Both experienced and inexperienced crypto investors are likely to come across fiat gateways, often referred to as 3rd party payment gateways or processors (3P). In short, these gateways are independent companies who’s main goal is to provide fiat on-ramp and off-ramp services for crypto.
Most gateways integrate as many payment methods as possible or convenient. Some claim to have over 100+ different payment methods ranging from bank transfers, card payments, and various mobile apps, e-wallets or digital services.
In essence, the gateways let you buy crypto with many different currencies and payment channels, including methods that aren’t natively supported by a specific cryptocurrency exchange.
Popular Fiat Gateways
The most common 3rd party fiat gateways integrated into major crypto trading platforms are Simplex, Mercuryo, BANXA, Volet, MoonPay, and AlchemyPay.
There are many others, too: Legend Trading, Onramp.money, Transak, Unlimit, ZEN, BTCDirect, Guardarian, Swapple, Itez, Coinify, Onramper, Paybis, Paymonade, and Transfi.
Do All Crypto Exchanges Have Gateways?
Not all. Many large crypto exchanges have direct deposit methods, where your funds are directly sent to exchange’s bank accounts without any intermediaries. For example OKX, CEX.IO, Coinbase, Gemini, Crypto.com and Kraken all have zero 3rd party gateways. All these exchanges have many direct payment methods including various bank transfers, cards, PayPal, etc.
Conversely, some large exchanges have many direct deposit methods, but also include gateways. For users unable to use traditional banking or popular payment methods, gateway integration can provide an alternative means to deposit or withdraw fiat. As an example, Binance and Bybit both have many direct deposit methods, very active P2P markets, but still provide users with several 3rd party gateway integrations.
Why Use Gateways Compared to Direct Deposit Methods?
If you can use (for example) Apple Pay to deposit directly to an exchange, there’s zero reasons why you should use a gateway. In this case the gateways act as an unnecessary intermediary.
Because gateways are intermediaries that also need to make a living, they will charge additional transaction fees, usually higher than direct-to-exchange deposit methods. Gateways should be used when your desired payment channel isn’t implemented by an exchange.
How Much are Gateway Fees?
Fees depend on a number of factors, and each gateway charges different fees. Generally speaking, expect fees between 2% and 5%. To provide an example, on a $100 purchase you might pay $2 or $5 in fees. If these transaction fees are unacceptable to you, consider using an exchange with direct bank transfers. Some gateways or certain payment methods have minimum fees too, for example $5 minimum regardless of total amount. This can make them unsuitable for small recurring purchases.
Word of caution: some gateways claim to have zero fees. This is technically true, but instead they will charge a spread (difference between market and quoted price). As a simplistic example, buying $100 worth of USDT might end up costing you $105 USD (even though 1 USDT = 1 USD). There’s technically no transaction or purchase fee, but the 5% price difference (spread) still means the gateways will take a big chunk of your transaction in fees. Whenever possible, we included spreads whenever we mention specific gateway fees.
These spreads can be more difficult to spot when dealing with Bitcoin. It’s hard to tell whether you’re supposed to receive 0.00012 or 0.000114 BTC, but that’s a 5% difference. Keep an eye out, because a minute of simple math can save you a bunch of money.
Do Gateways Require KYC?
KYC (know-your-customer) or identity verification is required on all gateways. First of all, even no-KYC crypto exchanges will always require completing identity verification for any fiat-related services, whether deposits or withdrawals. Secondly, even when used on exchanges where you already completed KYC, using gateways for the first time will often require a separate KYC on the gateway itself.
To prevent fraud, money laundering and to comply with laws, gateways will ask for your name, address, and photo ID. This KYC process can typically be completed in 5 minutes, and repeated purchases will not require it.
Tip: to ensure transactions get processed without unnecessary holds, make sure the name on your bank account or bank card matches the one on submitted KYC documents.
Can Gateways Hold Crypto Funds?
Some gateways act as wallets and will hold funds. However, most gateways do not have crypto custody, and purchased cryptocurrency must be deposited to external wallets. When using a gateway through a crypto exchange, crypto assets will be deposited directly onto your exchange wallet/balance.
If you’re thinking why not just use gateways if they can hold crypto, the answers are simple. Gateways are not crypto exchanges, and most of them will only let you purchase a few mainstream crypto assets. On the other hand some crypto exchanges like MEXC or Gate have thousands of altcoins available for trading.
In addition, most crypto trading platforms have fair trading fees. On Spot markets (which is what you’re essentially also using on gateways), trading fees are typically 0.1% or 0.2%. When trading one crypto asset for another, gateways will often charge you more than 1% per transaction, or even more ludicrous amounts such as 5%. These trading fees can be detrimental to profits, and there’s never a need to pay anywhere close to that amount.
Can Gateways be Used to Sell Crypto for Fiat?
Absolutely, exchanging crypto and fiat both ways is their purpose. As easily as they let you buy crypto, gateways will let you sell it. You can cash out to your bank account, card, or other available payment service. Keep in mind that not all payment methods can be used to cash out. For example, depositing fiat via Apple Pay or Google Pay is frequently available, but these payment services can not be used to receive money.
For availability of most popular payment methods you can refer to our exchange reviews (see Fiat Gateways in the Fees sections of each review), or see dedicated pages for each gateway linked above. It’s also always best to check gateway websites too, because depending on your country some payment methods may not be available.
Is Using Gateways Safe?
Generally yes. All gateways mentioned are reputable and many have been around for a decade with countless transactions and millions of users. Some are newer and relatively unproven, but if a major crypto exchange partnered with and integrated their service, you can expect comprehensive due diligence has been done to ensure the gateway is safe to use.
When using gateways through a centralized crypto exchange, they will only process your payment and forward funds directly onto the exchange. Then you can either trust an exchange to hold your assets securely, or withdraw funds to self-custody wallets for safekeeping.
Supported Currencies & Payment Methods
Available currencies depends on each gateway and payment method. For example, SEPA bank transfers only work with Euros, so obviously you can’t use just any currency for any payment method. Many gateways support more than 100 fiat currencies; in case of Visa or Mastercard deposits, you can use any local currency you wish. To avoid unnecessary conversions by your bank, it’s always best to use the same currency as your bank card uses, which typically depends on your country.
As for payment methods, these greatly vary on country and currency used. As previously mentioned some gateways have upwards of 100 payment methods available, often including country-specific mobile app payments, local bank transfers and more.
Practically every gateway supports Visa and Mastercard purchases, and many have Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay. Most of these payments are available worldwide. Some payment methods such as PayPal or Revolut may only work in certain countries. For an exact and up to date list, it’s best to check each gateway’s website.
Conclusion – Your Gateway to Crypto
By using fiat gateways, centralized exchange users have access to numerous payment methods and currencies to both deposit and withdraw assets. Gateways can be used as convenient and safe way to on-ramp (buy crypto with fiat), or off-ramp (sell crypto for fiat).