CoinJar Review 2023: Features, Fees & How It Compares

Australian crypto investors and traders are spoilt for choice in platforms that provide direct AUD to crypto trading. There are several considerations that should be made before committing, including their fee structure, reputability, security infrastructure and measures, and how responsive the customer service is.

CoinJar is one of the few Australian-based crypto exchanges that have a long history of being a safe and trustworthy exchange. They offer Australians several innovative products and services that lead the market in their niche.

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Our Takeaways

Exchange Name	Coinjar
Core Services	Fiat-to-crypto exchange, crypto debit card
Available Cryptocurrencies	52
Fiat Currencies	AUD, GBP
Deposit Options	Direct bank transfer, BPAY, PayID/NPP, Blueshyft, credit card, cryptocurrency
Deposit Fees	Varies
Trading Fees	1%
Withdrawal Fees	None
Mobile App	Yes (Android and iOS)

What Is CoinJar?

CoinJar is a trusted and reliable cryptocurrency exchange that is suited to Australian investors who are fairly new to the world of cryptocurrency. They provide a number of unique and innovative products and services and are backed by some of the most forward-thinking investors including Digital Currency Group, Boost VC, and Blackbird Ventures. One of their best features is their CoinJar Card where crypto can be spent at outlets that accept Mastercard. The card also supports both Apple Pay®️ and Google Pay®️. This, along with the competitive fees, makes the CoinJar Card the best crypto debit card within the Australian market.

Since its establishment in 2013, CoinJar has built a reputation of being a trustworthy and innovative crypto exchange that has traded over $1.5 billion across over 400,000 users.

Pros & Cons

Top CoinJar Features You Should Know

CoinJar Card

One of CoinJar’s trademark products is the CoinJar Card which is exclusively available for Australians only. It can be used anywhere that accepts Mastercard and it allows you to spend your crypto like cash, either online or in-store. It is free to set up, has no monthly fees, and you can earn CoinJar Rewards every time a transaction is made.

The CoinJar Card can be found in the CoinJar Mobile App. You can instantly find your spend history, current balance, and card details. Additionally, you can request a physical card to be sent free of charge.

On top of being incredibly convenient and simple to use, this card, unlike the Crypto.com Visa Card covers spending (in-store and online) by automatically converting cryptocurrencies that are held in your CoinJar account. The CoinJar card supports both Apple Pay®️ and Google Pay®️, giving you a unique way to use your crypto that is not offered by many other Australian crypto exchanges.

A summary of CoinJar Card fees is provided below.

COINJAR CARD ACTIVITY	FEES
In-store and online purchase	1% of total transaction amount.
Foreign Transaction	+2.99%
ATM Withdrawal	1% of the total withdrawal amount
Transaction Dispute	$27.50 per transaction

CoinJar Card transaction and volume limits are presented below and are quite amenable compared to other exchanges which offer a debit/credit card service.

TRANSACTION TYPE	LIMIT
Maximum Daily Spend	$5,000
Maximum Number of Daily Transactions	25
Maximum Withdrawal Amount	$1,000 (minimum of $20 applies for ATM withdrawals)
Maximum Number of Daily Withdrawals	5

CoinJar Rewards

CoinJar Rewards is a program where CoinJar Points are earned and redeemed for products and services including:

• Monthly or yearly plans with Cointracker, CryptoTax, Koinly, CryptoTrader.Tax, and TradingView.
• Gift cards ($20 – $30) for popular shopping outlets including JB Hi-Fi, Myers, Netflix, Uber, and iTunes Store.
• CoinJar merchandise.
• Donations to Australian charities including PetRescue, Electronic Frontiers Australia, and Red Cross Australia.

CoinJar Points are earned by:

• Conducting crypto transactions where fees are incurred (excludes transactions made on CoinJar Exchange).
• Purchasing through CoinJar Swipe.
• Referring new CoinJar members via the affiliate program.
• Paying an external BPAY Biller.

Streamlined Buying & Trading Interface

The CoinJar interface has been designed with simplicity in mind which will appeal if you are an everyday crypto user. The Buy / Sell page can be easily navigated using the tab at the top of the home account page.

AUD-crypto trading pairs can be seen on the left panel with the current market price of each visible. The price is based on CoinJar’s active midpoint rate. You can find and select the desired trading pair (e.g. AUD-Bitcoin) and a basic buying panel will show on the right side of the page.

CoinJar’s buying and selling function resembles the “quick buy/sell” functions of most Australian exchanges. However, you won’t have the option of selecting advanced order types which provide more flexibility and control. If you want to buy crypto using advanced order types such as Limit Orders, Market Orders, or Stop Limits, then you will need an alternative exchange like Swyftx, ZipMex, or BTC Markets.

Purchase Crypto Bundles

An innovative product that CoinJar offer is the ability for you to buy bundles of crypto that contain several digital assets in a single transaction. For example, the “Popular Trio” bundle contains 53% Bitcoin, 42% Ether, and 5% Ripple.

This feature allows you to diversify your crypto portfolios over time. Since multiple cryptos can be purchased in a single transaction, it also means that you save on trading fees rather than having to make several transactions.

You can choose bundles that offer proportional or cap-adjusted allocations and can be monitored with automatic tracking. Alternatively, Coinjar also lets you create your bundle of crypto. This is an advantage over other exchanges which provide crypto bundle services as their bundles are typically preset and you have no ability to customize them.

CoinJar Exchange

CoinJar has introduced a separate crypto trading exchange called CoinJar Exchange. The same CoinJar account login details are used to access the exchange platform.

CoinJar Exchange possesses a different fee structure, live crypto charts, and a more comprehensive trading interface. Despite adding live charts, the interface remains uncluttered and clean. The interface lacks any advanced indicators, drawings tools, and order types and therefore will be appealing if you know how to read live charts. The downside to this is that you won’t have the tools to analyze the price action of crypto and advanced traders will likely seek another exchange trading platform that offers the TradingView charting package.

A welcome feature is the ability to set up and use Dollar-Cost-Averaging (DCA) with recurring bundle buys. Payments can be debited weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or at a custom frequency. Crypto purchases using DCA are a popular method to acquire assets whilst minimizing the effects of market price volatility.

Over-The-Counter Trading Desk

Individual and institutional investors are able to make off-exchange transactions in excess of $50,000 using the CoinJar Over-The-Counter (OTC) trading desk. The OTC team can be contacted via email where a dedicated manager will be assigned to your OTC trades.

CoinJar state that they are able to access deep liquidity to provide its customers with the best available prices for their trading pairs. This would suit high-volume traders who wish to conduct discrete transactions at the best available rates.

High-Level Industry Backing

CoinJar is one of the longest-running crypto exchanges in Australia. During that time, they have been backed by some of the most forward-thinking investors and capital firms including:

• Digital Currency Group – a venture capital fund that supports the development of ledger networks and blockchain.
• Boost VC – a capital venture fund that invests in entrepreneurs who utilize scientific technologies to solve world problems.
• Blackbird Ventures – an Australian-based venture capital fund that invests in innovative technologies and Australian startups.

Is CoinJar A Legitimate Exchange?

CoinJar is a legitimate Australian-based cryptocurrency exchange that is registered under the CoinJar group of companies. The exchange is also registered under the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) which is responsible for monitoring financial transactions to identify money laundering, organized crime, tax evasion, and terrorism funding. 

How Do CoinJar Fees Compare?

Deposit Fees

CoinJar does not charge fees to deposit AUD or cryptocurrencies into the wallet. However, Blueshyft cash deposits and Instant Buy purchases will incur small fees.

DEPOSIT METHOD	FEE
Instant Buy (Visa or Mastercard purchase)	2% (additional fees may be incurred by your financial institution)
Blueshyft cash deposit	1.5%
BPAY	None (payment processing fees may apply if deposits come from credit accounts)
NPP	None
Direct debit (Coinjar bundles only)	None
Receiving cryptocurrencies from non-CoinJar addresses	None
Receiving cryptocurrencies from other CoinJar members	None

Overall, CoinJar deposit fees are very competitive in comparison to other popular Australian crypto exchanges. Although minor fees will be incurred via Visa / Mastercard or Blueshyft deposits, these payment methods are not readily available on other platforms.

Conversion Fees

Converting or transferring cryptocurrencies between different types of accounts will incur a 1% fee on the total transaction amount. This will apply for:

• Transactions made between cryptocurrency accounts.
• Transactions made between a cryptocurrency account and a cash account.

In comparison to other Australian exchanges, the flat 1% fee is relatively high.

CoinJar Exchange Trading Fees

Trading fees on CoinJar Exchange follow a maker/taker model between AUD and cryptocurrency trading pairs which range between 0.10% and 0.04%. The trading fee will not affect the margin of the order as it is deducted from the account balance.

AUD-CRYPTO TRADING PAIRS	TAKER FEE	MAKER FEE
< $10,000	0%	0.10%
$10,000 – $100,000	0%	0.09%
$100,000 – $1M	0%	0.08%
$1M – $10M	0%	0.06%
> $10M	0%	0.04%

Trading between cryptocurrency pairs such as BTC-ETH will incur a 0% taker and 0.04% maker fee irrespective of the transaction volume. Compared to other crypto exchanges, the CoinJar Exchange trading fees are quite competitive. For example, the maker/taker fees for Mine Digital are 0.1% ad 0.2%, respectively.

CRYPTO/STABLECOIN PAIRS	TAKER FEE	MAKER FEE
Any transaction volume	0%	0.04%

Withdrawal Fees

CoinJar charges a variety of withdrawal fees depending on the transaction. Some transactions including the withdrawal of AUD from the CoinJar account will not incur a fee, which is a typical offering in the Australian crypto market.

• Transactions where withdrawals fees do not apply: AUD withdrawals and crypto assets (LTC, XRP, XLM, ALGO, and EOS).
• A transaction where withdrawal fees apply: International or non-AUD withdrawals – $20, all crypto withdrawals incur a network fee which is determined by the blockchain load, withdrawals of certain crypto including BTC, ETH, DAI, USDC, USDT, and all other supported digital assets. These attract a “Dynamic Fee” which ensures the transfer receives confirmation on the blockchain as soon as possible. The Dynamic Fee is calculated every 15 minutes and is based on the withdrawal amount.

Security Controls

CoinJar is a safe and secure exchange that uses multiple security measures to safeguard its customer’s assets and information. Since its establishment in 2013, there have been no reported security breaches during its operation that have resulted in the loss, theft, or damage of customer-held assets or digital infrastructure.

Protection of Infrastructure & Assets

The exchange states that its digital infrastructure is hosted on Amazon Web Services which provides CoinJar with capabilities including access control, data encryption techniques, monitoring, and isolation. Their internal networks are protected with firewalls with internal (and external) traffic encrypted. Private networks run applications and database servers where staging and production environments are isolated from each other. Machine learning software is also used to recognize suspicious logins, account takeovers, and financial fraud.

CoinJar stores about 90% of its customer’s assets in cold storage hardware wallets that are held in geographically-redundant, secure locations.

Organisational Security & Integrity

All CoinJar employees are required to pass a criminal background check and use cryptographically-secure Multi-Factor Authentication such as hardware U2F keys to access internal services. CoinJar liaises with an active group of security researchers via its Bug Bounty program to continually improve the security of CoinJar.

Getting Started With Coinjar

Account Creation & Verification

Creating a CoinJar account requires an email address and a strong password. A verification email will be sent to your nominated email address. When you log in for the first time, you will be required to provide an account alias name, select your country of residence, and provide your mobile number which will be used for future security protocols.

To verify your identity, you can choose to submit a copy of your Australian driver’s license, passport, or Medicare card. Alternatively, a foreign passport will be accepted. Verification will also involve taking a photo of the selected ID document as well as a selfie photo.

In our experience, creating and verifying a CoinJar account was not as streamlined and rapid as we would have liked. Our selfie photo was not recognized by the technology and the overall process took 30 minutes to complete.

In comparison to other top cryptocurrency platforms in Australia, the CoinJar account setup process is not the best but also not the worst.

Our Recommendation:

Adding Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) to your account is highly recommended to provide enhanced security. 2FA, sometimes referred to as dual-factor authentication, is a security process where an additional device is needed to verify their identity. You will have the option of receiving SMS codes on your mobile phone or use an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator.

Deposit Methods

When it comes to financing your account with Australian Dollars (AUD), Coinjar provides you with great flexibility. Accepted deposit methods include direct bank transfer with AUD, BPAY, PayID/NPP, Blueshyft, Visa/Mastercard, and cryptocurrency.

Ease Of Use

At first glance, the Coinjar account interface seems clean and visually appealing. Navigational buttons to buy/sell, bundles, and access to CoinJar Card are easily found at the top of the page.

Charts that show the market price action of selectable digital assets are viewable on the buy/sell page, however, we did not find a way to view market depth and recent trade histories. In our opinion, the home dashboard provides little value to customers compared to other exchanges like Swyftx where more information is clearly presented on one page. 

Related Reading:

• How To Buy Altcoins In Australia: The Complete Beginners Guide

Additionally, we were unable to find a way to create our own CoinJar Bundle on the Bundles page. Information to set up DCA was found at the bottom of the Buy/Sell page and not easily found.

Accepted Countries

CoinJar is only available to investors and traders residing in Australia and the United Kingdom. In Australia, the platform is registered with AUSTRAC and provides a gateway for AUD.

If you’re located in New Zealand then you’ll need to find an exchange that is locally registered and licensed to provide crypto services. You can our review of the best crypto exchanges in New Zealand for more information. Alternatively, you can read our list of the top USA crypto exchanges if you’re located in the United States.

Customer Support & Reviews

CoinJar support provides a comprehensive knowledge base with how-to guides and answers to frequently asked questions. The guide covers topics ranging from verifying your identity, depositing funds, introducing CoinJar Exchange, the fee structure, and more.

Customers can reach the support team via a ticket system. There is no live chat available which is a common communication tool in other crypto exchanges.

The CoinJar Mobile App

CoinJar features a mobile trading app that allows its users to buy, trade, and sell cryptocurrencies on mobile devices. The CoinJar app provides access to all functionality and features (except CoinJar Exchange) on any device with a modern web browser such as Android or iOS smartphones.

CoinJar Alternatives

CoinJar is a trusted and safe cryptocurrency exchange that offers innovative products and services and is backed by like-minded investors in the industry. However, the platform falls short in a number of aspects.

Crypto exchanges like CoinJar with similar features are:

• Swyftx (best Australian exchange overall). Available for Australian and New Zealand investors and traders, the platform has a wide variety of features including a well-designed user interface, deep liquidity, low spreads, DCA, and advanced trading tools. If you are interested in knowing how they differ, then you read our Swyftx vs Coinjar review.
• Digital Surge (best for beginners). Digital Surge is a beginner-friendly platform that offers low trading fees (0.5%), a vast number of supported digital assets (300+), and innovative features including in-built tax tools and the ability to pay Australian bills with Bitcoin.
• CoinSpot (Australia’s most trustworthy exchange). CoinSpot is a highly trusted and reputable Australian exchange that provides a vast selection of crypto assets to buy and trade (310+). For more information, you can read our CoinSpot vs Coinjar review.
• Independent Reserve (best alternative for SMSF investors). Independent Reserve offers premium SMSF services, very competitive trading fees of 0.5%, and a stress-free trading experience.
• Cointree (suitable alternative for beginners). A solid choice for beginners and intermediate investors who don’t need advanced trading features.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does CoinJar Offer A Referral Program?

CoinJar has an affiliate program where you can share your unique referral link to invite others to use the platform. Anyone who creates and verifies an account with CoinJar will receive 500 CoinJar Points. The link provider will be rewarded with 500 CoinJar Points. CoinJar Points can be redeemed at the CoinJar Rewards Store. This system differs from most crypto exchange affiliate programs where a percentage of the fees incurred is provided as a reward.

Is CoinJar Available In New Zealand?

No, Coinjar is currently not registered or licensed to provide cryptocurrency services to people living in New Zealand. New Zealand users should look for an exchange or platform that supports the use of NZD to fund the account in order to buy digital currencies. In our opinion, the best three New Zealand exchanges are Swyftx and Digital Surge, and Easy Crypto.

Does CoinJar Offer A Debit Card?

CoinJar offers a debit card called the CoinJar Card. It can be used at any Australian retailer that accepts Mastercard. The card can be accessed via the CoinJar mobile app or you can request a physical card to be provided free of charge. The CoinJar Card covers spending (in-store and online) by automatically converting cryptocurrencies that are held in a CoinJar account. The CoinJar card supports both Apple Pay®️ and Google Pay®️.

Can I Have Multiple CoinJar Cards?

You are only able to possess one CoinJar Card as it is directly connected to your personal account. If the card is lost or damaged, the customer support team can be contacted to make new arrangements.

Our Verdict

CoinJar is a trusted and reliable cryptocurrency exchange that is available for Australian investors. Their flagship products and services and innovative in the space and they are backed by like-minded investors in the industry. Overall, it seems that CoinJar has put a lot of effort into its products and services, whilst the staple components of a typical exchange have fallen behind.

The range of supported cryptocurrencies is an opportunity for improvement, and whilst the trading interface could be made more practical, it still offers an easy way to buy and sell crypto. There are limited avenues to communicate with the customer support team and there is a lack of advanced trading features to perform technical analysis and set order types. That being said, CoinJar’s primary market seems to be beginner investors who want to be able to remotely access and spend their funds in an everyday setting.