Luno Experience 2021: The Crypto Exchange Test
10 Stars
While in European countries cryptocurrencies are seen more as speculative objects or investments, people in emerging countries have actual uses for cryptocurrencies.
The spread of smartphones is extremely high, and a payment option with the constant companion is therefore the next logical step.
This is what Timothy Stranex thought in 2013, when he launched the payment service provider Luno.
In this review, we would like to take a closer look at the exchange Luno and share our experiences.
We analyse fees, deposits, the offer and more. Is Luno a reputable crypto exchange?
Our recommendation: Buy cryptos with eToro
Incl. wallet
Buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly in the wallet
Paypal, credit card and instant bank transfer
Regulated provider
Real cryptos or CFD trades
Luno: Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantages of Luno are security and stability.
The platform attaches great importance to compliance and offers many possibilities to secure one's own account - and also takes excellent measures to keep customer funds safe.
The interface at Luno is strongly based on the Google product range and is therefore intuitive and understandable. The API also stands out positively in the comparison.
The disadvantage of the Luno Exchange is that only 5 currencies are offered, namely Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple.
In addition, verification is relatively cumbersome and takes some time. The customer service is also not exactly positive.
The biggest disadvantage, however, is the less transparent cost structure when buying coins, so that different fees are incurred for each purchase and there is no planning certainty.
Luno Review - The offer
Luno sees itself as a pioneer in terms of compliance and regulation. This is also reflected in the offer: First of all, the focus is on established cryptocurrencies.
In the past, Luno only offered Bitcoin and Ethereum, but now at least Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple have been added.
And the platform is also kept relatively simple. Nevertheless, the functionality and user guidance are very good.
As with most other exchanges, there is an order book, simple charts, an overview of recently executed trades and, of course, an order function.
Placing a simple order is quite simple - unfortunately it gets a bit more difficult when you want to place a market or limit order.
Here, an elegant way is to click on the last price in the order book to get an exact price. However, this is a little problematic for day traders, as the way is somewhat cumbersome and not quite as fast.
This may be remedied by the API, with which own programmes can be connected to the trading centre. Unfortunately, the market data on the platform itself does not extend far into the past, so that third-party software or another exchange must be used for analyses over long periods of time.
Furthermore, it is unfortunately not possible to buy Ethereum directly; instead, fiat currency must first be exchanged for Bitcoin in order to then buy Ether with this Bitcoin - which is of course quite cumbersome, but also results in unnecessarily high fees.
The Luno cryptocurrencies
The weak point of the platform - apart from the limited customer support - is the limited number of cryptocurrencies available.
Cryptocurrency | abbreviation | |
|---|---|---|
#1 | Bitcoin | BTC |
#2 | Ethereum | ETH |
#3 | Bitcoin Cash | BCH |
#4 | Litecoin | LTC |
#5 | Ripple | XRP |
This is also due to Luno's strategy: Luno is strongly committed to the regulation of cryptocurrencies and trading venues and therefore limits itself to stable coins with a good reputation. Altcoins such as IOTA do not fit into this picture from the platform's perspective.
Open an account and buy coins at Luno
Luno's homepage is clearly and attractively designed. The button to open an account can be found directly in the middle of the homepage ("get started") or on all subpages in the top right corner ("sign up"). Opening a Luno account is correspondingly simple.
Step 1: Registration
In the first step, you will be asked to enter your email address and password for your new Luno account. Alternatively, you can register with a Google or Facebook account.
Once you have entered your email address in the first step, you will immediately receive an email in which you can confirm your account.
The good news: that's it for the registration. After clicking the confirmation button, you will be taken directly to the Luno overview screen.
In the main screen, you will find the field "Let's confirm your info" after the successful registration. Click on the button "Get started" below this field to start the verification process.
Step 2: The deposit
After the verification you have to link your bank account with Luno. This is done under the new point "Menu -> Beneficiaries".
Afterwards you can choose the desired payment method via the menu item "More".
There are two ways to buy Luno: On the one hand, trading via the normal exchange, on the other hand, the somewhat more expensive version of the Instat Buy/Sell. For both versions, however, you must first verify yourself and then deposit money.
Step 3a: Buy coins via the exchange
You can buy coins via the exchange by clicking on the menu item "Exchange". You will now be taken to the trading view:
Enter the desired number of coins and the purchase price in the "Place Order" field. The trade is confirmed by clicking on "Place Buy Order".
Step 3b: Buy coins with Instant Buy/Sell
The Instant Buy Sell function works in a similar way. Click on the "Buy" button in the menu, select the currency you want to buy and enter the amount.
Click on "Next" to see all the relevant data again, click on "Buy" to confirm it and carry out the transaction.
Our recommendation: Buy cryptos with eToro
Incl. wallet
Buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly in the wallet
Paypal, credit card and instant bank transfer
Regulated provider
Real cryptos or CFD trades
The functions
At Luno, there are several services offered through the platform.
The core of the platform is the trading of cryptocurrencies.
In addition, there are many functions, such as charts and API access for automated trading. Thus, self-written or purchased bots can directly access the platform to execute automated trades.
With Instant Sell/Buy, coins are not bought on the regular market, but directly from Luno itself.
Of course, the platform charges a corresponding surcharge for this.
The disadvantage here, similar to the entire fee structure of Luno: how expensive the surcharge actually is is not really transparent.
Every transaction we tested cost different amounts, and we could not determine how the factor is calculated in the end.
Therefore, our tip: Before using the instant option, be sure to check the fees.
How high are the Luno fees?
The Luno fees are charged for a variety of different services:
- On the one hand, there are fees when depositing and withdrawing fiat currencies or coins.
- For buyers, there is a transaction fee when buying cryptocurrencies.
- There are also fees when withdrawing fiat currency.
- If you want to send coins from your Luno wallet to another address, you also pay a share to Luno in addition to the network fee.
The fee for instant trading in particular is worth mentioning, as it is completely recalculated each time according to factors that are completely opaque to us.
Unfortunately, the fee structure is very confusing and very complex, there are hundreds of exceptions. Such an abundance makes it very difficult for the user to process his transactions transparently!
A concrete example where the fees are clearly mapped are the instant buy and sell fees and the transaction limits between crypto/fiat currency and crypto/cryptocurrencies.
currency | method | fee |
|---|---|---|
EUR | Card | 3.5% |
EUR | Google Pay | 3.5% |
EUR | Wallet | 1.5% |
Our recommendation: Buy cryptos with eToro
Incl. wallet
Buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly in the wallet
Paypal, credit card and instant bank transfer
Regulated provider
Real cryptos or CFD trades
The Luno payment methods
Luno accepts various payment methods and currencies. Both European and emerging market customers are addressed here. Deposits can be made in the following currencies:
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Bitcoin
Bitcoin Cash
Ethereum
Litecoin
Ripple
FIAT CURRENCIES
Euro
Indonesische Rupien
Malaysische Ringgit
Nigerianische Naira
Südafrikanischer Rand
The following payment options are available:
Means of payment | Available not available |
|---|---|
Credit card | yes |
SEPA bank transfer | yes |
International bank transfer | yes |
Pay stack | yes |
GT Bank transfer | yes |
Cash in South Africa | yes |
Instant bank transfer | yes |
PayPal | no |
Unfortunately, PayPal is not included, so buying cryptocurrency with PayPal is not possible.
The Luno App
Luno offers its users an appealing Luno app for both iOS and Android in addition to the convenient web interface.
In addition to registration, deposit and comprehensive trading functions, the app also offers a fully-fledged Ethereum and Bitcoin wallet.
The app is appealing and stable for both operating systems, and the ratings in the respective app stores are above 4 points in each case.
The reviews speak positively of the app, and Luno Support usually responds to negative reviews within 24 hours.
“
"I love this wallet. It is the only wallet that is transparent and trustworthy. Needs more coins to be added though. But other than that it is really honest and sincere. Great app"
Logan Roguestar
“
"The app is easy to use for people who are new to bitcoin and helps the user with explaining what is going on"
Pierre-Jacques Delport
What about security?
Since Luno, as already mentioned, sees itself as a market leader in the field of compliance, a corresponding security concept must of course also be in place. Customer data is treated with the utmost care at Luno.
- But the deposits themselves are also secured: The majority of deposits are stored in cold storage (i.e. cut off from the internet) so that they cannot be hacked.
- Furthermore, Luno uses multi-signatures so that the cold wallets can never be opened by just one person - a four-eyes principle prevents fraud here.
- And the hot wallets, which are constantly connected to the internet, are also protected by the same four-eye principle. One of the parties is BitGo, an independent trustee for cryptowallets.
On the user side, Luno offers two-factor authentication for accounts - which users should make use of. - In addition, all passwords are stored only as hashes - this is the technical standard from today's point of view to prevent hacks.
- And the company itself has set itself a number of principles that are intended to increase security even further. These include high data protection standards, encryption at all levels and self-imposed audits by auditors.
- Basically, we rate the security at Luno as extremely high.
Nevertheless, the advice never to leave large amounts of cryptocurrencies on the exchange, but always to keep your own wallet, preferably in cold storage, applies here as well.
Is Luno fraud?
Neither in the test nor in the testimonials could any signs of fraud be found. Although the company is based in South Africa, it is financed by large international companies.
All questionable cases posted in internet forums or on review sites were answered by the team and are also rather user problems that do not point to systematic fraud. It can therefore not be assumed that Luno is a scam.
Luno customer service
Customer service responds reasonably quickly to complaints on social media and review sites.
Unfortunately, the ticket system is not serviced quite as quickly.
Reaching support directly and having a conversation over several messages is rather difficult.
Of course, this may also be due to the relatively rapid growth, so that simply not enough support staff have been hired yet.
The website also has an extensive knowledge database with FAQs, where users can solve many small problems themselves:
Basically, however, customer service is not Luno's strong point.
The story behind Luno
Back in 2013, Luno was founded in South Africa by Timothy Stranex. Stranex is South African himself and has already worked for Google in Switzerland.
Luno was one of the first companies to implement cryptocurrencies as a payment service provider - and therefore has an extreme amount of experience in this area.
The Luno Wallet was introduced in 2017, first for Bitcoin, then also for Ethereum. According to its own information, Luno has over 2 million customers today.
Our recommendation: Buy cryptos with eToro
Incl. wallet
Buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly in the wallet
Paypal, credit card and instant bank transfer
Regulated provider
Real cryptos or CFD trades
Luno experiences and user opinions
There are many predominantly positive reports on the internet about Luno, which emphasise the large number of Luno features and above all the good access to the API.
The complicated fees, especially for instant trading, are highlighted negatively throughout. The poor availability of support is also often criticised, which is particularly problematic as accounts are very easily blocked.
However, Luno itself tries to present a positive image and responds to most public complaints.
Luno experiences - the conclusion
The crypto exchange Luno makes a very solid impression in our test. The scope leaves something to be desired in some areas - there are only two coins that can be traded. On the other hand, the functions that are implemented are really clean and functional.
The interface is very clearly designed and the registration, verification and deposit processes go smoothly. Functions such as the API provided are also fully convincing.
The app, which is available for both iOS and Android, also offers good functionality paired with a beautiful and at the same time simple design.
In addition, Luno offers a fully-fledged wallet for Ethereum and Bitcoin. This is protected by various security measures, both on the part of the user and at Luno itself.
Verification, deposit, purchase and sending and receiving of cryptocurrencies work smoothly.
Luno has only a few weaknesses. The only negative points are the obviously overburdened support and the very small selection of coins. The extremely unclear cost structure is not exactly a positive factor either.
All in all, however, Luno is a recommendable crypto exchange, especially for investors who do not want to trade cryptocurrencies on a daily basis. In this case, special brokers are better suited.
Our recommendation: Buy cryptos with eToro
Incl. wallet
Buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly in the wallet
Paypal, credit card and instant bank transfer
Regulated provider
Real cryptos or CFD trades
FAQ
The provider is a crypto exchange where cryptocurrencies can be bought and sold.
In our test, Quoinex was convincing. The diverse trading options and the excellent customer support attract many customers, most of whom are very satisfied with the provider.
The amount of your own investment should depend on your own liquidity, the chosen cryptocurrency and your own risk tolerance. In general, you should never invest money that you actually need elsewhere, as profits can never be guaranteed.
Here, too, the platform is convincing. Payouts are processed very quickly and are in your account within a few minutes to 2 working days, depending on the selected payout method.
You should always know what you are investing in. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, so you should first get to know the selected coin in detail. If you have the necessary know-how, as well as the occasional bit of luck, then nothing stands in the way of early profits.
