating the transaction
In your crypto wallet, you should see a "send" button. This will open up the transaction window.
First, from here, select USDT, including the chain of the asset you're using. Then input the total funds you'd like to send for the payment. For example, "USDT Ethereum" and "$1,000."
Some wallets will allow you to specify this in fiat currency, so you might be able to input the dollar amount.
Next, you'll need to check your gas fee. This will add an extra fee on top of your payment, which is usually just a few cents or less than a dollar. Although during times of high network congestion, these costs can spiral.
So if you want to make a payment of $1000, you might need to pay 1,000 USDT plus a few cents on top.
At this point, it's important to make sure you have enough funds in your account to cover both the payment and gas fee.
4. Confirming the transaction
Once you've input your transaction details, you'll be required to sign and confirm the USDT payment.
You should be offered a "confirm" or "sign" button to click, which will enable you to broadcast the transaction.
If you're using a multi sig wallet, which requires multiple people to sign a transaction, it should notify the corresponding signatory wallets of their requirement to make a signature.
Once signed and broadcast, the USDT will leave your account, and the transaction will be broadcast to the network. You'll be able to track it and check its status on the relevant blockchain, like Ethereum block explorer, to see that the transaction has been broadcast, validated and confirmed.
5. Transaction confirmation
Once the transaction is confirmed, funds will then be deposited into the receiving crypto wallet account.
The whole transaction will be stored on the blockchain so that both parties can see, review and reconcile the transaction data.
At this point, any errors in the transaction are irreversible. For example, if you sent the money to the wrong wallet or too much money. You're reliant on the receiving wallet to send any refunds or reverse any payments.
Why USDT transfers are so efficient
This process is very similar, if not identical, across most crypto wallets and crypto exchanges. In short, the key steps are selecting the correct asset, inputting the payment amount and details and confirming the transaction.
As these are peer to peer payments, funds don't pass through any middleman; they're processed automatically by the blockchain. So you won't have any need to wait for security checks, account freezes, verification holds, or even KYC for direct USDT to USDT payments.
Funds will pass across the world in a matter of minutes. Even cross border transactions operate the same as domestic transfers, there's no difference.
This makes it a handy option if you need to pay bills, contractors, or make other large international payments, but don't want the slow, expensive, antiquated problems of the traditional banking system.
The only security steps you might encounter when sending USDT are in and out of centralized exchange accounts, as these might have added scrutiny and security steps.
Monitoring and troubleshooting USDT transactions
If you're nervous about your transaction and the time it's taking to arrive, or you're running into problems along the way, there are several ways you can deal with this.
Tracking transaction status
Blockchains use public ledgers, which means it's easy to monitor transactions. Every transaction should have a TX ID (transaction ID), which you can use to track the payment in the blockchain explorer.
For example, Etherscan on Ethereum, Tronscan on Tron.
Using these scanners, you'll be able to see the transaction status, such as pending, confirmations, validations and failures. This will help you verify that the receiver has actually received the funds. You'll be able to see when a transaction is complete and the receiving wallet address, so there can be no arguments as to whether USDT has been received or not.
Blockchain technology is completely transparent. Both you, the receiver and anyone in the public can track transactions. So it gives peace of mind that your money is where it's meant to be.
Troubleshooting transfer issues
Insufficient gas fees are the most common cause of failed transactions. Most crypto users have experienced this at some point. You need to make a USDT payment, and you line up the payment only to realize you don't have enough funds in your account to cover the gas.
In this case, the transaction will fail and won't be broadcast to the network. So you need to top up your account with more funds.
Network congestion is another frustration for users. When the network is busy, payments can be slow, delayed and in the worst case scenario, remain incomplete.
This is because blockchains can only process a certain number of transactions per second. When overloaded, it creates a backlog. The way they decide priority for payments is based on the gas fee, those willing to pay a higher gas fee get more priority.
If you send a payment during a time of high demand but you set your gas fee too low (below the recommended minimum by your wallet), your transaction may just sit in a waiting room and take hours, if not days, to complete.
Most wallets automatically suggest a recommended gas fee level to help balance price and speed of payment.
Wallet address whitelisting requires some payment systems and exchanges to whitelist and link USDT addresses before making withdrawals. This can slow processes down as you add this information to systems, but it can be helpful.
Systems like Acctual, which can link USDT wallet addresses and bank accounts, ensure crypto to fiat transactions always reach their final destination for smooth, secure payment processing.
Make USDT transfers easy with Acctual
There are a lot of technicalities to sending USDT transfers. If you're sending it from one crypto wallet to another, you need to make sure you're on the right blockchain, fees are covered, and transactions are recorded.
If you're making USDT to fiat transfers or trying to withdraw to a bank account, it becomes even more complicated as you need to negotiate exchanging USDT and sending it from your crypto provider to your bank account.
Either way, it creates a lot of headaches.
Acctual takes care of everything like magic. You can make wallet to wallet transfers, send crypto payments, or even use the transfer feature to move USDT across chains.
In minutes you can:
Create a USDT invoice
Send the payment link
Get paid (clients pay in USD, EUR, USDC or USDT)
You receive USDT (all tracked, the same day)
You can also make USDT payments directly from a crypto wallet to a bank account. For example, you could send a payment in USDT and receive it in a fiat account.
For businesses and freelancers, there are inbuilt invoicing capabilities. This allows you to invoice in your chosen currency and for your client to pay in their preferred method. You can even pay bills with similar flexibility.
For example, you could invoice a client, allow them to pay in USDT and receive funds as US dollars into your bank account. Or you could receive a bill to pay in euros, but pay it with USDT.
Everyone sends and receives money in their preferred format..
And when it comes to reporting, everything is integrated into transfer tracking and accounting systems. So even reconciliation becomes painless when it's time to do the accounts.
So if you’re wondering how to send USDT, try Acctual by creating a free account in 2 minutes.
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