Then this blog post is for you!
If you’re new to the world of cryptocurrency, understand exactly how Bitcoin trading and exchange platforms work can be pretty challenging.
And what’s worse?
As Bitcoin is becoming more and more popular, governments are rushing to regulate the cryptocurrency exchange space.
To comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML), major crypto exchanges will require you to provide photo ID and personal details before you can start buying/selling bitcoins on the platform.
Not to mention, the KYC procedure is a pain in the ass. For cryptocurrency newcomers who don’t already have an account with the crypto exchange, it can take weeks, if not months to get your account approved.
By the time you get your account approved, you probably already missed the Bitcoin bottom.
Does it sound familiar?
Thankfully, there are ways to buy Bitcoin instantly without giving away too much personal information.
In this article, you’ll learn exactly how to purchase bitcoins instantly using various payment methods.
Important: Before you buy your first Bitcoin, you’ll need to have a Bitcoin wallet.
Don’t have a wallet? Check out our guide on Bitcoin wallets.
That said, it’s always a good idea to do your own research before you start investing your hard-earned money into the game to avoid any unnecessary losses and scams.
If you haven’t done so, check out a few of our guides:
- What is Bitcoin and why all the fuss with Cryptocurrency?
- FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About Bitcoin Before You Buy
- Basic Bitcoin/Crypto Wallet Guides
- How to Buy Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies
How to Buy Bitcoin Instantly and Securely
I‘ll show you how to nab some bitcoins, fast – it’s quite easy.
Let’s dive in.
1. Coinmama
Coinmama serves over 3.1 million customers across 190 countries since its launch in 2013.
You can easily and safely purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with a variety of different payment methods.
Some of the payment methods available on Coinmama include:
- Credit card
- Debit card
- Apple Pay
- Bank Transfer (SEPA for Europe, SWIFT for worldwide)
- Faster Payments for UK
- Google Pay
- Skrill
- NETELLER
You can enjoy high spending limits and no processing fees when you use Bank Transfers compared to credit cards.
Max Daily Amount | Processing Fee | Locked Crypto Rate | Speed | |
SEPA bank transfer | 50,000 USD | 0% | no | 1-2 business day |
SWIFT bank transfer | 50,000 USD | 0% (>1000 USD) 20 GBP (<1000 USD) | no | 1-3 business day |
Faster Payments (UK) | 50,000 USD | 0% | no | 1 business day |
Credit/Debit Card | 20,000 USD | 4.99% | yes | instant |
Aside from that, the commission fee ranges from 0.99% to 3.90% depending on your order size, loyalty level, and market conditions.
An additional ”express fee” is charged for credit/debit card payments, Google Play, Apple Pay, Skrill and NETELLER.
To enjoy greater savings off your purchases, spend (a required amount) within a period of time:
- Crypto Enthusiast – 12.5% off (Spend $5,000 in 90 days)
- Crypto Believer – 25% off (Spend $18,000 in 90 days or $50,000 over lifetime)
==> To get started with Coinmama, simply create an account with your email address, verify your identity and finally you’ll be able to place your bitcoin (up to $10,000) order choosing any of the payment methods above.
Complete higher levels of verification (submit utility bill or bank statement) in order to enjoy an even higher purchasing limit (up to $50,000).
One important thing to note is that Coinmama does not provide a wallet service for storing your cryptocurrencies. Before making any transactions with them, you’ll need your own bitcoin wallet.
2. ChangeNOW
ChangeNOW is a highly popular instant cryptocurrency exchange service that supports 170+ cryptocurrencies based in Seychelles.
With its user-friendly interface, you can quickly get BTC using one of the two ways:
(A) Instantly Swap
Here’s how it works:
Step 1. Select the currency. Choose the coins you want to exchange from the drop-down menu and enter the amount. ChangeNOW will automatically calculate the amount of specific coins you’ll get.
Step 2: Provide your wallet address to receive your converted currency.
Step 3: Check all the information. If everything is ok, click “Confirm” to continue.
Step 4: Deposit funds to their wallet address and you’ll receive your coins in your own wallet in 5-30 minutes.
That’s it. Now, wait for your coins to be transferred directly to your Bitcoin wallet.
(B) Buy bitcoin with a credit/debit card via Guardarian
You also have the option of buying bitcoin with a credit/debit card on ChangeNOW using Guardarian as the 3rd party provider. Verification of your personal details is required by KYC/AML laws.
Step 1: Enter the amount you want to buy in the fiat currency of your choice.
Step 2: Provide your BTC wallet address. Make sure the Bitcoin address entered is correct.
Step 3: Pay with your credit card or debit card.
You will receive your bitcoins once the payment is made.
So far ChangeNOW has received a rating of 4.6/5.0 on Trustpilot:
- Users have described the service as advertised.
- Easy to use.
- No Sign-up required.
- KYC may be required in some instances.
- Fast transaction process – Avg. ~2 min
- No upper limits – ∞
- No mass system failure ever reported
- Reliable customer support
- Buy Bitcoin with a VISA or Mastercard @ ChangeNOW here
3. LocalCoinSwap
LocalCoinSwap is a peer-to-peer escrow service that allows you to buy, sell and trade Bitcoin directly with other people in 200+ countries, safer and faster.
Unlike other crypto exchanges, LocalCoinSwap don’t provide a fixed market price.
Compare between sellers, choose the one you want to deal with and pay them using payment options like Gift cards, Paypal, cash deposits and In-person.
With LocalCoinSwap, you get access to a global marketplace. Simply select your country, choose your favorite cryptocurrency in the built-in filter option to see all the available sellers.
- Cash
- Bank transfer
- Paypal
Cash is one of the top choices of payment used on LocalCoinSwap, regardless of the country. So, if you’re going to meet a seller, you’ve to be extra careful and educate yourself on cybersecurity.
Here’s the best part: registering, buying, and selling Bitcoin on LocalCoinSwap is completely free. You only need to pay a 1% fee for every completed trade if you choose to post an offer.
4. Paxful
Paxful is another popular peer-to-peer marketplace that allows you to buy bitcoins instantly from sellers around the world.
More than 300 payment methods are available for you to choose from.
If you’d like to buy bitcoin instantly with no ID or verification, choose to pay for bitcoins with gift cards, cash in person or cash deposit.
To get started, go to Paxful and select the amount you want to buy in your own currency and payment method.
Next, you will see a list of real-time offers of sellers who are accepting your chosen payment method (for example, PayPal) for Bitcoin.
Take some time to go through the sellers’ profile, read their reviews and offer terms. Always select a seller with a good reputation and high rating.
Depends on the sellers, some will require you to submit photo IDs as verification or send a screenshot of your payment receipt as proof, while others don’t.
With their reliable escrow system in place, you can be assured you will get your bitcoins directly in your wallet once payment is made.
5. Cash App
Cash App is by far the easiest way to buy and sell Bitcoin with ZERO fee. It’s an absolutely amazing Bitcoin mobile app for crypto newcomers, you don’t have to deal with lengthy sign-up process, verification and complex trading charts.
There’s literally no learning curve. It’s available on App Store and Google Play.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Download the Cash app on your mobile phone and enter the Reward code JSGMKRC under your profile settings. OR Use this link to get $5 free on Cash App.
Step 2: Add your credit card/ debit card to load USD into your Cash App.
Step 3: Verify your identity by providing your full name, date of birth, and Social Security Number (SSN).
Step 4: Add cash to your app.
Tap on the “Cash & BTC” at the top of your app and then tap on “BTC”, as in the screenshot below.
Tap on the “Buy” button to start adding cash into your CashApp Account. (This is what happens when you try to Sell without having any funds. lol.)
Step 5: Select the amount of bitcoins (btc) you’d like to purchase and get your Bitcoin right away.
You can buy up to $10,000 worth of Bitcoin a week using your Cash App account and there’s no limit on how much you can sell.
The best part?
They won’t charge you any fees for buying/selling bitcoins. All thanks to Jack Dorsey the CEO of Twitter, and also the founder of Square’s Cash App who advocates for bitcoin.
But, only Bitcoin is available on the app. If you’d like to buy other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Ripple or Monero, check out ChangNOW.
6. BitQuick
BitQuick is basically a cash deposit only platform that works in the United States.
Unlike LocalCoinSwap where you have to manually filter out sellers, BitQuick will automatically show you trustworthy sellers with the best prices in just one click. For that reason, you’ll have to pay a 2% service fee and a 0.0001 btc mining fee for each transaction. It’s still cheaper than buying through conventional crypto exchanges like Coinbase.
With BitQuick, you can purchase $2.50-$9,999 worth of bitcoins in under 3 hours with an average processing time of 32 minutes.
If you’re buying below $400 worth of bitcoins, you don’t have to verify your personal ID.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Enter the amount of bitcoins you want to purchase and click “Continue”.
Step 2: Choose the offer that give you the most value.
Step 3: Provide your Bitcoin wallet address for receiving your coins and enter your phone number.
Step 4: Visit the local branch of the sellers bank. Fill out a deposit slip and bank in the total USD in cash to their account.
Step 4: Upload the receipt to the link given in your email.
That’s it. You’ll get your Bitcoin once payment is received.
7. Bitcoin ATMs
Buying bitcoins (btc) on ATMs is probably one of the fastest and easiest way without needing any ID verification.
Similar to traditional ATMs, but instead of spitting out your country’s currency like USD, AUD, EUR etc using your debit card, Bitcoin ATMs will send bitcoins directly to your crypto wallet upon insertion of fiat cash. Some Bitcoin machines allow you to sell your bitcoins too.
There are many different types of Bitcoin ATMs manufactured by different companies. Depends on the machine type and operator, some don’t require ID verification before you buy.
This way, you can buy bitcoins with cash conveniently and privately.
But it has a rather high transaction fee. Typically, Bitcoin ATMs charge 7-12% for buying/selling bitcoins. It is very important that you know this before purchasing bitcoins using ATM.
(A) How To Find A Bitcoin ATM Near You
Use this Bitcoin ATM map to find the closest machine near you.
To start locating a Bitcoin ATM closest to you, follow simple steps below:
- Go to Coin Radar and you’ll see a live worldwide Bitcoin ATM map.
- Simply type in your city/address and press enter. As an example, I’ve entered “New York” in the search bar.
- Select a Bitcoin ATM near you and click to see the details.
- Click “Get Directions” to get the exact location and direction to your destination with Google maps.
- Optional: Click “View listing” to learn more about the Bitcoin ATM operator including user feedback, operating hours, business name etc.
Now you know how to find a Bitcoin ATM, let’s see how these Bitcoin ATMs work and how to use them to buy/sell bitcoin.
(B) How to Buy Bitcoin with Bitcoin ATM
The buying process may vary from Bitcoin ATM to ATM. Here’s the general process at most ATMs:
1. Click “Buy Bitcoin”. Verify your identity if required.
2. Provide your bitcoin address for deposit.
3. Insert cash bills into the Bitcoin ATM.
4. Confirm the amount and complete your transaction. You’ll receive your bitcoin instantly on your wallet.
- Check this out: How to use a Bitcoin ATM (A complete beginner’s guide)
Bitcoin Storage
Don’t store your Bitcoin on an exchange any longer than you need to.
Leaving bitcoins on exchanges are risky:
- Mt Gox where users lost $450 million or more in 2014
- Bitfinex hack where users lost $72 million in 2016
- NiceHash was hacked for $60million in 2017
- Coincheck lost a staggering $530million in early 2018,
- Binance was hacked for $40 million in 2019
“There are only two types of exchanges, the ones that have been hacked and the ones that WILL BE HACKED.”
Make sure you get yourself a Bitcoin hardware wallet like the Ledger or the Trezor that will securely store your bitcoins.
Conclusion
There you go! I hope this list of the 7 best ways will help you get your first (fraction of a) bitcoin in no time!
- Coinmama- Buy Bitcoin with credit card, debit card and bank transfer
- ChangeNOW – instantly exchange between cryptocurrencies
- Cash App – buy Bitcoin with credit/debit card (ZERO fees)
- Paxful – Buy Bitcoin with 300+ payment methods
- BitQuick – Buy Bitcoin with cash deposit
- Bitcoin ATMs -Buy Bitcoin with no ID verification
In the meantime, spend some time to educate yourself and stay safe.
Do you have any other questions? Feel free to leave a comment below.
And lastly, if you liked this post, don’t forget to share it on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
I’ve handpicked a few guides for you to read next:
- 10 Bitcoin Security Tips For Beginners
- 10 Best Bitcoin Wallets You Should Use to Protect Your Crypto Investment
- 3 Best Hardware Wallets for Storing Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies (for long term)
- How to Secure your Cryptocurrency? Cold Wallet vs Hot Wallet
- How to Setup a Ledger Nano S Hardware Wallet: Step-by-step guide for beginners
- 4 Best Ways to Convert Bitcoin to Cash
- What is a Bitcoin Private Key, How to Protect It?
- 10+ Easy Ways to Make Money with Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency
I live and breathe making an income online.
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