Is Luno Safe Revealed for 2025* We have listed, rated, and reviewed the top facts about Is Luno Safe.
In this in-depth write-up, you will learn:
- What is a Luno?
- How to make money with Luno?
- Luno Bitcoin Wallets
- What is a Luno Minimum Deposit?
- Trading Platform for Luno.
- What is cryptocurrency?
- Is Luno safe in South Africa?
And much, much more!
| 📌Feature | 🔖Details |
| 🔐Safety | Offers 2FA, strong passwords, secure login tips, and options for both hot and cold wallets |
| 🔑Wallet Options | Custodial and non-custodial options, users manage private keys for non-custodial wallets |
| 💸Transaction Fees | Free within Luno wallets, fees apply when sending to non-Luno wallets |
| 💳Deposit Methods | EFT (Free), Instant EFT (1.4% fee), Cash (R20 + 5%) |
| 💲Buy/Sell Fees | 2% fee for instant buy/sell transactions |
| ₿Supported Currencies | Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other popular cryptocurrencies |
| ✔️Setup Steps | Sign-up, email verification, and identity verification for account creation |
| 📲Recommended Use | Small amounts in hot wallets for ease, large holdings in cold storage for security |
| 🇿🇦Support in South Africa | Yes, tailored for South African users |
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Is Luno Safe Overview
- ☑️What Luno offers to digital currency traders
- ☑️What is cryptocurrency?
- ☑️Cryptocurrency trading in a nutshell
- ☑️The need for security in the cryptocurrency exchange
- ☑️Luno is a secure cryptocurrency exchange platform
- ☑️Conclusion
- ☑️Frequently Asked Questions
What Luno offers to digital currency traders
Based in London, Luno provides Bitcoin digital currency traders with an advanced technology platform that facilitates the buying, selling, and storing of various digital currencies. The company also allows traders to pay for products and services using a cryptocurrency wallet, which creates more streamlined processing of currency exchange for traders. Luno was first established in 2013 at the height of the digital currency revolution, and as such is one of the first forerunners in the industry.
The company differentiated itself by offering exchanges between traditional global currencies and popular cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin. While the company is based in London, it focuses primarily on expanding its footprint in developing countries where cryptocurrency trading has become increasingly popular in recent years.
As such, Luno has already broadened its reach to countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Indonesia, Zambia, and Malaysia, as well as 40 other countries globally. The company is operated by expert teams who have an extensive history with leading global tech and finance companies, including Google, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and others. Luno works to offer user-friendly products developed from some of the world’s most sophisticated cryptocurrency security systems that provide inclusive experiences for a range of different traders.
What is cryptocurrency?
In essence, a cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. These days, most cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on blockchain technology, which is a distributed ledger enforced by a diversified network of computers. What makes cryptocurrencies unique is that they are typically not issued by any central authority, making them technically immune to government interference or manipulation.
It was for this precise reason that cryptocurrencies were first developed, with the first launch in 2009 of the now ubiquitous Bitcoin currency. Bitcoin was created by either an individual or a group operating under the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto.”
This mysterious entity sought to establish a “trust-less” cash system and explicitly stated that the reason for creating this digital cash system was to remove the third-party intermediaries that are traditionally required to conduct digital monetary transfers. This was largely because third parties incur significant costs for conducting these services; these costs are then passed on to end users and can restrict transactions below a certain size.
Furthermore, cryptocurrencies were also largely seen as a response to the global banking recession that occurred in 2008. They were considered a means of removing some financial power from these centralized institutions and creating a more equal financial market. Bitcoin still remains the most popular and most valuable cryptocurrency, and as of November 2019, there were over 18 million Bitcoins in circulation with a total market value of around $146 billion.
Today, there are thousands of alternate cryptocurrencies with various functions and specifications. Some of these are clones or forks of Bitcoin, while others are new currencies that were built from scratch.
Cryptocurrency trading in a nutshell
With the growth of the crypto market, cryptocurrency trading emerged as a means of speculating on price movements through a CFD trading account or else by buying or selling the underlying coins via an exchange. When traders buy cryptocurrencies through an exchange, they purchase the coins themselves.
In order to do this, they must create an exchange account, put up the full value of the asset to open a position and store the cryptocurrency tokens in their own wallet until they’re ready to sell.Coins are sent to other users’ digital wallets, and the transaction isn’t considered final until it has been verified and added to the blockchain through a process called mining. This is also how new cryptocurrency tokens are usually created.
The need for security in the cryptocurrency exchange
Cryptocurrency platforms offer access to major coins and countless benefits. However, it’s important to find an exchange that prioritizes security. As such, there have been numerous attempts to obtain digital currencies illegally, for instance, through phishing, scamming, a supply chain attack, or hacking. In 2018, around US$1.7 billion in cryptocurrency was lost due to scam theft and fraud. In the first quarter of 2019, the number of such losses was US$1.2 billion.
In response, several measures have been taken to prevent unauthorized cryptocurrency transactions, including storage technologies. In extreme cases, even a computer that is not connected to any network can be hacked. There are various types of cryptocurrency wallets available, with different layers of security, including devices, software for different operating systems or browsers, and offline wallets. Some malware can steal private keys for Bitcoin wallets, allowing the Bitcoins themselves to be stolen.
The most common type searches computers for cryptocurrency wallets to upload to a remote server where they can be cracked, and their coins are stolen. Many of these also log keystrokes to record passwords, often avoiding the need to crack the keys. Another approach detects when a Bitcoin address is copied to a clipboard and quickly replaces it with a different address, tricking people into sending Bitcoins to the wrong address. This method is effective because Bitcoin transactions are irreversible.
Nonetheless, despite these security concerns, the cryptocurrency exchange remains a highly lucrative and exciting financial market, and the best means of avoiding potential security breaches is to sign up with a broker that provides a safe trading environment. This leads us to the question – is Luno safe to trade with?
Luno is a secure cryptocurrency exchange platform
To date, Luno has over 3 million users worldwide who rely on the company to keep their cryptocurrencies as well as their information safe, and in order to ensure its longevity in the market, Luno recognizes the need to take this responsibility seriously. As such, the company self-regulates and follows all of the latest international information privacy and safety regulations and recommendations.
The information that Luno asks users to provide includes such particulars as a verified email address, identity documents, or even a selfie to help the company confirm user identity.
Such measures are crucial in a time when online security equals real-world security.
Personal Information
The information that Luno requires users to provide includes an ID number, legal name, and scans of their identity documents. All personally identifiable information, like your email address, mobile number, and work or residential addresses, are encrypted and securely stored. As a further security measure, all access to this information is logged and strictly controlled on a need-to-know basis, and only certain Luno employees can access it. This security measure is referred to as a KYC or Know Your Customer process.
Regulations are becoming increasingly strict for financial institutions to better verify customer identities during the opening and maintaining of accounts. KYC policies require “reasonable due diligence” to know (and retain) the essential facts concerning every customer. Whether you are technically subject to KYC regulations or not, companies of all sizes are embracing KYC procedures to protect themselves and their customers.
For financial services companies, in particular, KYC compliance has a huge impact on how they enable customers to open accounts and perform financial transactions on their preferred devices. Customers want to bank online, but banks must contend with AML and KYC requirements while fighting fraud and financial crimes and mitigating high-risk transactions.
Since Luno makes use of globally recognized security measures, it collects, stores, and protects personal information from all of its customers. This may include your name, email, date of birth, home address, bank account number, a government-issued ID, and a selfie. When you provide Luno with this information, it is used to check you are who you say you are. Once this is determined to be authentic, your information is securely stored, as per the company’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.
Furthermore, Luno regularly reviews and implements up-to-date technical and organizational security measures when checking your personal data to make sure it’s safe and remains that way. Some parts of this process are automated, while others are manual. But your information is always respected and securely stored. The company is also unlikely to access this personal data after the verification process. In addition, Luno complies with local data protection laws at all times.
Site Service and Staff
Whenever you communicate with Luno, those conversations between you and the Customer Success team happen on SSL-secured channels. As such, wherever you see “HTTPS” in the URL bar, it’s a good indicator that you are safe to exchange sensitive information with the company.
Luno’s encryption software ensures that the company keeps all data communication private. No individual has direct access to customers’ money, and regular auditing—both financial and security auditing—ensures that your money is always safe and fully accounted for. All of Luno’s employees pass a background check, receive security training, and are required to adhere to the company security policy.
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Deep Freeze Storage
The majority of Luno’s customer Bitcoin funds are kept in what is commonly referred to as “deep freeze” storage. These are multi-signature wallets with private keys stored in different bank vaults. Cold storage is often seen as even more secure than a traditional wallet. It involves storing bitcoins offline—that is, entirely separate from any Internet access.
Keeping bitcoins offline substantially reduces the threat from hackers. There is no need to worry about a hacker gaining digital access to a wallet when the wallet itself is not online. This service is insured by an underwriter, thus protecting against theft or loss of bitcoins. No single person ever has access to more than one key. Spending any Bitcoins from deep freeze storage requires a coordinated effort with multiple layers of encryption and security checks. Wallet backups are also stored in encrypted form.
Hot Wallet
Luno maintains a multi-signature hot wallet to facilitate instant Bitcoin withdrawals. The company controls one of the keys, and the other is held by the multi-signature custodian leader BitGo. Security is one of the strongest points of BitGo, as it is considered the safest Bitcoin wallet in the market. The most important feature which is required by users is safety and BitGo ensures safety in many ways. For financial organizations, BitGo works as a beneficial wallet as it eliminates 3 cumbersome issues companies face while using bitcoins.
These issues are unsafe wallets, barriers regarding physical location, and processing delays at the time of transactions. Especially, when a wallet is designed for organizations, the safety of account information and funds is needed which is provided by BitGo.
Also, BitGo supports 2-way authentication along with all these above-given security options, which makes it more reliable and secure. Splitting control of the keys between two companies makes the wallet much more secure because an attacker would have to compromise both the Luno and BitGo systems in order to steal the keys.
Passwords
Passwords at Luno are stored in the hashed form: nobody other than yourself ever has access to your password. The company makes sure that users use a strong password when they sign up with Luno. Furthermore, the company recommends using Lastpass, Keychain, Keepass, or another reputable password manager to generate and keep track of a strong password.
Two Factor Authentification
Two-factor Authentication (2FA) is supported by Luno to provide another level of authentication and ensure complete peace of mind. 2FA is an extra layer of security used to make sure that people trying to gain access to an online account are who they say they are. First, a user will enter their username and password.
Then, instead of immediately gaining access, they will be required to provide another piece of information. With 2FA, a potential compromise of just one of these factors won’t unlock the account. So, even if your password is stolen or your phone is lost, the chances of someone else having your second-factor information is highly unlikely.
Looking at it from another angle, if a consumer uses 2FA correctly, websites and apps can be more confident of the user’s identity and unlock the account. With 2FA enabled, you will add an extra layer of protection to your account: a one-time code that can only be generated on your smartphone.
Conclusion
Luno is viewed as a secure site for carrying out cryptocurrency transactions primarily because of its several security features that include; two-step verification, password strength tips, and a simple process of setting up. The users are provided with custodial and noncustodial wallets, so they have the option to control their private keys if they want, providing an added security measure.
While transactions within Luno wallets do not incur any costs, there are charges upon sending funds to other non-Luno wallet addresses. Due to its excellent security and simplicity features, it offers an appealing solution to users, particularly those from South Africa, who desire to carry out activities involving cryptocurrencies with the least possible risks.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can Luno be trusted?
Yes, they are a cryptocurrency platform trusted by millions of customers worldwide.
Can I withdraw from Luno to my bank account?
You’ll be able to do this using the Luno app, desktop, or mobile web browsers.
What are the disadvantages of Luno?
There are no advanced trading tools, and it doesn’t let you stake cryptocurrency to collect rewards.
How can you tell a scammer on Luno?
Potential scammers will attempt to answer/ reply to comments on Luno’s Facebook profile.
What are the risks in Luno?
There are two main risks to be aware of: downtime penalties and slashing.
Is Luno safe in South Africa?
Luno will keep your cryptocurrency safe, but only you can protect your wallet from being accessed by intruders.
What is cryptocurrency?
A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency secured by cryptography.
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