by Did you know there are more than 190 cryptocurrency exchanges and services in the crypto space right now? You read that right. More than 190!
However, despite that, we suffer from poor exchange volumes, latency, and unreliable services to quench the thirst of crypto-investors. Moreover, we also struggle to buy popular cryptos like BTC & ETH, which is not a pretty experience.
And that my friends, is where services like Coinmama come to the rescue, bringing something new to the table.
Overview of CoinMama: Review
Coinmama is a digital financial service company operating in the cryptosphere ever since 2013. It has gained a lot of respect in this space, owing to the safe and fast access to digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Coinmama is a venture of NBV International that is registered in Slovakia but currently operates from Israel.
It is a centralized service with a large user base of over a million satisfied customers. The large user base is a result of the number of countries it supports worldwide – over 180!
One of the USPs of Coinmama is the fast, secure, and safe service it provides for buying cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, ETC, XRP, QTUM, ADA via credit cards.
They recently added an option to sell Bitcoin for Customers in the 37 European countries that are part of SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area).
Also, unlike other exchanges/services, Coinmama doesn’t have an inbuilt BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, ETC, XRP, QTUM, ADA wallet.
This means if you wish to purchase BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, ETC, XRP, QTUM, ADA from Coinmama, you should already have a wallet and this is a good way of encouraging investors to have a secured wallet in the first place before buying the coins.
If you don’t have a safe Bitcoin or Ethereum wallet, pick one from our list of Ethereum wallets and Bitcoin wallets.
Coinmama Registration, Login, and Purchase Limits
Coinmama’s registration process is quite straightforward. To get started, you need to register using your email ID following which you will be asked to submit some documents to prove your identity. The more documentation you provide, the more currency you can buy on Coinmama.
After you register, you can log in using your email ID and password where you should, and MUST, setup your 2FA and SMS authentication (highly recommended) for extra security.
To verify your Coinmama account, head over to your account page and click on “Verify my account” on the left of your screen.
You will then be required to upload a valid government ID for different levels of access and purchasing limits.
Some tips to expedite your verification process:
- Photos should be visible in their entirety (all four corners of document visible)
- Upload high-quality images (color images, 300dpi resolution or higher)
- Submit valid documents, with the expiry date clearly visible
- Make sure the images are not larger than 8MB each
Coinmama verification time
The verification time is 10 minutes for level 1. However, for level 2 and level 3 it could take up to 6 hours for the verification. After level 1 verification, you can start using Coinmama.
Coinmama Purchase limit:
Level 1 (limit up to USD 15,000): Requires a valid government issued ID, a selfie of yourself holding that ID, a note with “Coinmama” and the date written on it. Acceptable documents are:
- An international non-US passport (double page)
- National ID card (both sides)
- Driver’s license (both sides)
Level 2 (limit up to USD 50,000): Apart from Level 1, it requires you to upload a utility bill. Accepted utility bills include electric, cable, gas, water bills, property tax, bank statements or credit card statements (paper bill or internet bills are not accepted).
Level 3 (limit up to USD 100,000): Requires filling a short form and contacting [email protected] personally.
Coinmama User Interface
Coinmama interface is pretty sleek and minimalistic. As you log in, you will be greeted with a dashboard like this
You can click on Buy Ethereum or Buy Bitcoin and on the screen, you can decide the amount for which you want to make a purchase.
Click on Buy BTC and on the next screen they will ask you to enter the Bitcoin wallet address on which you want to receive Bitcoins. If you don’t have a Bitcoin wallet address, simply follow this guide and get a wallet address for yourself.
Coinmama Fees Structure
Coinmama Fee: Coinmama’s credit/debit card processor, charges a 5% additional fee (with a minimum cap of USD 10) on each transaction. Only Visa/MasterCard are currently supported. You can also pay via SEPA which doesn’t encurr such fees.
Bank transfer fees: Coinmama supports SEPA bank transfers and charges 0.00% fees.
Coinmama Supported Countries
The one thing highlighted in the introduction also that Coinmama supports a lot of countries – 188 to be precise – the most by any other crypto service/exchange. To check if they provide service in your country, visit here.
And in USA limited states are supported such as:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Coinmama Customer Support
Coinmama doesn’t have 24*7 support yet, but they manage a good amount of customer traffic through their emails, Facebook page, and customer support forum.
Currently, these are the options:
Their on-call support is not yet available but you can catch hold of them on live chats during business hours.
Conclusion: Is Coinmama legit and safe?
Overall, Coinmama is a safe place to buy BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, ETC, XRP, QTUM, or ADA when many exchanges are down due to the surge in demand. The fees for Credit Card Purchases are a mere 5% and is instant. You can always use SEPA bank transfers to bring it down to 0% if you are not in a hurry.
Also, it is very easy for beginners to buy cryptocurrencies via Coinmama because everyone prefers using cards while buying things these days. It is just convenient and super fast.
Despite the fact that the prices are usually higher than its peers like Coinbase or CEX, one should keep Coinmama as an option because of its ease of use and good support from the team.
Also, as mentioned earlier, Coinmama doesn’t provide you a hosted wallet for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, ETC, XRP, QTUM, or ADA and that is a good way to let users learn to create and use a self-hosted wallet. This way Coinmam prevents itself from being a center of attack and also encourages self-education among crypto investors.
However, Coinmama also has some downsides to it, which it should look into and I’m sure it will:
- Mobile app for such an easy to use interface is missing. Launching iOS and Android apps can help Coinmama as well as crypto investors in over 200 countries.
- Coinmama does not accept PayPal, American Express or Discover payment methods and if they start doing so they will be the favorites to buy BTC/ETH quickly.
Lastly, I would point out that even during the crypto mad rush when exchanges like Bittrex and Bitfinex closed their doors, Coinmama was still open for new registrations.
I’d say, to conclude, if you have not used Coinmama yet, you should start right away.
Your turn to talk: Have you used Coinmama to buy BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, ETC, XRP, QTUM, or ADA? How has your experience been? Let us know in the comment section below. Also, comment below if you want me to review any other cryptocurrency exchange.
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