What is bitwala.com? How effective is it? Is there a recommended alternative in the market? There are the questions that we shall be addressing in today’s review, just to establish whether Bitwala is Trustworthy. Here are the subtopics that will help us achieve these objectives:
- What is bitwala.com?
- What are the services that are offered by Bitwala?
- What are the currencies and payment methods allowed on this platform?
- What are the fees and limits to expect?
- Which countries are supported by Bitwala?
- How is the customer service offered on this platform?
- Is Bitwala Genuine or is it a Scam?
- Pros and Cons
Name of the platform: Bitwala
Official Website URL: https://www.bitwala.com/
Overall Rating:
Recommended: Yes (Only for those living in the EU)
==>Here is my number one recommended alternative (for those living both inside and outside EU)<==
What is Bitwala.com?
Bitwala exists as a German cryptocurrency platform that brings together the traditional financial systems and the block-chain based systems. This Berlin-based platform presents its users with the services that can separately be obtained from regular bank accounts., BTC and ETH Wallets, as well as a seamless trading platform.
Bitwala’s customers can purchase and sell BTC and ETH using fast cash options that are linked to their bank accounts, that are hosted by a renowned German partner bank. Some of the major firms that have invested in Bitwala include:
- Earlybird
- Sony Financial Ventures
- Coparion
- Global Brain
- High Tech Grunderfonds
- ALSTIN Capital
- Digital Currency Group
What are the services that are offered by Bitwala?
As already highlighted, Bitwala’s objective is to bridge the traditional financial system with modern blockchain-based systems. Here are the main services that the platform offers in a bid to achieve:
- Bank Account- Bitwala offers German bank accounts that present you with all the functionality that you would expect from a regular fintech bank. You can rely on this account to send and to receive money on a daily basis. Paying for services and products is quite easy with a Bitwala bank account. This account is similar to an on online Euro Bank Account ( it also has SEPA functionality)
- Bitcoin Wallet– you can access a Bitwala Bitcoin wallet that has the capability to be linked with a bank account for efficient money transfers. The wallet features the most common cryptocurrency wallet features, including sending, receiving, storing, and trading Bitcoin. It supports exchanges such as fiat to crypto exchanges, as vice versa.
- Debit Card – With the German Bank account that you create with Bitwala, you can get a MasterCard-backed debit card. To spend the BTC funds that you have in your account, you should trade the BTC for Euros through the Bitwala site or through the app. MasterCard offers all the security and worldwide use support, in a manner similar to what you’d expect from any international debit card.
What are the currencies and payment methods allowed on this platform?
Bitwala allows its customers to use three currencies, which are Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Euros. The Euros are usually stored in the German bank account that lets you deposit, withdraw, and spend your money at will.
Your BTC and ETH are, on the other hand, usually stored in a dedicated wallet that has both public and private keys. Depositing BTC or ETH to this wallet is as easy as what you may have already encountered with other crypto wallets.
What are the fees and limits to expect?
The card transactions, as well as cash withdrawal fees, are usually free when one uses euros. If you, however, try to use other foreign currencies, you will incur varying transaction fees as well as exchange fees. These fees are set by MasterCard.
If you decide to do trading on this platform, Bitwala will charge you 1% of the trading amount. Whereas this is not the lowest transaction rate that you will find in the market, it is quite reasonable moreso given the fact that you are offered the connectivity to a banking system and that you can trade easily.
There are also some network fees that incur in every transaction, but Bitwala does not have any control over this.
Which countries are supported by Bitwala?
It is safe to say that the Bitwala service is a European-oriented service, with the fiat banking and transactions being processed in Euros. The bank account customers are offered by Bitwala are German, hence it naturally works most efficiently in Germany.
The SEPA transfers as well as Euro transactions are usually seamless across Europe, hence the service is efficient within this region. Also, Bitwala only offers debit cards to its customers who are currently living in the European Economic Area (EEA), as well as Switzerland.
How is the customer service offered on this platform?
Bitwala has a comprehensive customer support section where you can read about many common issues that have been solved in the past. The information presented is quite detailed and helpful, thus you can solve most of the issues without even needing the help of customer support staff. If you have any technical questions, the customer service team will be there to help you when you reach out to them via email. Your queries will be attended to within a reasonable timeframe.
Is Bitwala Genuine or is it a Scam?
In my own opinion, Bitwala is a genuine platform. It is in the market offering Bitcoin banking solutions that work well for its customers, particularly the ones based in Europe. The products and services that Bitwala is offering have gone a long way to merge the world of fiat and cryptos, which is something that facilitates the mass adoption of cryptos.
The customer support staff seem quite active in their delivery of support services, and the provision of helpful insights to their customers. The products offered by Bitwala also have very great recommendations, with more than half of the reviews on a platform such as Trustpilot (opens in new window) rating them as excellent.
The customers perceive Bitwala as a platform that is both uncomplicated and safe. The transactions seem seamless right from the moment one signs up for use of the platform.
Pros and cons
We always recommend looking at both the positive sides as well as the negative ones to get a better overall view of a product or platform. As always in our reviews we point out some obvious ones on both sides of the spectrum:
Pros
- It offers very smooth integration with traditional banks.
- It offers valuable customer support
- Reasonable fees are charged for the use of their products
Cons
- It only supports BTC and ETH
- Meant for EU residents mainly
Final words and verdict:
Verdict: Legit
Overall rating :
Bitwala is a decent and genuine platform that I think those living in the EU, and who do not care much about the number of cryptos they send, receive, or exchange (apart from BTC and ETH). The customer service is excellent, but you can also rely on the comprehensive user guide to solve any issues that you run into.
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That is all for my review today about what Bitwala.com is all about. I hope it was valuable to you and that will take the next step to use it (or its recommended alternative) today. If you’ve been using Bitwala, then you can share your experience so far.
Your Friend,
Eric, investor, and team member on Gold Retired!