Wirex Review & Rating 2024: Is Wirex legit or a scam?

Our Wirex review was impressed to find that the platform nonetheless offers plenty of rewards for its customers. Once you’ve got an account up and running, you can unlock annual savings bonuses, crypto rewards and even the chance to earn a finders fee if you refer friends to the platform. Which rewards you can claim will depend on your account type and whether you are exchanging fiat or digital currencies.

Depending on your region, you can also pick up a welcome bonus of €15 or $15, available once you successfully complete your KYC verification.

Usability is always an important factor and our Wirex review found that the platform differs from many other platforms offering cryptocurrency and forex services. Whereas many brokers will foreground their trading platform (you can check out our M1 Finance review for an example) Wirex is focused on providing a complete digital payments system. However, despite its multifaceted offering, the platform is remarkably straightforward to use.

The website is clear and thoughtfully laid out. You’ll find that there are separate information pages for the exchange, card and payments services and everything is clearly explained. Opening an account is simple and once you have access to the proprietary exchange platform you’ll find everything is pretty much self-explanatory.

Our Wirex review found there are a few things to consider when actually opening an account with the platform. You can use Wirex as an online payments platform or as a means of paying for goods in store with the Wirex card. Upon landing on the site, many new users may wonder ‘what is Wirex?’ as it provides these different services, but they can all be managed via a single account.

The Wirex X-accounts are the centerpiece of the platform’s offering. When you actually sign up, you can choose from three different price plans: Standard, Premium and Elite. Each account type will offer different perks.

For example, Standard is free to open but will only offer 0.5% Wirex crypto returns (the ‘Cryptoback’ feature that allows you to earn interest on cryptocurrency savings.) The Premium and Elite account plans require a monthly fee, listed as €9.99 and €29.99 respectively, but offer returns of up to 2% as well as annual savings bonuses.

Once you have an account up-and-running, you can then link it to your fiat bank account as well as add numerous cryptocurrency and forex wallets, all of which you can manage from your Wirex account.

A key factor in the Wirex experience and rating is the trading platform itself. Here, our Wirex review found the platform again differs from many other exchanges and brokers. It has no support for the MetaTrader family of platforms and only offers a simple exchange via its proprietary app.

The app can be used on your mobile device and is very straightforward. All you need to do is choose which currency you want to buy or sell, then input the required amount.

One thing that our Wirex review found to be notably absent is any advanced charting or other indicators usually used for technical analysis. However, this is currently in the works and these features will be available to users soon.

Given that Wirex is first and foremost a digital payments platform, it will come as little surprise that sending and receiving payments as well as funding your account is quick and simple and can be done so via a selection of methods.

You can fund your Wirex account directly from your Visa/Mastercard or make a deposit by linking your bank card. Once the account has a balance, you can also send money to other Wirex users. You can also send cryptocurrency from one wallet to another. You have the option to link different cards to your account, via the main interface.

Wirex does impose some limits on payments. You can top up your account up to $2.5k per day with a confirmed credit or debit card, or $50 per day with a card that’s unconfirmed. Cryptocurrency limits depend on the currency, but there is a $10k upper transaction limit and a maximum of $50k can be transferred out of your Wirex account in a single day.

Trading fees at Wirex – Keep these in mind

As part of our Wirex review, we took a closer look at the platform’s fee structure and were impressed with what we found. In fact, most Wirex reviews are positive when it comes to its trading fees.

Fiat currency exchange services are offered commission free, with very competitive spreads. This is particularly useful for account holders looking to use their Wirex card in multiple countries. However, Wirex is better known for its cryptocurrency services and fees are a little different in this respect.

All cryptocurrency exchange is offered at Over-the-Counter rates and commission, which means that you can expect good rates across the board and aren’t going to be paying over the odds. Of course, crypto investors should also remember that they will pay a blockchain fee for moving tokens around on the network – but this is charged independently of Wirex.

A key consideration for our Wirex review is what sort of support users can get if they run into problems or have a query regarding the website. We found that Wirex delivers a fairly good offering in this regard. Whilst there is no telephone support, you can submit a request for support 24/7 and the team will usually respond within a minute or two.

In addition to the ticket-based system, you can also get answers to basic questions via either the chatbot or through the extensive FAQ section on the website. You might also find that the Wirex Community Forum is a good place to receive help or advice from other users – though it’s worth remembering that most responses will not be approved by the platform itself.

So, is Wirex safe when it comes to handling your funds? To answer this, our Wirex review took a closer look at the platform’s regulatory credentials. In Europe, the company is registered as UAB Wirex, which itself is an authorised distributor of UAB Payrnet – the financial system behind Wirex operations. UAB Payrnet is authorised by the Bank of Lithuania, meaning it meets the strict criteria required for offering Forex and e-payment services.

In the UK, Wirex Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority – one of the leading regulatory bodies in the world. This covers the issuing of fiat currency and payments made via the website. Cryptocurrency assets are not yet covered by such regulation, so the platform does not have any licencing for this aspect of its online services.

When it comes to your deposits, they are protected by The Bank of Lithuania Deposit Insurance System. However, users should again note that this doesn’t apply to cryptocurrency assets.

Wirex’s online services are effectively underpinned by its own cryptocurrency, WTX. Having its own token means that Wirex users can effectively invest in DeFi via the platform, potentially yielding returns on their WTX. The site incentivises users to spend the cryptocurrency for in-store purchases with its Cryptoback scheme, which offers up to 2% back in WTX.

Of course, it’s also an interesting point of note that alongside the exchange services, users can also earn additional rewards by using the free Wirex card to make purchases.