Letztes Update: 28. September 2023
It wasn’t that long ago that buying Bitcoin was a real adventure: opaque exchanges, complicated wallet setup, and incomprehensible fee structures. Swiss bitcoin investment app Relai set out in the summer of 2020 to change that. At the time, the Bitcoin Savings Plan app was more of a household name among well-informed Bitcoin followers. Now Relai is giving back with a revamped website, refreshed Relai 2.0 app, its own broker, real-time buying and a cool commercial Gas. Thus, Relai should also attract the attention of the broader masses. Everything you need to know, my Relai experiences and how easy it is to set up a Bitcoin savings plan with the digital Bitcoin ATM Relai, you can read here.
Relai
Back in 2018, Julian Liniger had the idea for an app that would make buying Bitcoin as easy as possible. He eventually found himself working with Adem Bilican via a Telegram group in the Swiss Bitcoin community. After finding their first angel investors, the two went live in mid-2020 with what is arguably the world’s simplest bitcoin app. In its first year, the Relai app was downloaded 25,000 times in a total of 40 countries, with 5,000 active customers trading CHF 2 million per month.
Relai fees
A common criticism of Relai was the relatively high fees. In addition to the 3% fee, a fixed transaction fee of BTC 0.00002 was also charged, which made small investment amounts unattractive.
With its own broker, Relai was able to turn the fee screw. And here’s what the new fees look like:
Buy Bitcoin
The purchase fee is now only 2.5% and the fixed transaction fee is eliminated. You can further reduce the purchase fee with the following deductions:
- Recommendation code FINANZDEPOT -0.5 percentage points
- Setting up a savings plan -0.5 percentage points
- Order over CHF 100 -0.5 percentage points
Apply all three deductions and you end up with a fee of a competitive 1%. There is no additional bitcoin network fee when buying.
Sell Bitcoin
The sales fee is 2%. You can benefit from the following deductions when selling:
- Recommendation code FINANZDEPOT -0.5 percentage points
- Order over CHF 100 -0.5 percentage points
And here again we end up with a fee of 1%. The bitcoin network fee is additional when selling.
Relai Bitcoin Savings Plan
But now let’s get to the special feature of Relai – the foolproof setup of a Bitcoin savings plan without verification or registration! And that’s how easy it is:
Amount and frequency
In the first step, you determine the investment contribution and frequency. The minimum investment amount is CHF 10, and you can invest once, weekly or monthly. By the way, you can transfer not only Swiss francs, also euros are possible. To do this, you have to change the preferred currency to Euro under “Language and units” in the “Profile”.
Payment options and order overview
Next, enter the IBAN of your bank account from which you will send the amount. Or if you have already purchased once, simply dial the appropriate IBAN. The processing of the transfer takes one to three days.
Recently, Relai also offers other payment options for real-time purchases. In addition to Mastercard and Visa credit cards, you can now also pay with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Additional fees starting from 1.5% will be charged for this. All fees are shown transparently in the order overview. Transaction with credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay are processed immediately.
In the order overview you can enter or change a referral code to save fees. You will also see an overview of your order with all fees.
Bank Details
Once you have selected “Buy Now”, you will be shown the bank details of Relai. You can enter this in your banking app or eBanking. So you don’t have to copy the data, you can easily copy it.
If you have a Yapeal account, you can deposit the Yapeal IBAN, and when you select “Confirm Investment”, the Yapeal app will automatically open, where you can conveniently confirm the payment.
On the overview you will now see that a payment is expected. Here you could also cancel the auto-invest .
So simple and fast – in about a minute everything is done.
Once your bank has made the payment and Relai has received it, your Swiss Francs will be exchanged for Bitcoin. For me, that was just under six hours later. Depending on the bank you send the money from, it may take two to three days. If you pay by credit card or Apple Pay, the payment is processed immediately – even on weekends.
In the app version before that, you still had to specify a payment purpose with your bank. This is no longer necessary, the assignment is automatic. But make sure that the money comes from your bank account deposited in the Relai app.
Relai limits
Without identifying yourself and verifying your identity, you can buy Bitcoin from Relai for CHF 1,000 every 24 hours and for a maximum of CHF 100,000 per year. Instant payment methods have a limit of CHF 500 per 24 hours.
These limits were not set by Relai, but by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), and are intended to combat money laundering.
If you want to trade higher amounts, you can increase your wallet level by going through a simple verification process. You will need to provide your personal information, verify your address, confirm your tax residency, and your identity will be verified through a photo process, which requires a valid ID card or passport.
Relai Wallet
In the Relai app, you also get a bitcoin wallet right away. If you don’t specify an external wallet when purchasing, the Bitcoin will end up there, simply put. So you don ‘t need to install and configure any additional wallet app. Not only is the savings plan very easy to set up, but custody is also a breeze.
The Relai app will show you your 12-word recovery phrase, which you should keep safe. It’s best not to write down the 12 words digitally, because anyone who knows them can access your wallet. Also Relai does not know your recovery phrase, if you lose it, your Bitcoin will be lost too.
Note: You are your own bank and should therefore protect your Bitcoin accordingly. For larger amounts, a hardware wallet is also suitable for storage.
You can also send your bitcoin directly to an external wallet address when you make a purchase. For this option to be available, you must first activate the “Advanced functions” option under “Profile”, “Settings”. Later transfers to other wallets are of course possible, as well as receiving Bitcoin from other wallets.
Relai future
Future plans include daily recurring savings plans, a bitcoin debit card, and a premium account with partner offerings. It should also be possible to receive interest on your Bitcoins held in the app.
Relai recommendation code
Enter the referral code FINANZDEPOT when buying or selling and the fees will be reduced by 0.5 percentage points. You only need to enter it once and the next time you buy or sell, the referral code is already stored.
Conclusion Relai experience
With the simple and minimalistic Swiss Bitcoin investment app, even beginners can effortlessly get a taste of Bitcoin air. In case of questions or uncertainties, there is a very dedicated team behind Relai, which you can reach via various channels, such as a Telegram group, on Twitter or via the chat on the Relai website.
If only savings plans with ETFs could also be set up so easily in Switzerland …
Educate yourself about digital assets like Bitcoin before investing in them.
Transparency and disclaimer
I was not paid by anyone for this blog post, it reflects my subjective opinion.
If you open accounts or business relationships, order products or services through my links and codes, I may receive a commission for doing so. However, you will not suffer any disadvantages such as higher prices or the like. The terms and conditions of the respective providers apply. Affiliate links are marked with a *.
Investments are associated with risks which, in the worst case, can lead to the loss of the capital invested.
All publications, i.e. reports, presentations, notices as well as contributions to blogs on this website (“Publications”) are for information purposes only and do not constitute a trading recommendation with regard to the purchase or sale of securities. The publications merely reflect my opinion. Despite careful research, I do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the information contained in the publications.