Offers and New Customer Experience – Crypto Rewards for All!
Unlike some brokers and exchanges that offer no bonus, Wirex has gone the other way and offer several unique crypto rewards to all their users. Sign up in minutes and you’ll be able to access all of these x-account rewards. New Zealand customers can refer fellow friends and crypto enthusiasts to net up to $10 USD worth of Wirex token (WXT). Just send out your unique referral code and get as many bites as possible!
The rewards don’t stop there. No, our Wirex review also noted a savings bonus. Depending on your account level, you can earn up to 12% a year on your total cryptocurrency account balance. It’s easy, all New Zealand users need to do is keep their account in the positive to earn interest. The next reward that new users will be able to jump on is the
Cryptoback Reward
programme. This cashback reward is arguably the first rewards programme that is paid out in cryptocurrency. New Kiwi users can earn up to 2% in Wirex Tokens for every purchase using your Wirex debit card.
The last reward we used during our Wirex review in New Zealand was the Visa offers. The Wirex card is accepted anywhere Visa is and many of the merchants offer special rewards and price reductions. These offers are exclusive and can be little bonuses at hotels or up to 5 – 10% in price reductions at both online and physical merchants.
Usability – Easy Trading in New Zealand
Now admittedly Wirex doesn’t have the best interface when compared to some major operators like seen in our
FP Markets review. However, the website interface does the job and will still suit most part-time or novice investors – experienced traders may want to check out an exchange with dedicated trading tools and more analysis features.
The mobile version is clearly where the developers spent the most time and that’s where we tested most of the features during our Wirex reviews for New Zealand. Novice traders will have no problem using Wirex to trade popular cryptocurrencies, and you’ll own your digital asset too. That means you can trade in more than 30 cryptocurrencies, at OTC rates, and not need any other exchange. The cryptocurrencies on offer include the likes of Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, and even Dogecoin – and with more than 30 assets, your trading options will be on par with the numbers we saw in our
Plus500 review.
We found the exchange platform very easy to use during our Wirex review but noted that experienced traders will certainly be disappointed by the lack of trading tools.
Wirex Highlights
- Over 30 tradable cryptocurrencies
- Zero account management fees
- Plenty of Crypto rewards on offer
Accounts – Multiple Account Plans in NZ
We found only one account during our Wirex review, but it could be argued to be two accounts. Upon sign up, traders will get access to both a crypto account and a FIAT account. Unlike major exchanges like we saw in our
XTB review, there are different plans rather than different accounts.
A Wirex account is known as an x-account and what features and bonus levels you can obtain is determined by the plan level. An x-account can be opened using New Zealand dollars and your account plan options are known as Standard, Premium, and Elite. A standard account is completely free to maintain but you’ll be able to see a maximum cashback of 0.5%. You will still receive the full merchant offers. A Premium plan costs $9.99 USD per month and you get a few more bonuses at this level. The Elite plan is to the top tier and will set you back $29.99 per month. This account will allow you to reach the maximum possible bonus amounts.
All the plans can also be paid for upfront at an annual price point which does work out to be cheaper than paying each month. Every x-account benefits from zero account management fees, card maintenance fees, or FIAT exchanges charges. FIAT exchanges are also limitless across all the plan types.
It was quite obvious during our Wirex review that the focus was always on the mobile app. This is what the trading platform was clearly designed for. The Wirex App is available for both Android and iOS devices through their stores – Google Play and the App Store. For our Wirex review, we tested the Android app and were very impressed by the responsive controls and intuitive display.
We were able to sign up to Wirex using the app too. All we needed to do was provide our basic details and input the 6-digit verification code sent to us by Wirex. Following that, the KYC procedure at Wirex is nothing new and we just needed to provide basic documentation like our passport and proof of funds.
As we noted earlier in our Wirex review, the platform is fairly basic but, for novices or part-time traders, that means simplicity. Advanced traders will almost certainly be looking for a little more but what’s on offer will surely satisfy most beginners and investors looking to buy and hold assets for an extended time. At the time of writing, our Wirex review noted more than 2000 pairs of cryptocurrency and FIAT currencies. The Wirex App received the same level of features as the website and there were no limitations in using the app on our Android device.
Trading Payments – FIAT and Crypto Payments
During our Wirex review, we found that there were only 3 deposit methods for funding an x-account. They are debit cards, credit cards, and cryptocurrencies. Other exchanges do typically offer more payment options such as what we noted during our Forex.com review. We found no limit to FIAT top-ups at Wirex, while crypto transfers are limited to a maximum of $50,000 USD per day and $10,000 USD per day. Considering the simplicity of this platform, those limits are sufficient.
The speed of crypto transfers during our Wirex review was very impressive and we like the ability to set up an address book to quickly send cryptocurrencies to friends and colleagues. Our payments reached our account instantly and it only took a couple of clicks. Notifications were very quick to alert us of inbound transactions too.
On the withdrawal side of affairs, users simply need to transfer funds from their x-account to an external bank account – the same as if you were sending money to a friend. Thankfully, these transactions are free if using FIAT currency like NZD, but crypto transfers would be charged at 1%. You could actually withdraw funds as cash by simply heading to an ATM and making a cash withdrawal. The same limits apply as noted during our fees section of this Wirex review – withdrawals are free up to $400 NZD per month and you’re limited to $1400 NZD per day – so not the best way to withdraw large sums.
Fees – Low-cost Crypto Exchange in NZ
The first thing that jumped out at us during our Wirex review was the complete lack of account management fees for both crypto and FIAT accounts. There weren’t any charges to order and receive your new crypto debit card either. Debit and Credit card payments are completely free and during our Wirex reviews, we saw that crypto top-ups occurred at a 1% charge for each transaction. However, FIAT exchange transactions were free. You can withdraw cash using the crypto debit card in New Zealand and those ATM withdrawals are free up to a maximum $400 NZD per month – with withdrawals above that charged at 2% per transaction.
When it came to crypto exchange transactions during our Wirex review, all transactions were charged at OTC rates + additional commission. So, how are the OTC rates calculated? We saw that Wirex is integrated with 10 exchanges and leverages 3 OTC institutions to search for the best bid and ask prices. Wirex will take the best OTC rate from these sources and offer it to you at the time of your transaction. Unlike what we saw in our
eToro review, there are no other fees with the exception of the Wirex commission.
Customer Service – Wirex Experience and Rating
If ever an issue were to arise while using the Wirex app, the first port of call will probably be the Wirex Help Centre. Customer Support can also be accessed via the Wirex website – you’ll find it at the bottom of the page. The amount of content in the Wirex Help Centre is truly outstanding and a large search function at the header of the page will direct you instantly to your desired topic. During our Wirex review, there wasn’t a topic we couldn’t find in the Wirex Help Centre.
Direct customer support is something rather lacking at Wirex. The first way to find agent assistance at Wirex is by completing a support request form from the Wirex website. You’ll be asked to choose a topic and then provide your details and query – there’s also an attachment box to supply any evidence or screenshots that you may require. You’ll find that Wirex asks users to consult the Community Section before they request an agent’s assistance. The community section is the Wirex forum where agents and users alike assist users with their issues.
The best way to find direct assistance, however, is by opening a ticket through the Wirex App. This is a means to receive 24/7 assistance, but you’ll find many Wirex reviews online complaining about the lack of urgency in this department, but help is typically on point.
Regulation and Deposit Insurance – is Wirex safe?
How Wirex is regulated will always depend on your jurisdiction as European regulations will vary from oceanic regulation in Australia and New Zealand. Despite a London head office address, Wirex is registered in Lithuania and authorised by the Bank of Lithuania. Unlike major crypto exchanges like Coinbase or broker eToro, Wirex offers no deposit insurance. We weren’t happy with that discovery considering the number of exchanges that provide such insurance in 2021.
We also noted in our Wirex review that only FIAT transactions are regulated by the Bank of Lithuania and not cryptocurrency transactions – however, this isn’t surprising considering cryptocurrencies are not yet a fully recognised asset class. We’d like to point out that regulation is very important when trading cryptocurrencies online. You’ll be trading at Wirex purely based on their solid reputation and proven history – always keep an eye on the business affairs of an unlicensed or well-regulated exchange.
We noted no Wirex scams and the reputation of Wirex is very good in Australia and New Zealand.
Additional Features – Is Wirex reliable?
The security features we noted during our Wirex review are right up there with some of the top crypto exchanges – even better than some too. Rather than the industry average 128-bit SSL encryption, Wirex leverages 256-bit AES encryption protocols and also provides further data protection and security with Two-Channel Authentication (2CA). It is quite clear that Wirex takes their security very seriously.
We were also very impressed by the educational content provided by Wirex in the Wirex Blog. Found on the Wirex website, our Wirex review uncovered a plethora of handy trading tips, crypto news and other engaging topics. We really liked the video content that was supported by very in-depth articles. There were many technical articles on individual cryptocurrencies – perfect for informed trades – and articles also explored the crypto markets as a whole. The content isn’t written by writers either – we uncovered articles written by the heads of departments at Wirex.
Of course, one of the biggest draws to Wirex is the crypto debit card funded by your WXT and supported by Visa. Finally, the Wirex, a multi-signature cold-storage vault, is perfect for safely storing your purchased cryptocurrencies and deposited FIAT currency.
