Nuri Review – Is This Crypto Banking Service Worth It?

The cryptocurrency industry and traditional banking have been slowly merging together. While cryptocurrency has long been hailed as the alternative to fiat currency and regular bank accounts, some companies have built a business on providing access to both.

Nuri is one of these companies, offering a solution for those who wish to have a bank account as well as access to cryptocurrencies. The company has a mission to provide the very best for those looking to build a financial future. Is Nuri a good platform for you?

In this Nuri review, we will cover the many various aspects of the company, including:

• Background and history of Nuri
• An overview of the financial services offered on the platform
• An overview of Nuri fees
• Security and customer support
• The process of opening a Nuri account

As this Nuri review is designed for educational purposes only, the content within this review should not be taken as financial advice. It is recommended you do your own due diligence to seek financial advice and a complete risk assessment from a licensed financial advisor before using any type of financial or investment service.

A Brief History of Nuri

Nuri was originally called Bitwala, which is a name that many cryptocurrency veterans will likely recognize. The formation of the company began in 2013 with the idea to promote cryptocurrency’s uses to large-scale companies. As cryptocurrency was largely seen as an invalid asset at the time, the co-founders did not have much luck in their pitches.

However, in 2015, Bitwala officially launched, providing a way for users to be able to make purchases of Bitcoin and Ethereum directly from a German bank account. The company then rebranded to Nuri in 2021. 

Some of Nuri’s financial backers include Sony Financial Ventures, Digital Currency Group, and Global Brain.

So far, Nuri is one of the very first of its kind. The company has essentially created a crypto bank account. With a Nuri bank account, users will have a full German bank account through Solarisbank AG, which is a German partner bank. Nuri aims to continually meet its goals of being able to provide unprecedented financial freedom for its users. 

An Overview of Features Found on Nuri

While Nuri does offer access to cryptocurrencies, the platform is not a traditional cryptocurrency exchange. Rather, Nuri is more of an investment platform, designed to offer a seamless banking service with investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Read on to learn more about each facet of Nuri in greater detail. 

Nuri Bank Account

A Nuri bank account is very similar to a regular bank account. In fact, you can make deposits and withdrawals as you would with your regular bank account. This ensures that the services offered on Nuri can be used for everyday life. 

When you open a Nuri account, you will automatically have a regular bank account opened with the German partner bank Solarisbank AG. Each Nuri bank account has up to €100,000 insurance protection through the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme and is fully registered with the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.

Users can opt to receive notifications on all of their transactions. This helps to keep you in the know of what your account is doing and verifies certain actions you may have taken with your account (such as deposits or withdrawals).

You can easily deposit fiat currencies into your Nuri bank account as each account has a German IBAN. This means each account supports international payments and SEPA money transfers. 

Cryptocurrencies

Because Nuri is designed to be very easy to use, the platform makes it very convenient to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum. All of this can be done with a few clicks of a button, with fast cash settlement and quick transactions. Crypto deposits are supported as well, as long as the platform supports the asset.

When buying cryptocurrencies on Nuri, the platform gives the option of storing the crypto in a few different ways. The first way is through custodial wallets, where Nuri holds the private keys to the crypto wallets, with users having access through their Nuri account.

The other option is likely for more experienced cryptocurrency users, allowing the users to hold the private keys to their own wallets. Every person that uses cryptocurrency should learn how to properly manage their own wallets, but having a custodial wallet can be convenient to use if you don’t wish to be solely responsible for your funds.

With Nuri, you can buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum 24/7 with trading minimums of only €30. You can set price limit orders through the platform, with the ability to set price alarms to alert you of key levels. 

To make it even easier on you, Nuri supplies a yearly tax statement for each person that has a free Nuri account. This can be easily downloaded for documentation at the end of your tax year. 

For those who are interested in Dollar Cost Averaging, the Nuri platform makes this simple. The platform offers recurring Bitcoin purchases in Daily and Weekly timeframes, allowing you to make scheduled purchases of cryptocurrency. This effectively creates a crypto savings account. 

Bitcoin Interest Account

A unique offering through Nuri is the Bitcoin Interest Account. This is an account designed to allow users to earn interest on their Bitcoin holdings. With this service, Nuri account holders can earn up to 5% APY on their Bitcoin within the Nuri interest account.

Within this Nuri interest account, users can deposit and withdraw Bitcoin at any time, using Bitcoin-powered bank transfers. There is no set minimum investment period, meaning no penalties for early withdrawal. As long as there is BTC in the Nuri Bitcoin Interest Account, it will earn interest. A minimum investment of €10 is needed to reap the benefits of interest payments.

The way this works is that Nuri is partnered with Celsius, a well-known cryptocurrency lender. Each account holder effectively lends their BTC to Celsius through Nuri and its partner’s interest accounts. This is much akin to what happens with regular bank accounts.

In exchange for lending the BTC, Nuri pays interest through a weekly payout. How much interest is paid is dependent upon the amount of Bitcoin in the BTC interest account. It should be mentioned that this does involve significant risk, as you are not the sole custodian of your funds. 

Nuri Visa Debit Card

A free Visa debit card is given to every person that has Nuri bank accounts. This card is accepted worldwide at any Visa-supported point-of-sale system. 

With the Nuri debit card, you can easily spend your fiat directly from your Nuri bank account. The debit card even supports crypto purchases, treating the Nuri debit card as a prepaid debit card. 

Nuri offers free cash withdrawals, with the card supporting unlimited free ATM withdrawals, furthering Nuri’s utility as a bank account with traditional banking services. If you need to, the card can be locked/unlocked to further control transactions made with the card.

Nuri App/Mobile App

For easy account management, Nuri offers a mobile app for both Android and iOS devices. From the mobile app, you can view your account value and bank statement, as well as manage your portfolio.

You can also buy and sell BTC and ETH and manage your Bitcoin interest account directly through the mobile app. You may also view and change your debit card settings directly from the Nuri app as well. 

Nuri Fees

As with any exchange or financial service, some fees are involved with using Nuri. It should be stated that Nuri has no hidden fees when performing any action on the platform. Free cash withdrawals are supported with the Visa card.

When it comes to buying and selling BTC and ETH on the platform, there is a minimum of a 1% trading fee. However, this is combined with the current network fees of each asset. The current network fee for each asset greatly varies on any given day. For this reason, it is best to check what the current network fee is to calculate your own fee for when you plan to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum. €1 is charged automatically to cover the network fee. 

Security and Customer Support

Because Nuri is partnered with Solarisbank AG, customers’ funds are protected with bank-like security. The platform uses multisig custodial wallets, with the option of user-controlled wallet keys (of which you will be solely responsible). Nuri has a team working around the clock to monitor for any suspicious activities on the platform. 

Nuri also offers Two Factor Authentication on its accounts. With Two Factor Authentication enabled, users can add an extra layer of security to their accounts. This method features a 3rd-party application that broadcasts a unique identifier code every 30 seconds. This code will then be inputted to the platform at login and while performing any account tasks (such as withdrawals).

For the most part, Nuri’s support and outreach program offer relevant answers, fast support, and accessible help. Nuri has a support center available with a wide range of resources to inform you of every facet of the exchange. You can find answers to commonly held questions within this resource.

Nuri has a Blog that features cryptocurrency-related articles and fun topics to engage with its community. For further community outreach, Nuri can be found on various social media platforms including:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube

A Guides section is also provided to help instruct users on how to do certain things on Nuri. Within this section, some of the things you can learn include:

• Buy Bitcoin
• Send Bitcoin
• Use the conversion calculator

Nuri Academy is a resource designed to educate people on the many different aspects of the cryptocurrency industry. Topics such as DeFi and NFTs are covered, among many others. This can help you navigate through the crypto space with a full understanding of what things are/mean. 

The support team can be easily reached by either clicking open a chat window dialogue or by contacting the team directly by email. The team is quick to respond with prompt answers to any problem you may encounter.

Opening a Nuri Account

For anyone interested in using Nuri, you can sign up for a free account relatively easily. Simply click the “Open Account” button found on the exchange’s website. From here, you will need to provide personal information such as:

• Name
• Email address
• Location
• Personal identification methods (ID, passport, etc.)

If you wish to open a Bitcoin interest account within the platform, simply click on “Open Bitcoin Interest Account” within your profile. 

It should be noted that you must either be a resident within the European Economic Area or live in one of the supported countries outside of the region. Each country has its own supported methods of personal identification, with passports being the only supported method for some countries. Currently, the U.S. is not supported at the time of this writing.

Nuri Review Conclusion

Overall, Nuri is an excellent platform for those who wish to have access to a regular bank account but also have seamless integration to different cryptocurrency programs. With Nuri, you can easily build a portfolio in multiple ways while carrying out your everyday banking needs. This is a company that is at the forefront of implementing cryptocurrency into the mainstream.