How Long Does acrossbridge Take When a Transfer Is Pending?

acrossbridge usually delivers tokens about two seconds after a deposit on the sending chain, but a pending transfer can take longer. For an Across Bridge transfer, acrossbridge uses a relayer to pay the recipient on the receiving chain. If no relayer fills the transfer before its deadline, a refund may take several hours.

Across Moves Tokens Through Relayers

Across is a non-custodial crypto bridge: your wallet signs the transfer, and a contract holds the tokens you deposit. You choose the receiving chain, token, amount, and recipient. Those choices form an intent, or a request for a specific result.

Think of a courier delivering from a local stockroom, then claiming payment from headquarters. A relayer does something similar with its own tokens on the receiving chain. Later, Across checks the transfer and repays the relayer. You do not need to wait for that repayment.

Say you deposit 100 USDC on Arbitrum for a transfer to Base. A relayer sends the quoted amount from its Base balance to your chosen recipient. The source contract keeps your deposit while the transfer is checked and settled.

The UMA Optimistic Oracle helps secure settlement: a proposed group of repayments can be challenged before approval. Non-custodial does not mean risk-free; your deposit still sits in a bridge contract. Ethereum.org identifies contract faults and user mistakes as risks with blockchain bridges.

Speed and Fees Change With the Route

Most mainnet transfers fill in around two seconds, but the clock depends on the route. The sending chain must record your deposit, and a relayer must have funds on the receiving chain. A status tracker can take another 1–15 seconds to reflect a completed transfer.

There is no single fee for every route. For example, a quote might show 100 USDC deposited and 99.70 USDC received. That illustrative 0.30 USDC difference covers the relayer and liquidity costs; you also pay gas to send the deposit. A route that swaps tokens may include swap costs too.

Before signing, check these parts of the quote:

The sending and receiving chains, token names, and recipient address.
The amount you will receive, your sending-chain gas cost, and any route limit.
The expected fill time and, if shown, the refund address and chain.

A Pending Transfer Has Four Possible States

A pending transfer has a recorded deposit but no confirmed payment to the recipient yet. Find the sending-chain transaction hash in your wallet and check it on that chain’s explorer. If that transaction failed, the deposit did not happen; check the quote and gas before trying again.

For Across chain transfers with a confirmed deposit, use that hash in the status tracker. Its states tell you what to do next:

Pending: The deposit is recorded. Wait and check its fill deadline.
Filled: The recipient was paid. Check the receiving chain and token in your wallet.
Expired: The deadline passed without a fill. The refund process follows.
Refunded: Check the refund address on the chain specified for that route.

An expired deposit goes through a settlement batch and a challenge period before its refund arrives. That can take several hours. Keep the transaction hash, and check the tracker before sending the same transfer again.

Questions after the status check

Can I Cancel a Pending Transfer?

If the sending-chain transaction has not confirmed, your wallet may let you replace it. Once the deposit confirms, you cannot simply reverse it. Check the fill deadline and tracker state instead. If no relayer fills the transfer before that deadline, the refund process begins.

Why Does My Wallet Show Nothing When the Transfer Says Filled?

“Filled” means the recipient was paid on the receiving chain. Switch your wallet to that chain and check the recipient address. Then check the quoted output token; it may differ from the token you sent. If needed, add the correct token address so your wallet displays the balance.

Start with the sending transaction hash. It tells you whether a deposit happened; the tracker then tells you whether to check the receiving wallet or wait for a refund.