Luno Review: Pros, Cons, Fees, Features, and Safety
Luno is a bitcoin cryptocurrency exchange and a payment service provider with a market capitalization of $3.7 million. But is it a reliable platform? Read on to find out why we think there are better options out there than Luno.
We do not recommend this exchange. Read on to find out why we think there are better alternatives out there.
Luno Pros and Cons
Pros:
Regulated
Quick and easy way to trade bitcoin against fiat currencies
Easily convert between crypto and fiat currencies
Send crypto and fiat email payments for free
Businesses can accept and pay in crypto with a business account
Cons:
Only six cryptos available to trade (Bitcoin and Ethereum)
No margin lending or advanced tradings tools
Low liquidity
Not available in the United States.
Exchange trades not available in Europe
Luno is a bitcoin exchange and payment service operating in 40 countries across Europe and several developing and middle-income countries. With a zealous mission to educate the world about cryptocurrencies and how to trade them, Luno has been compared to the E*TRADE of the online trading revolution of the 1990s. We have conducted an in-depth review of fees, features, and pros and cons to evaluate the demand for Luno’s crypto trading and payments services.
While Luno is providing a valuable service by helping the world easily exchange and spend crypto in the mainstream economy, investors may prefer an exchange like eToro for U.S. customers and Plus500 for UK traders which offer multiple assets and where you can trade in real-time trading across multiple assets classes.
eToro - Our Recommended Crypto Platform
Our Rating
30 Million Users Worldwide
Buy with Bank transfer, Credit card, Neteller, Paypal, Skrill, Sofort
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more at this link: https://www.etoro.com/customer-service/terms-conditions/trading-restriction/
What is Luno?
If you are looking for an exchange to buy cryptocurrency pairs across dozens of different cryptos, Luno is not the best option. What Luno does do it does very well. The exchange offers trading in bitcoin, ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and USD coin, across fiat currencies.
The Luno wallet and payment app make it easier than ever to send, receive and spend your crypto and fiat. Education is provided through the Luno Learning Portal and blog for the beginner bitcoin trader.
Luno makes using crypto in the real world easy. You can convert your crypto into your local currency at any time and spend it. Some exchanges offering over 100 crypto pairs to trade, on the other hand, do not offer any on-exchange option to convert to fiat.
Instead, you have to withdraw your funds to your own digital wallet and find your own crypto-to-fiat solution. Large crypto-to-crypto exchanges like Kraken and Binance come to mind. Luno is for the trader who foregoes purchasing a Ferrari to drive in a low speed limit zone when a Toyota will do. The alternative does the job and is cheaper and more efficient. Luno’s market capitalization is $3.7 million.
Best Cryptocurrency Exchange in November 2024
$
=
Bitcoin
Sort By
1Provider that matches your filtersProviders that match your filters
As prices of digital assets are highly volatile, users could lose all or a substantial portion of the value of any digital asset they purchase....
Rating
5
5
5
5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4
For Beginners
Instant Verification
Mobile App
Wallet Service
Coin Selection
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Rates
Trading fees
Spreads
Spreads
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.50%
Spreads
0.2%
Deposit fees
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Withdrawal fees
$5
N/A
0.0005 BTC
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Additional features
Regulated
ASIC, CySEC, FCA
CySEC
N/A
N/A
N/A
FCA
FCA
CBI, MiFID
N/A
Min.Deposit
$50
100 EUR
N/A
N/A
$10
$10
$2
$100
N/A
Leverage
N/A
N/A
1 - 100x
1 - 100x
1 - 10x
1 - 100x
N/A
1 - 30x
1-200x
Latest prices by currency
Bitcoin
Ethereum
XRP
Tether
Litecoin
Bitcoin Cash
Chainlink
Cardano
IOTA
Binance Coin
Stellar
Bitcoin SV
Payment methods
Bank Transfer
Credit Card
Giropay
Neteller
Paypal
Sepa Transfer
Skrill
Sofort
How does the Luno work?
Luno provides trading of bitcoin against five fiat currencies. They are the Euro (EUR), Indonesian Rupiah (IDR), Nigerian Naira (NGN), South African Rand (ZAR) and Malaysian Ringitt (MYR). Ether (ETH) is also traded. The Luno Brokerage Service offers the market price, whereby crypto can be instantly bought or sold at the quoted exchange price.
Business accounts can be opened for businesses that want to accept cryptocurrency payments from customers; pay invoices in crypto; or buy, sell and trade crypto. We would not be surprised to see even bigger developments from Luno in payment services in the future. One of its original investors is South African e-commerce payment giant PayU.
What cryptocurrencies does Luno support?
It offers BTC, ETH, Ripple, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and USD coin. In addition to these, the following bitcoin cryptocurrency pairs are available:
Ethereum (ETH)
BTC/ZAR
BTC/NGN
BTC/EUR
BTC/IDR
BTC/MYR
Supported countries
Luno is one of the UKs cryptocurrency exchanges offering cryptocurrency trading on three continents.
Luno is available in the following countries:
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Greece
Guernsey
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Isle of Man
Italy
Jersey
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Nigeria
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Fees & limits
Trading fees for buyers (makers) and sellers (takers) decline on a siding scale based on increasing trading volume.
Deposits are free in Europe and Malaysia. Fees may apply in Indonesia, Nigeria and South Africa.
A small withdraw fee is charged per transaction and varies by country (e.g., Euro 0.30).
A fee is charged for sending and receiving money via bitcoin addresses.
Luno Dashboard
Buying cryptocurrency means different things in different countries on the Luno exchange. The two options are Instant Buy or Sell and an Exchange Trade.
Instant Buy or Sell
In European countries, you are basically placing a market order and accepting the current market price. It is analogous to going into a shop and accepting the retail price for your goods.
Exchange Order
Customers in South Africa, Malaysia, Nigeria and Indonesia can enter a trade to buy a bitcoin-fiat pair on the Luno exchange. This feature allows you to set a Limit order at the price you want to pay.
How to Buy Cryptocurrency on Luno: Step-by-Step Tutorial
The Luno exchange interface is one of the most user-friendly we have come across. All the basic tools are present to analyze a price chart, trade bitcoin, follow open orders and review trading history.
Step 1: Register your account
Select Sign Up and enter an email address and password. Confirm the registration by following the link in the email you will be sent. Login into Luno. Next, you will be prompted to provide your mobile number and then enter the code received in the SMS message.
Step 2: Verify your identity
Before you can trade, the next step is ID verification. The ID required depends on your level of verification. In Europe, for example, the trading levels for Deposits/Withdraws and corresponding ID requirements are:
Level 1 – Deposit or withdrawal over 1,000 euros (all time) – Confirm mobile number and basic personal details
Level 2 – Deposit or withdrawal of 5,000 euros per month – Submit photo/scan of government-issued ID and selfie photo
Level 3 – No limits – Submit proof of residential address, select your employment status, occupation and source of funds.
Step 3: Fund your account
From the main menu, choose Wallets. Choose the wallet for the currency you want to deposit, which is Euro in this example. Deposit options will vary from country-to-country. In this example, Euro is being deposited from a UK bank account by a SEPA bank transfer.
Step 4: Buy cryptocurrency
Instant Buy or Sell orders can be executed in European countries. Outside Europe, the exchange trading option is also available. In placing an Instant Buy or Sell order, you are basically placing a market order and accepting the current price.
Select Buy from the homepage. Choose the cryptocurrency you want to buy and the one you want to spend. Enter the amount and click Next and then Confirm.
Customers in South Africa, Malaysia, Nigeria and Indonesia can enter a trade to buy a bitcoin-fiat pair on the Luno exchange. The trade feature allows you to set a Limit order at the price you want to pay. The order is pending until it is filled or cancelled.
Step 5: Withdraw your funds
If you want to withdraw money from your Luno wallet to your bank account, first ensure your ID is verified and your bank account is linked to Luno. Select Wallets from the main menu. From your wallets, choose your local currency account. Click Withdraw. Enter the amount you want to withdraw and select the bank you want to with draw to. You will be asked to enter your Luno pin code to confirm the withdrawal.
Luno Business
Luno business account is for organizations with significant spending limits looking to achieve more than the Bitcoin trading service. Examples include miners, financial firms, crypto industry startups, trading businesses, etc. who can benefit highly from the Business account.
Is Luno regulated?
Luno is a fully regulated crypto exchange and operates under the following authorities:
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre
United Kingdom Financial Intelligence Unit
Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency
Securities Commission Malaysia
Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit
Financial Intelligence Centre, South Africa
Financial Intelligence Authority, Uganda
United Kingdom Financial Intelligence Unit
US Department of the Treasury
The detailed information on Luno’s licenses and registrations can be viewed here.
Is Luno safe?
Luno has “bank-grade” security measures in place. Luno stores the private keys of its customers in a safe place it calls the “deep freeze.” The keys are kept in safety deposit boxes in a bank vault, and Luno claims no person has access to more than one safety deposit box. Here is an overview of the security measures in place at Luno.
Customer private keys are encrypted and stored in the deep freeze in a bank vault
A hot wallet requiring multi-signatures is used for instant withdrawals
Multi-sig keys are required to make a transaction
Two factor identification is required to sign into an account
Use of a password generator is advised to create a strong account password (e.g., Lastpass, Keychain, Keepass)
Regular financial and security audits ensure funds are safe
All traders must be verified before using the exchange and personal information is encrypted
Is the Luno wallet safe?
Luno has a free wallet, formerly called the BitX Wallet. The wallet acts like a PayPal of crypto. Users can send and receive bitcoin, ethereum and fiat by email, mobile phone number, QR code, or blockchain address (for cyrpto). With the ability to easily convert your crypto into your local currency, Luno makes it easy to spend crypto.
If you have doubts as to what the best service for storing your cryptos is, you can compare the best Bitcoin wallets here.
Does Luno have an app?
The Luno app is your trading platform, wallet and PayPal all-in-one. All trading functions are accessible in markets that support exchange trading. Multiple wallets can hold your bitcoin, ethereum and local currency (Find out how to buy Ethereum with PayPal). Access your list of contacts to instantly send crypto or fiat payments by email. The app is available for Android and IOS.
Is Luno customer service reliable?
If you need to contact Luno, here is where to start.
Help Centre – FAQs are provided on all aspects of how to use the Luno exchange.
Email support – Contact Luno by email through Submit a Request.
Suspicious activity reporting option on Help page
Conclusion
In the competitive crypto exchange market, Luno does look like an economy car competing with Ferraris, but with a longer lasting engine. As cryptocurrency exchanges introduce advanced trading features and hundreds of coins to their offerings, Luno is creating real demand for crypto by making it easier to spend it in the real economy. The wallet allows for easy conversion and spending of crypto. It regulations and licenses make it a safe choice for crypto trading.
however, if you are looking for cryptocurrency trading on a regulated platform and various crypto options, we recommend eToro for U.S. or Plus500 for UK. You can also start trading cryptocurrency with just $10 and $100, respectively.
Update – As of 2024, the only cryptocurrencies eToro users in the United States will be able to trade on the platform will be Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum.
FAQs
What is a decentralized exchange (DEX)?
A decentralized exchange does not use an intermediary to hold customer funds and accounts. Peers trade directly amongst each other (peer-to-peer) and funds are transferred between their cryptocurrency wallets. Trader money and ID are at lower risk of being hacked. A downside of DEXs is the current lack of liquidity.
What is a centralized exchange?
A centralized exchange accepts and holds users’ deposits. Most exchanges also conduct ID verification to comply with know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) rules. As a repository of client money and personal identification information, centralized exchanges have a higher risk of becoming a victim of cyber hacking and theft.
Do I need a digital wallet to trade with Luno?
If you sign up for Luno, you will receive a Luno wallet to store your bitcoin, ethereum and fiat money. It is a hot wallet. Luno stores your money in cold storage with your private keys.
What’s the difference between a hot and cold wallet?
Hot wallets store your crypto assets online and face a higher risk of cyber hacking. Cold storage involves storing your crypto assets offline on a USB drive or paper wallet, for example. Luno’s cold storage wallet places crypto assets in a safety deposit box in a bank vault. The following risk measures should be taken to protect your hot and cold crypto assets:☑️ Generate and store your private keys offline☑️ Use two-factor authentication to access your wallet☑️ Use biometric identification
How do I send bitcoin for free on Luno?
If you send bitcoin to a bitcoin address, a fee is charged to cover mining and related charges. Luno let’s you send bitcoin for free by sending to an email address or mobile number. Select Send from the Luno homepage, enter the recipient email or mobile number and the amount you want to send. The recipient will receive the money instantly if they are a Luno customer. Non-customers have 14 days to sign up on Luno.
Crypto promotions on this site do not comply with the UK Financial Promotions Regime and is not intended for UK consumers. Note that the content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing your capital is at risk. This site is not intended for use in jurisdictions in which the trading or investments described are prohibited and should only be used by such persons and in such ways as are legally permitted. Your investment may not qualify for investor protection in your country or state of residence, so please conduct your own due diligence. This website is free for you to use but we may receive commission from the companies we feature on this site.
Bitcoin
