• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Cult Of Money

Cult Of Money

Personal finance for the crypto-curious.

  • About
  • Podcast
  • Contact
  • Cryptocurrency
      • How To Start

      • What Is Cryptocurrency And How To Invest?
      • What Is Bitcoin And How Does It Work?
      • What Is Ethereum And How Does It Work?
      • Most Common Crypto And NFT Scams (And How To Avoid Them)
      • Proof Of Work vs. Proof Of Stake vs. Proof Of History
      • How To Invest In Crypto In Your IRA Or 401k
      • Tools + Resources

      • Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges
      • Best Cryptocurrency Wallets
      • Best Crypto Savings Accounts
      • Best Tax Software For Crypto And NFT Traders
      • Reviews

      • Coinbase Review
      • Gemini Review
      • BlockFi Review
      • Binance Review
      • Hodlnaut Review
      • Ledger Wallet Review
  • DeFi
      • How To Start

      • What Is DeFi?
      • What Is Staking Your Crypto?
      • Centralized vs. Decentralized Exchange
      • Tools + Resources

      • What Is Uniswap And How Do Decentralized Exchanges Work?
      • Reviews

  • NFT
      • How To Start

      • What Is An NFT?
      • Tools + Resources

      • Most Popular Play-To-Earn Crypto Games
      • Popular Projects

      • What Are VeeFriends And Are They Worth It?
      • Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs Are Popular (And Expensive)
      • What Is The Sandbox And How Can You Play?
      • Why Visa Bought A CryptoPunk
  • Investing
      • How To Start

      • Tools + Accounts

      • Reviews

  • Personal Finance
      • Banking

      • Best Bitcoin Rewards Checking Accounts
      • Tools + Resources

      • Tax

      • Income Tax Prep Guide
      • Bookkeeping And Accounting For Crypto And NFTs
Payments

MoonPay Review: Pros & Cons, Features, & Fees

By Tom Blake • March 7, 2023

At The Cult of Money, we want to help you navigate your finances. To do this, many or all of the products featured here may be from our partners whom we receive compensation from. This doesn’t influence our evaluations or reviews. Our opinions are our own. Learn more here.Advertiser Disclosure

There are thousands of financial products and services out there, and we believe in helping you understand which is best for you, how it works, and will it actually help you achieve your financial goals. We're proud of our content and guidance, and the information we provide is objective, independent, and free.

But we do have to make money to pay our team and keep this website running! Our partners compensate us. CultOfMoney.com has an advertising relationship with some or all of the offers included on this page, which may impact how, where, and in what order products and services may appear. The Cult of Money does not include all companies or offers available in the marketplace. And our partners can never pay us to guarantee favorable reviews (or even pay for a review of their product to begin with).

For more information and a complete list of our advertising partners, please check out our full Advertising Disclosure. CultOfMoney.com strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. The information in our reviews could be different from what you find when visiting a financial institution, service provider or a specific product's website. All products and services are presented without warranty.

MoonPay

These days, it’s easier than ever to buy crypto. For example, cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase let you buy over 100 cryptocurrencies and stablecoins with funds right from your bank account.

However, many leading exchanges take a few days to verify your identity. Furthermore, you might find daily buy limits take a long time to increase, which can be painful if you’re trying to buy a dip in the market.

But with MoonPay, you get a much snappier way to buy and sell crypto. If you want a simple transaction process and to get in on the action fast, MoonPay could be for you.


MoonPay Review

Quick Summary

  • Quickly buy cryptocurrencies with a credit card or bank transfer
  • Available in 160+ countries
  • Sell your cryptocurrency for fiat

MoonPay Details

Product Name

MoonPay

Product Type

Cryptocurrency Payments

Supported Coins

80+

Fees

1% to 4.5%

Promotions

None


Table of Contents
Pros & Cons
About MoonPay
What It Offers
MoonPay Pricing & Fees
MoonPay Alternatives

Customer Service
Account Opening Process
Safety & Security
The Bottom Line
MoonPay Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • A fast and simple way to buy cryptocurrency
  • Fast account verification and upgraded spending limits
  • Wide international availability

Cons

  • Processing fees are steep compared to many crypto exchanges
  • You need to use your own wallet
  • Not available in every U.S. state

About MoonPay

MoonPay is a cryptocurrency payment solutions company that began in 2018. The company was founded by Ivan Soto-Wright and Victor Faramond and currently operates out of Miami, Florida.

Screenshot of the MoonPay homepage

Despite being a young company, MoonPay already has over 5 million customers and is available in over 160 countries. According to its website, MoonPay’s technology has helped deliver over $2 billion worth of crypto assets since its founding.

For U.S. investors, MoonPay is available in every state except for Hawaii, New York, Louisiana, Rhode Island, and Texas.

What It Offers

MoonPay’s goal is to make it easy for people to invest in crypto regardless of where they live and what currency they’re using. It also aims to help businesses enable cryptocurrency payments on their websites.

In this sense, MoonPay is similar to payment processors like PayPal, just for crypto. To accomplish its goal, there are several MoonPay features you can take advantage of.

Quickly Buy Cryptocurrencies

The main reason to use MoonPay is to buy and sell cryptocurrencies quickly. In fact, this is the only feature the consumer-facing side of the platform offers.

Once you visit MoonPay’s website, you click the “buy crypto” button to get started. Currently, MoonPay supports over 80 virtual currencies, including:

  • Bitcoin
  • Cardano
  • Compound
  • Cosmos
  • Dogecoin
  • Ethereum
  • Polkadot
  • Shiba Inu
  • Solana
  • Uniswap
  • USDT

MoonPay also supports several tokens for metaverse games like The Sandbox and Decentraland, as well as altcoins you might not even know about. Overall, there’s no shortage of choices for crypto customers.

Executing trades is also simple. You select the crypto you’re buying, the quantity, and your currency. One perk of MoonPay is that it supports dozens of currencies, so it’s useful for international investors.

MoonPay displays how much crypto you’re purchasing and refreshes quotes every 10 seconds for more volatile coins. Once you enter your wallet address for the given coin, you can checkout.

MoonPay Review: Buy BTC

If it’s your first MoonPay purchase, you complete know your customer (KYC) verification before completing the purchase. This involves confirming your phone number, name, address, and uploading government ID like a passport or driver's license.

MoonPay states most verifications complete automatically if you upload clear images. Otherwise, verification can take between several minutes or a few days.

However, the instant verification for many accounts and simple purchasing process makes MoonPay a fast and simple way to buy dozens of different cryptocurrencies.

Numerous Payment Methods

MoonPay offers several payment methods for international customers, including:

  • Credit and debit card
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • SEPA and SEPA Instant for Euro-denominated transactions
  • UK Faster Payments for UK users

U.S. residents can use:

  • Credit and debit cards
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • Samsung Pay

A downside of MoonPay is that you can’t swap cryptocurrencies. In other words, you can’t swap Bitcoin you own for Dogecoin. If you want to swap, exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini are better choices.

But for quickly buying crypto with cash, MoonPay is very hassle-free.

Sell Crypto

Users in the EU, UK, and United States can sell crypto with MoonPay in exchange for fiat. Currently, cryptocurrencies you can sell for cash include:

  • Bitcoin (0.001 BTC minimum)
  • Bitcoin Cash (0.05 minimum)
  • Ethereum (0.01 minimum)
  • USD Coin (30 minimum)
  • Tether (30 minimum)

MoonPay states it’s expanding its list of sellable cryptos. Like buying crypto, MoonPay displays a quote that’s an estimate of how much cash you’re going to get for the crypto you’re selling.

There’s a 1% payment processing fee or minimum of $3.99 in USD, British Pounds, Euros, or currency equivalent. You receive money in your bank account within one to four business days.

If MoonPay can’t process your sale for whatever reason, you get your crypto back. Just note that network fees can alter how much crypto you’re actually selling. And, according to MoonPay, if it receives significantly less crypto than the minimum sell amount it “might not be able to process your sale and your crypto might be lost.”

For this reason, avoid selling cryptos if you’re close to the minimum sell amount, especially if fees like ETH gas fees are high at the time.

Account Limit System

One perk of using MoonPay is that you can quickly increase your account purchasing limit to buy more cryptocurrency.

Purchasing limits depend on your level of verification. Purchase history, region, and payment types also influence how much you can buy.

There are five tiers of verification you can complete. But uploading your ID and completing a video or selfie check gets you up to €334 worth of purchasing power in your chosen currency for a 30-day rolling period. Adding information about your employment and verifying your income by uploading a bank statement lets you spend over €1,000.

Granted, MoonPay has some pretty invasive KYC steps. For example, you can even verify your address to unlock a higher spending limit.

However, in my experience, MoonPay gave me a higher starting buy limit than Coinbase which held me at around $300 USD for my first month.

If you try to purchase more crypto than your current limit, MoonPay prompts you to complete additional verification to complete your purchase. For users currently dealing with frustratingly low buy limits on exchanges, MoonPay could be a viable alternative to try.

Business Crypto And NFT Payments

MoonPay’s B2B side lets businesses offer crypto and NFT transactions on their websites.

Notable MoonPay partners using its tech include:

  • Abra
  • Binance
  • Bitcoin.com
  • OpenSea
  • Trust Wallet
  • ZenGo

In fact, there’s a chance you’ve used MoonPay’s tech without even realizing it if you use other exchanges to buy and sell crypto.

MoonPay Pricing & Fees

MoonPay charges different fees depending on the payment method you use:

  • Card Payments: 4.5% with a minimum of $3.99, €3.99, £3.99 or currency equivalent.
  • Bank Transfers: 1% with a minimum of $3.99, €3.99, £3.99 or currency equivalent.

MoonPay also charges dynamic network fees that depend on blockchain conditions. This is the same process other exchanges use, and during periods of congestion, network fees can get pretty high, especially for cryptos like Bitcoin and ETH.

You see the network fees before executing a trade. Overall, MoonPay is more expensive than exchanges like Binance which charges a 0.10% Maker/Taker fee, so you certainly pay more for the convenience.

MoonPay Alternatives

If you want a speedy way to buy crypto, MoonPay is an excellent choice. However, if you want more coin support and lower trading fees, exchanges like Binance and Coinbase are better options.

Header
MoonPay Comparison
MoonPay Comparison: Coinbase
MoonPay Comparison: Binance

Rating

Supported Coins

80+

100+

500+

Fees

1% to 5%

Starts at 0.50%

Starts at 0.10%

Cell
GET STARTED
READ THE REVIEW
READ THE REVIEW

Furthermore, many exchanges offer their own wallets. And, you can usually earn passive income with your crypto with methods like staking. In comparison, MoonPay is just a payment processor.

As for businesses and website developers looking for crypto payment solutions, you also have options. There are plenty of fiat-to-crypto gateways out there like Simplex which is one of the most popular options, or Onramper, which charges low transaction fees.

Customer Service

There are several ways to contact MoonPay’s customer service team. The first method is to email [email protected] for support. You can also use a chat bot feature to find helpful articles for your problem or to leave a message with MoonPay’s customer service team.

Account Opening Process

You sign up for MoonPay with your email address. Once you verify your email, you complete KYC verification to unlock buying.

The first level of verification involves entering your:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Phone number
  • Date of birth
  • Photo of government-issued ID

Additional levels of verification unlock higher purchasing limits. But you can sign up and purchase crypto with MoonPay within a few minutes.

Safety & Security

According to MoonPay, all data is encrypted with AES-256 block-level storage encryption. Overall, MoonPay is safe and secure and is a technology partner for many leading exchanges and NFT marketplaces like Binance and OpenSea.

That said, MoonPay isn’t invulnerable. For example, in 2020, Iota, a cryptocurrency project that supports the Internet of Things, was hacked due to a vulnerability in MoonPay’s tech.

On the bright side, MoonPay has a 4.2 rating on Trustpilot and is an overall secure payment processing system.

However, it’s important to control your own security as a crypto investor. First and foremost, this means double-checking your wallet addresses before purchasing crypto so you actually send it to the right address. If you suspect your MoonPay account has been compromised or if you have issues with payment, get in touch with MoonPay support as quickly as possible.

Finally, use a reliable crypto wallet like Ledger or Trezor to hold your funds. Keeping large amounts of crypto on an exchange increases risk because you don’t actually control your wallet keys, so mitigate this risk whenever possible.

The Bottom Line

MoonPay is more expensive than many leading crypto exchanges. However, if you want to quickly buy crypto with funds from your bank account, paying for the convenience might be worth it.

This is especially true if you currently face low buying limits on other exchanges. If anything, you can use MoonPay to supplement your cryptocurrency investing by unlocking higher buying limits.

Just be aware that network fees and transaction fees can add up quickly. If you want to avoid high fees, exchanges like Binance or KuCoin are superior.

MoonPay Features

Product Type

Cryptocurrency payments

Supported Coins

80+

Free Wallet

No

Maintenance Fees

No

Trading Fees

1% to 4.5% depending on payment method

Supported Payment Types

Credit card
Debit card
Apple Pay
Google Pay
Samsung Pay

Insurance

MoonPay doesn’t have insurance but you don’t hold funds directly on MoonPay like you do with cryptocurrency exchanges

Security

MoonPay uses AES-256 block-level storage encryption and also has two-factor authentication

Mobile App Availability

No

Desktop Availability

Yes

Customer Support Options

MoonPay has a live chat customer support option and you can email [email protected] for assistance

Promotions

None

Tom Blake
Tom Blake

Tom Blake is a personal finance writer with a passion for making money online, cryptocurrency and NFTs,  investing, and the gig economy.

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, or other advertiser and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Comment Policy: We invite readers to respond with questions or comments. Comments may be held for moderation and are subject to approval. Comments are solely the opinions of their authors’. The responses in the comments below are not provided or commissioned by any advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any company. It is not anyone’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Subscribe
Login
Notify of

2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Bob smith
6 months ago

Why does moonpay insist on card payment rather then collecting fees from the transaction directly

0
Reply
Admin
Robert Farrington
6 months ago
Reply to  Bob smith

Our guess is that card payments are one of their revenue sources. They likely keep a percentage of the processing fee.

0
Reply

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Editor’s Picks

  • 8 best cryptocurrency exchanges ranked

    8 Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges Ranked For 2023

  • crypto savings accounts

    6 Best Crypto Savings Accounts For 2023

  • Cryptocurrency Bonus Offers

    10 Best Crypto Promotional And Bonus Offers

  • best crypto wallets

    Best Crypto Wallets For 2023 (Software And Hardware Options)

  • Best Portfolio Trackers For Cryptocurrency And Stocks

    6 Best Portfolio Trackers For Cryptocurrency And Stocks

  • best tax software for crypto and NFT traders

    Best Tax Software For Crypto And NFT Traders In 2023

Popular Posts

  • proof of work vs. proof of stake vs. proof of history

    Proof Of Work vs. Proof Of Stake vs. Proof Of History

  • Why I Bought An NFT

    Why I Bought An NFT [And 5 Reasons You Should Too]

  • My Dogecoin Experiment: What I Learned From Investing $2,000 In DOGE

  • common crypto and nft scams

    Most Common Crypto And NFT Scams (And How To Avoid Them)

  • Bookkeeping and Accounting for Crypto and NFTs

    Bookkeeping And Accounting For Crypto And NFTs

  • what is a 51% attack

    What Is A 51% Attack? (And How Is That Game Over For Crypto?)

  • what is staking crypto

    What Is Staking And How Can You Make Money With Your Crypto?

  • what are veefriends

    What Are VeeFriends And Are They Worth It?

  • how to file a complaint against crypto exchanges

    How To File A Complaint Against A Crypto Exchange [Crypto Regulators]

Footer

Pages

  • Best Cryptocurrency Wallets
  • Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Categories

  • Cryptocurrency
  • DeFi
  • NFT
  • Personal Finance

About

  • About The Cult Of Money
  • Contact
  • How We Make Money
  • Advertise With Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 | Cult of Money | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

wpDiscuz