Formerly known as BitX, Luno is one of the oldest Bitcoin exchanges in the World. The UK-based company was established in 2013 at a time when most people hadn’t heard of the digital currency and those who had were mostly not interested. With time, Luno has built a reputation for being one of the most reliable, safe and affordable Bitcoin exchanges in the World. Ironically, their market share remains relatively small and trading rarely exceeds half a million dollars. This could be because, for the longest time, Luno was only dealing with bitcoins, leaving out other currencies which might have brought it a bigger number of clients. As such, when the company changed their name from BitX to Luno, there was speculation that they were planning to introduce supporting services for other digital currencies in a bid to improve their market share. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen.
Update (November 9, 2017): Luno now also offers service for Ethereum, allowing their customers to buy, sell and store ETH.
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Trading Platforms
Luno supports a number of platforms which are all integrated to enable seamless cross-platform interaction. First, there is the web platform, accessed through the main web page and which requires no downloads whatsoever. For mobile users, the Luno mobile app is available at Google PlayStore and is tailored to make trading as safe, smooth and efficient as possible in mobile devices. WebSocket and API platforms are also supported and provide alternative ways to access the exchange system.
Transaction Charges and Commissions
Luno has some of the lowest rates in the industry. Basically, traders incur zero charges when sending or receiving BTC using their email addresses or phone numbers. When sending or receiving BTC through your Bitcoin address, a transaction fee of BTC 0.0002 applies. When it comes to purchases, the payable commission is dependent on whether you are a ‘taker’ or ‘giver.’ Takers are generally those traders who decrease the liquidity by buying Bitcoins. Givers, on the other hand are traders who increase the liquidity by offering Bitcoins for sale.
Transaction charges when funding your account depend on your geographic location and means of payment. Credit card payments attract a maximum 1.50% commission while bank transfers are free for most countries.
Withdrawals attract commissions of up to $50 again, depending on the amount to be withdrawn.
Luno Bitcoin Wallet
The Luno Bitcoin Wallet application for mobile devices makes it possible to buy bitcoin using a credit card. Currently in beta, this feature is only available in Canada, India and Europe. Other features include quickly buying and selling bitcoin, accessing your bitcoin account easily even when you’re away from your computer, and a lot more. You can even use the application to trade on the Luno Exchange. Instant buy/sell and the Luno Exchange are currently available in Indonesia, Nigeria, Singapore and South Africa, with more countries coming soon.
Regulation
As of now, Luno has no known licenses under any jurisdiction. This is probably because Bitcoins are not considered legal tender and governments are yet to develop regulatory frameworks. That said, the company complies with Know Your Customer and Anti Money Laundering standards to prevent money laundering and ensure that all transactions are secure.
Payment Method
You can fund your Luno account and/or buy BTC via bank transfer, international wire or credit card. Currencies supported include British Pound, Indonesian Rupiah, Malaysian Ringitt and the South African Rand.
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Customer support
Luno customer support can be reached by visiting the help page (luno.com/help) and filling out the inquiry form.
Local office addresses
1 Fore Street, London EC2Y 9DT
120 Robinson Road, Singapore 068913
De Waterkant, Cape Town 8001
Testimonials
We couldn’t find a lot of negative reviews about this bitcoin exchange. One reviewer from South Africa wrote that he has been “using Luno for a couple of months now and I must say I’m impressed. No delays in incoming/outgoing BTC or FIAT to ZAR. Verification checks were straight forward and no issues paying into Capitec.”
Unfortunately, the Bitcoin Wallet application received quite a few negative reviews on the Google Play website. For example, one reviewer said: “this luno is begining to look more and more like a scam.. first I can’t withdraw my money to my naira bank account now I can’t even send out BTC to another account.. what happened to BITX? Luno is a scam..”
Another reviewer writes: “This guy’s are scam there staff hacks into my account as soon as I received btc, my password, my pin n email where never tempered with, luno AR big thief’s it will never be well with you people.”
Now, Luno has taken time to reply to each of these comments, we’ll give them credit for that. But whether or not you should trust this company remains disputable. We dislike the fact that there’s no telephone number for customer support. And also in general we would not recommend doing business with a non-regulated company.
Luno Review Conclusion
We currently believe that while Luno may not be a scam, there are better Bitcoin exchanges out there.
If you traded with Luno, please leave a comment below detailing your experience with this bitcoin exchange. Once we have additional feedback about Luno, we will be able to reach a more definite conclusion regarding this company. For now, you’re welcome to visit our List of Bitcoin Exchanges for alternatives.
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I would agree with many people that it’s the biggest scam company. I have sent deposit of ££500 from my bank account to my UK account. It’s been 9 days now, funds gone from my account but nothing shows up in my Luno wallet. Raised 2 tickets so far, not a single reply. A total scam, would suggest people to avoid this exchange.
Hi friends please don’t deposit i deposit 22/12/2017 but I’m still waiting I don’t receive anything and I send mail also not reply me please finds don’t deposit otherwise you lose your money
It’s fake
Dear luno.
It’s been 3 weeks now that I have deposited money into your guys account and it is not reflecting as yet.. I did check the waiting period on luno and it said 48 hours. I tried again to deposit money on Thursday and till today still nothing. I also have a ticket # 326477.
Your assistance would be highly appreciated
I had the same problem with Luno. Their support system sucks.
I transfered 0.1BTC into my Luno wallet 3 weeks ago and it only arrived 2 days ago.
I sent numerous messages, and they did respond. Check your replies by going to
Menu – Help Centre – support.
It should show all your messages and their responses.
Andy
Hi There,
I transfered money a week ago. I made an error with the reference number. I have logged quiries I got no feedback. Not sure what to do. Any suggestions…Regards Anna
Mail sycrobust@gmail.com . They helped me too
here is the correct spelling .
Sycroburst@gmail.com.
I contacted them too they helped me
Hi there,
This message is intended for any prospective South African investor interested in purchasing Bitcoin and/or Ethereum through Luno – our local cryptocurrency exchange. If you are still condisering use this service, I implore you to seriously reconsider.
This is a highly unethical company – and that’s to say the least. There are three main issues with this business, namely:
1) Dubious Price Setting
Luno sells Ethereum and Bitcoin at a 20% markup compared to most global cryptocurrency exchanges. They are absuing their position as the only South African exchange to charge people far more than what they should. What this means is that when you purchase currencies through this platform you are paying considerably more for the coin that what an investor in the US, UK and Europe would pay. From the moment you purchase through their exchange you have lost money as you paid more than what the going rate actually is for the currency. To make matters worse, the price hike only seems to apply to purchases made, however, when you sell off your holdings for FIAT then miraculously your coins seem to depreciate in value to the globally accepted norm – which means you’re selling for the going rate. Luno has published two articles which refer to local supply and demand in this respect, however, it would be wise to treat these articles with circumspection. Obviosuly the people lining their pockets by charging 20% more than what they should will say something to substantite their actions, so they can keep doing it.
2) Terrible. Non-existent customer Support.
This company has no contact details. There are no landline numbers or physical addresses listed on their website or any other web address for that reason. The only contact you could have with this business is through this email address support@luno.com. If you ae able to get a response with regard to any query you might have then count yourself luky. Personally I have sent this email 5 qeury mails in the past, to which I received no reply. This company has taken every measure to ensure that you are unable to contact it. It leaves all customers that are able to discern what is really going on with the inablity to get hold of anyone. I have tried to find out what the founder and CEO’s contact details are so I can have my lawyer deliver a legal letter to him, however, as expected the company was not forthcoming with any details. These actions are in total breach of the consumer protection act, but not to be unexpected from a group of people that have something to hide and dont want to come out.
3) They are thieves
This company will flat out steal from you. To put you in the picture, I set up a recurring payment from my bank account to Lunos accountevery Friday afternoon sothat I could automate my investments. It was working smoothely until I found out how much they hiked their prices by when i compared the price i was paying for a coin to numerous other exchanges. I subsequently sent the aformentioned legal mail to support@luno.com but recived no response. However, I forgot to cancel my weekly scheduled payment to Luno. The Friday morning following that mail my payment was deducted from my checking account and subsequenlty transferred to Lunos account(this is instant because we both bank with FNB) and I received my normal sms. Lo and Behold that money never reached my Luno wallet, although they took my money they felt no need to allocate it to my account – that money has still not been allocated to my account to this day and has not been returened to my account. I can’t speak for everyone but in my books that is theft.
There are numerous other issues with this company, but those are the three most notable ones I would other inquisitive investors to be aware of. Please do not consider this exchange, you will truly be doing yourself a disservice. Furthmore, you will allow this unethical company filled with immoral people to grow bigger without consequence.
If you want to begin investing in the digital economy then i could suggest the follwoing global sites that will allow you to purchase and hold Bitcoin and Ethereum using your credit or debit card:
Spectrocoin
Coinmama
Localbitcoins
These are all reputable exchanges that you will be able to find with a quick Google. Some of their fees can be slightly high, however, you can rest assured your’re dealing with an ethical company and purchasing your coins at an acceptable rate.
That’s my 2 cents on Luno. I believe it is just a matter of time before you hear about them in the news for finacial misconduct and consumer abuse. If you do decide to use this company then be prepared to be financially exploitated, receive poor service and if you’re lucky, have your money stolen as well.
Best of luck with your endeavours. Oh, and if anyone from Luno is reading this, how does it feel good to be a criminal? Let me know, would be nice to hear from you. You’ve got my customer support tickets.
True and must read. Luno will charge a ridiculous fees and some fees are hidden people must be aware of this. I will definitely use Localbitcoins for my wallet and exchange
I totally agree with your above story as it is my experience too. 3 days ago either my Luno wallet, or Luno’s database was compromised and all of my funds were transferred out to an apparently unknown account. The extent of help received from Luno is basically non existent and I’m left to deal with the matter alone. I will never trust Luno wallet for future transactions. Buyer beware.
Hi Luno team. Having a problem signing into luno. This has never happened before. I signed in around 3 times, one after the other and now it says ‘maximum verification code attempts exceeded’ and it won’t allow me to sign on. Please help. How do I retrieve my money or check current Bitcoin now?
Hi Team Luno
Good day LUNO. A certain amount of bitcoins was transferred to my bitcoin address earlier today. However it’s still showing PENDING on the sending wallet account. Without so much as a notification on my own account. I’ve sent an email with reference number 328507. No response yet. Kindly resolve this issue ASAP. I find it disconcerting. And improve your customer service. Sometimes we want quick response and someone to talk to from your end. Thank you.
Newbie here
UI is clean, lvl 1 verification doesn’t require photo, only ID no. and exp. date,
feel free to use my code: [removed]
Hi Luno Team. Kindly note i’m seeking your urgent assistance to look into my ticket reference #311449. Its been almost 2 weeks since I deposited the money into my account but its still not reflecting. I never encountered this problem the fist time I used your platform, its great platform but just try to improve your customer service.
Hello Luno team, seeking your urgent attention to look into my ticket reference #293951. It has been almost 2 weeks since I deposited the money to my Luno account but it is still not reflective yet. At the same time, my account is still under review for about 2 weeks, exceeded the promised timeline
Dear Luno,
I have sent my 0.5 BTC at 11pm GMT+8 yesterday and the status now is still PENDING (after more than 12 hours). I have open ticket #309377 but received no feedback at all. Please help to check on my issue and revert soonest possible. This is very worrying.