Independent Reserve is a fiat-to-crypto exchange that was founded in 2013 in Sydney, Australia. The exchange is trusted by over 200,000 customers to buy Bitcoin with AUD, in a safe and secure trading environment.
The mission of Independent Reserve is to transform cryptocurrency technology into secure, robust and regulated financial services, and do things the right way.
Independent Reserve is one of the best crypto exchanges in Australia and is governed by Australia's highly regulated financial sector and a member of Blockchain Australia. In this Independent Reserve review, we will take a look at the exchanges features, user-interface, deposit methods, fees and security.
Key Features:
overall
Reputation
Ease of use
Fees
Security
This post contains affiliate links with our partners who may compensate us. However, this does not influence our review process or rating system. Read our disclaimer for further information.
Before you start trading, we recommend using a Bitcoin hardware wallet such as the Ledger Nano X. If you don't have a wallet, read our guide on the best hardware wallets to store crypto.
What Is Independent Reserve?
Independent Reserve is licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Australia that provides a stable and secure platform for individuals to buy/sell 26 of the most popular digital currencies. The exchange was founded in 2013 and has expanded its service offering to include crypto investors in New Zealand and the South East Asian regions like Singapore.
Since the exchange's launch in 2013, Independent Reserve has gained the trust of over 200,000 individuals and 8,000 SMSF accounts to obtain cryptocurrencies using Australian Dollars (AUD), New Zealand Dollars (NZD), United States Dollars (USD) and Singaporean Dollars (SGD).
Quick Summary
Exchange Name | Independent Reserve |
Fiat Currency | AUD USD NZD SGD |
Cryptocurrency | 26 |
Payment Type | Bank transfer PayID/Osko SWIFT Xfers |
Trading Fee | 0.5% |
Deposit Fee | Bank transfer: $0.99 for deposits less than $100 PayID: $2.50 for deposits less than $1,000 SWIFT: $15 for deposits less than $5,000 Xfers: 0.55% |
Withdrawal Fee | Bank account: None NPP Instant AUD: $1.50 XFers: 0.55% Crypto: Standard network fee |
Mobile App | No |
Independent Reserve Compared
Bank transfer is one the most popular methods to deposit AUD, USD and NZD on Independent Reserve. This comparison table lists other popular Australian cryptocurrency exchanges like Independent Reserve that offer bank transfers.
Exchange | Trading Fees | Rating | Review | Promotion | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 0.6% | 5/5 | $10 Free Bitcoin | ||
 | 0.1% / 1% | 4.6/5 | None available at this time | ||
 | 0.5% | 4.6/5 | $10 Free Bitcoin | ||
 | 0.2% / 1% | 4.3/5 | None available at this time |
Is Independent Reserve Legit?
Independent Reserve is a legitimate and trustworthy company (ABN 46 164 257 069) that is located at Level 26, 44 Market St, Sydney 2000, Australia. The exchange is regulated by Australia's highly governed financial sector to ensure proper conduct and operations with investors money and was the first digital exchange in Australia to become a reporting entity to the Australian government agency AUSTRAC.
Is Independent Reserve Safe?
Since its inception to the market in 2013, Independent Reserve has never been hacked or compromised. Customer funds are stored in offline wallets to minimise the risk of theft and accounts have a number of security measures available to them, including Two Factor Authentication to prevent fraudulent access.
Why Trade With Independent Reserve?
You should trade with Independent Reserve if:
- You want to use an established and well trusted place to buy/sell crypto
- You want a place to buy Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and altcoins in Australia
- You want to buy Bitcoin in New Zealand
- You are looking for an exchange with volume based fee structure
- You prefer an insurance-backed crypto exchange (premium members only)
- You like an exchange that stores user funds in cold storage
- You want to buy crypto using an SMSF
- You need a crypto exchange with a tax estimator and calculator
Creating An Account
The process to register an Independent Reserve account is simple. To start, visit the website and click on the 'Create Account' link at the top right-hand corner. This will bring up another page to decide on username and password. The next stop will be to enter further personal information required to hold an account.
To login, simply use your email ID and password. When you login for the first time, you will be required to verify the following:
- Email address: Primary method of logging in to the exchange
- Mobile number: In the event you are unable to authenticate using 2FA, or you forget your password, this mobile number will be required to identify you
- Secondary telephone number (optional): Additional protection in the event you lose a the ability to authenticate using 2FA, or forget your password and lose access to the primary mobile
- Your identity: Information to verify you that will be cross-checked against various AML (anti-money laundering) and CTF (counter-terrorism financing) databases
Depositing Funds
Users on Independent Reserve can deposit funds using AUD, USD, NZD and SGD fiat currencies. The following payment methods are supported by Independent Reserve to fund an account to buy and sell Bitcoin and cryptocurrency assets.
One of the best ways to fund an account is using PayID/Osko which has an initial maximum daily limit of $20,000 and takes less than 24 hours to arrive. All deposit limits can be increased via a request to the support team.
Payment Type | Initial Daily Limit | Speed |
|---|---|---|
Bank transfer | $20,000 | 1-2 business days |
PayID/OSKO | $20,000 | Within 24 hours |
SWIFT | $20,000 | 2-3 business days |
User Interface
Independent Reserve has a straight-forward and well laid out user interface to buy/sell digital currencies. Navigation is easy to follow for first time Bitcoin buyers with menus along the top. Those who are familiar with technical analysis, the 'Markets' page includes TradingView control which allows for high fidelity charting and analysis.
Independent Reserve's interface includes a simple visual chart, market depth profile and recent trades. Users will realize that Independent Reserve charts are quite clunky to adjust the time frame and there is no ability to draw trend lines or add technical indicators.
This can be problematic and frustrating to adjust the slider and zoom to view the exact time frame to analyse the candlestick patterns. If you rely on technical analysis, then you might want to use another cryptocurrency charting site in conjunction with Independent Reserve (to make the most of the low trading fees).
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Trade With Australia's Most Trusted Exchange
Independent Reserve provides a stable and secure platform for individuals to buy and sell 26 of the most popular digital currencies.
Overall, Independent Reserve's charting interface is disappointing for a major crypto exchange in Australia. The entire interface could do with a complete overhaul to modernize the trading experience and keep up to date. More and more crypto exchanges are integrating with TradingView by default which provides superior charting for serious investors and traders alike.
Supported Fiat Currencies & Coins
There are 26 digital assets provided on Independent Reserve which can be traded against fiat currencies such as AUD, USD, SGD and NZD, including stable coins, altcoins and DeFi tokens. The available digital assets include Bitcoin, Ripple (XRP), Ether, EOS and others. For a full list, visit the Independent Reserve website.
Trading Fees
Independent Reserve's fee is based on the past 30 day's trading volume which starts at 0.5% per transaction. The fees can be reduced to as low as 0.02% as the trading volume increases (re-calculated every 4 hours).
The fee structure increments appears to suit high-net worth individuals and SMSF investors with large sums of money to invest to obtain a lower crypto trading fee. For beginners, the 0.02% trading fee is probably not within reach. In comparison, Binance offers a flat 0.1% trading for all cryptocurrency transactions.
Volume (30d) | Fee |
|---|---|
$0 | 0.5% |
$100,000 | 0.48% |
$200,000 | 0.44% |
$300,000 | 0.4% |
$400,000 | 0.36% |
$600,000 | 0.3% |
$800,000 | 0.26% |
$1,000,000 | 0.22% |
$4,000,000 | 0.1% |
$20,000,000 | 0.02% |
Users should be aware that crypto withdrawals will carry a network fee that is charged when you withdraw from the exchange. This fee is determined by the blockchain load.
Fiat currency withdrawals in AUD does not incur a processing fee. However, residents in New Zealand or other international countries that withdraw funds in USD or NZD will be charged a fee of $20 fee. SGD withdrawals are charged at 0.55%.
Site Security
Independent Reserve utilizes remote core servers that are securely located at data centres. This allows the exchange to synchronously replicate all data across both locations in real-time, to ensure zero data loss should an exchange hack occur. Independent Reserve uses a fail-over environment to maintain service in the event of a data compromise or infrastructure failure.
Not all cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia are the same.
COMPARE INDEPENDENT RESERVE WITH OTHERS
Users login and account access can be further protected using Two Factor Authentication which can be enabled to protect your account against unauthorized access. It is recommended by Independent Reserve to activate 2FA during account set up. Users can also take advantage of Device Whitelisting, which requires extra authentication for new devices and by default all users are protected by smart IP and withdrawal address whitelisting.
Wallet Security
Independent Reserve employs a dynamic cold wallet solution to store the overwhelming majority of digital assets. The cold wallets are secured by multi-layer encryption and kept on offline digital hardware storage devices. The hardware is stored in physical vaults in geographically diverse locations.
Affiliate Program
Independent Reserve has an affiliate and referral program that allows existing users to earn 50% of all brokerage fees paid by the referred customers for the first 90 days. Users can share their referral code to invite friends or promote Independent Reserve through content, videos, articles or ad placements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Independent Reserve Require KYC?
KYC procedures are in place before you can trade and withdraw funds from Independent Reserve. New users will need to upload personal identification documentation to access higher limits. This is to protect the exchange and investors against anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing as required by law.
Does Independent Reserve Have Fund Insurance?
Independent Reserve maintains an Insurance Policy that is available to Premium Account Holders only. The Insurance Fund protects users against a breach of Independent Reserve's physical security measures, employee theft or loss of any crypto held in an Independent Reserve wallet. Any fully verified account is eligible to upgrade to a Premium Account.
Can I Invest My Super With Independent Reserve?
Independent Reserve offers a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) service to allow every day Australian's to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and others. According to the website, Independent Reserve has over 8,000 SMSF accounts and was the first digital exchange in Australia to offer this service.
Does Independent Reserve Have An App?
Independent Reserve does not have a mobile phone app for iOS and Android devices. The web version of the platform is mobile friendly and can be used on smartphones.
What Countries Are Supported?
Independent Reserve exchange allows users from the following countries to be verified and purchase cryptocurrencies: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle Of Man, Italy, Japan, Korea, Republic Of Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macao, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Are US Investors Allowed?
Investors from the United States are not allowed to buy and sell crypto using Independent Reserve. US customers will need to use a reputable cryptocurrency exchange in the USA.
Conclusion
To conclude our Independent Reserve review, it is a legit and safe Australian digital currency provider that has several hundreds thousands of customers. With low fees, it's no wonder it's such as popular exchange for beginners and experienced investors.
There are some improvements however that Independent Reserve should consider:
- Better charts with advanced tools and features to perform technical analysis
- Trading app for mobile and ability to check live crypto prices on the exchange
Aside from the above, Independent Reserve's one of the easiest, lowest fee cryptocurrency exchanges with a simple deposits and withdrawals process and outstanding customer support.
You Might Also Be Interested In:
Exchange fees are a very important consideration for any prospective cryptocurrency investor. The following exchanges - in addition to the above exchange - provide very competitive trading, deposit and withdrawal fees with a wide variety of deposit methods that will suit all types of investors in Australia.
Independent Reserve
Pros
- Trusted and reputable exchange
- Low trading fees
- Cold storage wallets
- Support for SMSF
- Tax calculator
Cons
- Limited charting features
- Only 24 cryptocurrencies
