Wirex review 2023

With Wirex, you can send money to contacts using a variety of fiat and cryptocurrencies in seconds. The platform offers real-time conversion at point-of-sale, and also allows you to spend your cryptos in regular shops with a debit card. This review will take you through everything you need to know.

What can I do with Wirex?

Wirex is like a modern bank account for the crypto world, allowing you to hold a variety of cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies in one place, in addition to being able to exchange them between each other, and spend all currencies anywhere in the world through its multi-currency crypto debit card.

Wirex is attempting to make the lofty goal of closing the gap between crypto and fiat currencies. Its e-wallet and exchange does this by providing real time point-of-sale conversion from fiat to cryptocurrency – all with zero exchange fees, and up to 1.5% rewards on all spending with the platform’s debit card.

The multi-purpose platform was founded in 2014, with its multi-currency Wirex card quickly gaining adoption in most countries where Visa and Mastercard are accepted.

Wirex cryptocurrencies and trading information

What coins can you buy and sell on Wirex?

Wirex enables users to make transfers or exchanges in any one of 18 digital or fiat currencies. This means you can use the platform’s crypto exchange to trade forex and cryptocurrency trade. The currencies available to trade are:

Crypto

• BTC
• ETH
• LTC
• XRP
• WXT
• DAI
• NANO
• XLM
• WAVES

Fiat

• EUR 
• GBP
• CAD
• CZK
• HUF
• PLN
• RON
• HRK
• USD

What are the spreads?

One of Wirex’s main attractions is that the platform only charges a small additional spread on top of the rates found on exchanges. Wirex integrates with three Over the Counter (OTC) institutions and 10 best Bitcoin exchanges, while finding the best rate for its users in real time whenever they try and make currency trades.

Wirex charges a commission of around 1% over and on top of the prevailing OTC and Interbank rate, but the spreads depend wholly on what can be found live on exchanges and forex brokers at the moment you wish to trade.

Fees, limits, and payment options on Wirex

What payment methods are accepted by Wirex?

Wirex accepts both Visa/Mastercard credit/debit and cryptocurrencies as methods of payment. There is an annual general account maintenance fee of £14, while sending and receiving money is absolutely free. Here’s a quick summary of the different limits and fees with each payment method.

How much are Wirex’s fees and commissions?

Wirex offers fairly standard fees, starting with a relatively small £14 annual account fee, but escalating up with a 3% charge for all debit card transactions denominated in Euros.

How fast are coins transferred?

Wirex is a part of the BitGo network, meaning you can send Bitcoin from your Wirex account to another Wirex account instantly (off-chain). For transfers made to third parties outside of the BitGo network (on-chain), the time will depend on the amount of traffic to the receiving side and can take quite a while longer – up to about 24 hours.

If you’re using your Wirex debit card to pay for goods and services, then these transactions happen immediately – just as they would with a ‘regular’ debit or credit card. 

Are there limits to how much crypto I can buy with Wirex?

Yes, crypto purchases on Wirex are limited to $10,000 per transaction and a total of up to $50,000 per day.

Do I need a separate cryptocurrency wallet to use Wirex?

No, Wirex provides its own web-based, hot wallet, which can be used to store any of the multi-purpose platform’s supported cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

How do I withdraw my money?

With Wirex you can withdraw your funds (either crypto or fiat) to a separate account, or you can withdraw your money in the form of cash by using teh debit card. Here is how the process works for each of these ways:

Cryptocurrency

1. Log in to your Wirex account
2. Select the wallet you would like to withdraw funds to, either internal or external
3. Select “withdraw funds” from the list of options
4. If you have selected to withdraw to an external crypto wallet, insert the details of your wallet address
5. Complete the transaction

Fiat currency

1. Go to your Wirex account dashboard
2. Once in your dashboard choose where you want to withdraw funds to. For example, a linked card or your Wirex multi-currency debit card.
3. Enter the details of your card if you’re withdrawing to a new account
4. Enter the amount you would like to withdraw
5. Review your transaction details
6. Tap the “withdraw” button to initiate your transfer

Debit card withdrawals

1. Insert your Wirex card into an ATM
2. Enter your PIN
3. Select the amount you wish to withdraw
4. Press confirm
5. Take your cash (any amount over £400 a month will incur a 2% fee) 

Wirex’s brokerage platform

What devices can I use Wirex on?

You can access Wirex on any divide that is connected to the internet, and you can also download the Wirex mobile app on both iOS and Android smartphones. You can access the platform using:

• Web browsers
• Desktop and laptop computers
• Tablets
• Android mobile devices
• iOS mobile devices

Can I use Wirex in my country?

Wirex isn’t yet available everywhere, but it is available in most major countries, including the UK, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong. One notable exception is the USA where you cannot access Wirex’s services. Select your country from the list below to find out if it is available where you reside.

Is Wirex available in my language?

Currently, the Wirex website and app are only available in the English language.

How easy is it to use Wirex?

Very. Wirex makes it convenient to exchange and transfer both crypto and fiat currencies. With a highly functional app for both Android and Apple users that offers quick transactions, low fees, and free accounts – allowing you to get started using its services in mere minutes.

Your account gives you access to instant, blockchain-powered crypto transactions from the palm of your hand, live notifications for all transactions, and even the ability to create an address book of your contacts for even faster sharing.

In addition to this, the Wirex multi-currency debit card works exactly like a regular debit or credit card – making it quick and easy to start spending your crypto without a big learning curve.

Key features

Wirex gives you instant access to a wide variety of great features. Here are our three favourite added extras when it comes to using Wirex.

Multi-Currency Debit Card

One of the only payment cards of its kind, Wirex’s multi-currency, crypto-enabled Visa card offers the following features every time you use your card in-store everywhere Visa and Mastercard are accepted:

• Real time point-of-sale conversion from crypto to fiat
• No additional exchange fees
• Up to 1.5% Bitcoin rewards every time you use your card in store

It is also supported by a large ATM network, with free withdrawals up to £400 per month (2% fees apply above this amount) and no spending limits. Given such features and fee-free FX transactions, It’s no wonder there is currently a waiting list for the card.

Instant Multi-Currency Exchange

Wirex’s exchange makes paying for fiat-to-fiat exchanges a thing of the past. You can quickly and easily exchange up to 18 fiat currencies for free with the Wirex app. Wirex also offers exclusive over-the-counter (OTC) rates plus a 1% commission on all your cryptocurrency exchanges.

Wirex Rewards

Wirex’s rewards program is one of the first to offer Bitcoin rewards anytime you spend money using your Wirex multi-currency card. You can earn up to 1.5% for all in-store purchases with no caps on how much you can earn or what you can do with your earnings.

Security and regulation

Is Wirex safe?

Wirex is PCI-compliant, meaning it offers bank-grade security and meets global data security standards (DSS). Wirex combines this with resilient anti-fraud technology that offers strong customer authentication (SCA), and device authorisation, including facial recognition and biometric data.

Am I and my funds protected?

Yes. Wirex protects your funds in several ways: It offers state-of-the-art fraud analytic tools, which monitor all your actions on the app and keep you safe with TLS and 256-bit AES encryption. 

Secondly, Wirex keeps all cryptocurrencies in secure cold storage to keep them out of reach of hackers.

Is Wirex regulated?

Yes, Wirex is licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, under the regulator’s electronic money regulations. It has also applied for licenses in at least two other international jurisdictions to date: Japan and Singapore.

Do I have to verify my account with Wirex?

Yes, Wirex requires photographic identification documentation to confirm the personal information you submit before you’re able to start trading cryptocurrencies or spending using its debit card.

Your proof of identity documents must be in English and contain:

• Your full name
• Your date of birth (DOB)
• Your photo
• The document’s expiration or validity date

Extra information

Educational resources

Apart from its community message boards, which include resources on all things blockchain and cryptocurrency, there are no purely educational resources made available on Wirex’s website or app. For those looking to learn more about cryptocurrency or trading, we recommend checking out our user-friendly courses.

Tools and charting

Wirex’s exchange comes equipped with access to 18 of the top fiat and cryptocurrencies today, but doesn’t provide much in the way of trading tools or charting. You’ll find live price data on Wirex for the assets available to exchange and trade, but no advanced trading software as the platform is more of a crypto broker.

Customer support

Wirex offers several ways to get in touch if you have a question that hasn’t already been answered by its community or in the help centre section of the website, however there is no customer support phone number.

You can opt to send an email to any number of different email addresses, depending upon the nature of your inquiry. Alternatively, you can choose to submit a support ticket or even get in touch via Wirex’s official Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, which always have a support team member available to respond to messages.

Our verdict 

Wirex is everything short of a full-service bank, and it can also do some things banks only dream of – such as allowing you to spend cryptocurrency in regular shops with a VISA debit card. You can be up and running with a new account within minutes, giving you instant access to a wide range of top crypto and fiat currencies, super-fast transactions and transfers, and exchange rates at interbank/over-the-counter (OTC) rate + 1%.

With free, 24/7 accounts and blockchain-powered payments, which enable you to send money to contacts in just a few clicks, it’s easy to get spoiled by Wirex’s sheer convenience if you have only used clunky, single-currency bank cards with limited app functionality before.

Wirex also takes the extra step of being both licensed and offering PCI-compliant, bank-grade security to its users, which isn’t found often given the complexity involved in both applying for and being granted such authorisation. Overall, Wirex is a simple, alternative banking solution that will meet your everyday transaction needs, while offering some rewards to boot and integrating cryptocurrency spending into everyday life.