Introduction to Coinmama
Coinmama is a service that helps people around the world buy and sell digital money, also known as cryptocurrencies. It’s a bit different from regular cryptocurrency exchanges because it acts as a broker. This means that instead of helping people trade with each other, Coinmama sells cryptocurrencies directly to its customers.
One of the good things about Coinmama is that it’s easy to use, especially for beginners who want to buy cryptocurrencies. Another advantage is that you can use Coinmama in many countries where other popular exchanges, like Coinbase, don’t work. Unlike some other exchanges such as Binance or Coinbase, you can buy directly from Coinmama itself. This is helpful if you want to make quick purchases.
There are hundreds of places to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, and each one has its own good and bad points. In this guide, we’ll look at what makes Coinmama a good choice for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, and whether it’s worth creating a Coinmama account.
Coinmama’s Background
Coinmama has been around since 2013, which makes it one of the older cryptocurrency exchange platforms. It’s owned by a company called New Bit Ventures, which is based in Israel. However, Coinmama itself is registered in Ireland.
You can use Coinmama in more than 180 countries around the world, including over 40 states in the US. Many countries in Africa, South America, Asia, Europe, and North America can use Coinmama’s services. The platform has more than 2 million customers worldwide, making it a popular choice for buying and selling cryptocurrencies internationally.
How Coinmama Works
Coinmama is what’s called a cryptocurrency broker. This means that when you use Coinmama, you’re not trading with other people like you would on a traditional exchange. Instead, you’re buying directly from or selling directly to Coinmama itself. In other words, Coinmama is more like a shop than a marketplace.
One benefit of using a broker like Coinmama instead of a regular exchange is that it’s usually quicker and easier to buy or sell. On a regular exchange, you have to wait for someone else to accept your offer to buy or sell. But with Coinmama, you can make the transaction right away. This is especially helpful if you want to sell less popular cryptocurrencies that might be harder to trade on other platforms.
Coinmama is different from other cryptocurrency services in a few other ways too. For example, Coinmama doesn’t give you a digital wallet to store your cryptocurrencies. When you buy cryptocurrency from Coinmama, you need to provide your own wallet address for them to send your coins to. If you don’t have a cryptocurrency wallet yet, you should look into some free options and set one up before using Coinmama.
Because Coinmama is a broker, they use their own supply of cryptocurrencies when you buy or sell. This means there are limits on how much you can buy and sell, and they only offer a certain number of cryptocurrencies. However, most popular cryptocurrencies are available, and there are ways to increase your buying and selling limits.
Buying Cryptocurrencies on Coinmama
One of the things that makes Coinmama special is that you can buy cryptocurrency using a credit card. Many other platforms let you use a debit card, but not many allow credit card purchases. On Coinmama, you can easily buy Bitcoin and other supported cryptocurrencies with a Visa or Mastercard credit card, without having to transfer money from your bank account first.
You can also use bank transfers and debit cards to buy crypto on Coinmama. There are no extra fees for SWIFT and SEPA bank transfers, and you can even pay with Apple Pay.
Coinmama lets you buy and sell cryptocurrencies using several different types of money, including US Dollars, Australian Dollars, British Pounds, Canadian Dollars, Euros, and Japanese Yen. However, they accept all currencies. If your bank account uses one of the supported currencies, you can buy directly without paying extra fees to your bank. For other currencies, your bank might charge you a fee.
Once you create an account and prove who you are, you can choose the payment method that works best for you to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from Coinmama.
Cryptocurrencies Available on Coinmama
One downside of using Coinmama is that they only offer a limited number of cryptocurrencies. Unlike big exchanges like Coinbase or Binance that have many different digital currencies, Coinmama only lets you buy and sell 10 types of cryptocurrency. These include:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Tezos (XTZ)
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Uniswap (UNI)
They used to offer QTUM and Ethereum Classic (ETC), but these are no longer available.
Because of this limited selection, Coinmama might not be the best choice for investors who want to explore less well-known cryptocurrencies. However, if you’re looking to invest in some of the most popular cryptocurrencies, Coinmama’s selection might be enough for you.
How to Buy Cryptocurrency on Coinmama
Buying cryptocurrency from Coinmama is quite straightforward. After you sign up for a Coinmama account and provide the necessary documents to prove who you are, you can start making purchases. Remember, it’s important to have your own wallet address for the cryptocurrency you want to buy, because Coinmama doesn’t provide a wallet.
Here’s how to buy cryptocurrency on Coinmama:
- Click “Buy” on the Coinmama website
- Choose the digital currency you want to buy
- Enter how much you want to purchase
- Provide the wallet address where you want your coins to be sent
- Choose your payment method and make the payment
Once you’ve made the payment, Coinmama will start the transaction.
Coinmama locks the price of the cryptocurrency you buy at the time of your purchase. This means you’re guaranteed to receive the amount of cryptocurrency you agreed to, even if the prices go up (or down) by the time your cryptocurrency reaches your address.
It usually takes about an hour for your cryptocurrency purchase to show up in your wallet. However, it might take longer if there’s a lot of activity on the blockchain network. If there are many transactions waiting to be processed, your cryptocurrency might take a bit longer to arrive in your wallet.
Purchase Limits on Coinmama
Coinmama has minimum and maximum limits on how much you can buy. The minimum amount you can buy in Bitcoin is worth 60 USD, and the minimum you can sell is worth 200 USD.
However, buying limits change depending on your verification level. You need to be at least level 1 to make any purchases. With a level 1 account, you can buy up to 5,000 USD worth of cryptocurrencies per day, or 15,000 USD per month.
If you have a level 2 or level 3 account, you can buy more. If you want to buy more or less than the amounts offered, you can use a special form to make your purchase.
Understanding Coinmama’s Fees
Coinmama offers quick and easy cryptocurrency transactions, but this service comes with a cost. Coinmama’s fees are higher than some other trading platforms, although the difference isn’t too big compared to exchanges like Coinbase or Binance.
Here’s a breakdown of Coinmama’s fees:
- Transaction fee: Coinmama charges a standard 2% fee for all cryptocurrency transactions.
- Commission fee: There’s also a commission fee for buying cryptocurrencies, but the amount varies depending on which cryptocurrency you buy. Credit card purchases have about a 3.9% commission fee. Bank transfers don’t have a commission fee.
- Selling fee: Selling Bitcoin costs 0.9% of your total BTC transaction.
- Card processing fee: Credit card and debit card purchases include a 5% processing fee, which can be quite expensive depending on how much you’re buying. However, credit card purchases are usually expensive or not available on most other trading platforms, so this fee might be worth it for the convenience.
The good news is that Coinmama’s fee structure gets better the more you use it. If you buy more than 5,000 USD worth of cryptocurrency in a three-month period, you can get a 12% discount on fees. If your purchases total more than 18,000 USD, you get a 25% discount. This means Coinmama can be a good choice if you plan to buy digital currencies regularly over a few months or more.
While fees are important when choosing a crypto trading platform, the cheapest services aren’t always the best. Many cryptocurrency exchanges can’t be trusted with your money, so don’t choose an exchange based only on low prices.
Coinmama is generally considered a trustworthy exchange. Since you don’t keep your cryptocurrency on their platform, there’s very little risk of losing your funds. It’s a simple and fast way to buy and sell digital assets that you can use comfortably without worrying about being scammed.
Coinmama’s Security Measures
Many cryptocurrency exchanges have problems with hackers and targeted attacks because everyone knows they keep at least some money on their platforms. This isn’t really a problem for Coinmama because they don’t store your funds on their servers.
When you use a wallet provided by an exchange, your funds are their responsibility, and there’s always a risk as long as you leave your crypto assets in the exchange wallet. Since Coinmama doesn’t provide a crypto wallet, your funds aren’t their responsibility. With Coinmama, you make a purchase, and that’s it.
Even if Coinmama were hacked, your crypto purchases would be safe. The most hackers could get from the company is your contact information, maybe your payment method details, and your wallet address. Of course, this would be unfortunate, but it’s a risk we all take when we use online payment services, and it’s not as bad as losing all your cryptocurrency investments.
Verifying Your Identity on Coinmama
Proving who you are has become a standard procedure for cryptocurrency exchanges, at least for those that try to follow Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) rules.
Coinmama requires you to verify your identity when you sign up for the service. This allows you to have a level 1 account.
The identity verification process is fairly easy. Here’s what you need to do:
- Provide personal details including your name, birth date, phone number, and country of residence.
- Provide a photo of a government-issued ID like a passport or a driver’s license.
- Take a selfie with your ID to prove you’re using your own documents and the ID isn’t stolen.
The verification process can be completed in a few minutes if you follow Coinmama’s instructions carefully.
For a level 2 verification, you need to submit another official ID and a photo of a utility bill in your name. Level 3 requires filling out a form and providing other details. If you want to know more about level 3 account verification, you can contact Coinmama’s customer service for more information.
As your verification level increases, so does your spending limit. You can purchase up to 50,000 USD with a level 2 account.
Coinmama’s Customer Support
Coinmama has a help center on their website and provides customer support via email. They usually answer support requests quickly, generally within 24 hours. If you have an urgent question, it’s a good idea to check if it’s already answered in the FAQ section first.
What Do People Say About Coinmama?
Coinmama generally has good reviews across the internet and has a “Great” rating on TrustPilot. According to online reviews, Coinmama is a good place to buy and sell Bitcoin with regular money. People like that the platform offers many payment methods, including credit and debit cards. The customer service is usually responsive. While some more experienced cryptocurrency users find the lack of less common cryptocurrencies and the high fees frustrating, overall, it’s considered a beginner-friendly platform with a good reputation.
How Long Does It Take for Coinmama to Verify Transactions?
Once you make a cryptocurrency purchase on Coinmama, you can use a blockchain explorer (a tool for viewing cryptocurrency transactions) to check the status of your transaction. Coinmama processes cryptocurrency orders within an hour, but your crypto assets may not arrive in your wallet that quickly. It can take about an hour or more for your assets to reach your wallet, depending on how busy the blockchain network is.
Conclusion
Coinmama is a cryptocurrency brokerage service that operates in more than 180 countries worldwide. They accept many types of money, although prices are listed in Australian Dollars, US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Euros, and Japanese Yen. Coinmama offers faster payments compared to other cryptocurrency exchange platforms and gives you the opportunity to buy Bitcoin and 9 other cryptocurrencies with a credit card.
One of the main advantages of Coinmama is its simplicity and speed. Transactions are usually processed within hours, making it easy to buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. While it might not be the best choice for those looking to trade a wide variety of less common cryptocurrencies, it’s an excellent option for beginners or those who prioritize ease of use and quick transactions.
However, it’s important to remember that Coinmama’s fees are higher than some other platforms. This is the trade-off for the convenience and speed they offer. Also, unlike many exchanges, Coinmama doesn’t provide a wallet, so you need to have your own before you start buying.
In the end, whether Coinmama is right for you depends on your individual needs and preferences. If you’re new to cryptocurrencies, want to buy quickly and easily, and don’t mind paying slightly higher fees for convenience, Coinmama could be a great choice. But if you’re an experienced trader looking for the lowest fees or the widest variety of cryptocurrencies, you might want to explore other options as well.
Remember, the world of cryptocurrencies can be exciting, but it’s also complex and can be risky. Always do your own research, never invest more than you can afford to lose, and consider consulting with a financial advisor before making significant investments.