About buying crypto with MoneyGram
MoneyGram is a money transfer company with a large network of physical agent locations, shops, banks and post offices, where you can hand over cash and have it paid out somewhere else. It operates in more than 200 countries and territories through a network of roughly 400,000 agent offices, and supports transfers in over 120 currencies. A transfer is identified by a reference number given to the sender, which the recipient quotes to collect.
Paying a crypto exchange this way usually means a push transfer from your own verified MoneyGram profile. You do not share your bank login with the exchange. The main limit is that once cash is collected the transfer is final, so there is no chargeback to fall back on.
The list at the top of this page shows the exchanges that accept MoneyGram.
MoneyGram history
MoneyGram International is an American peer-to-peer payments and money transfer company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in 1998, formed by the merger of Minneapolis-based Travelers Express and another financial services firm. By 2014 it was the second-largest provider of money transfers in the world.
In 2021 MoneyGram partnered with crypto platform Coinme to let customers buy and sell bitcoin for cash at 12,000 U.S. retail locations, and in January 2022 it took a minority stake in that partner. In November 2022 it added in-app crypto buy, sell and hold functionality. On June 1, 2023, private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners completed its acquisition of MoneyGram, taking it private.
MoneyGram and crypto
MoneyGram offers its own crypto capability directly inside its mobile app, powered by a partnership with a licensed crypto exchange in which it holds a minority stake. Users can buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin from within the app. This in-app service is available across the United States except Hawaii, Idaho and New York, and the District of Columbia.
It has also worked with Stellar so that wallet users can send USDC stablecoin to recipients who cash it out for fiat at MoneyGram locations. That turns cash into an asset you can deposit anywhere that takes crypto, which is a different thing from sending a transfer to an exchange. MoneyGram has signalled plans to support more cryptocurrencies pending regulation.
How to buy crypto with MoneyGram
These steps work at any exchange that accepts MoneyGram.
- Pick an exchange. Choose one from the list at the top of this page that takes MoneyGram.
- Verify your account. Create a MoneyGram profile with a government-issued ID and complete the exchange’s own identity checks.
- Choose MoneyGram. Select MoneyGram on the deposit or buy screen.
- Pay from your own name. Send the transfer from an account or card in your own name and keep the reference number.
- Buy your crypto. Once the funds land, place your order.
Can you buy crypto instantly with MoneyGram?
How fast your money arrives depends on how you pay MoneyGram. Cash handed over at an agent location is typically available within minutes. Pay by bank account instead and MoneyGram runs a standard ACH process that typically takes 3 business days to clear, because the transfer only goes through once your bank confirms the payment.
Weekends, bank cut-off times and first-time identity checks can all add delay. Build in extra time for your first payment, since new accounts often face more scrutiny.
Fees when buying crypto with MoneyGram
MoneyGram charges a fee that varies with the transfer amount, the destination and other factors, and it shows the exact fee before you confirm. It also makes money on currency exchange, so a conversion built into the rate is a further cost on top of the stated fee. Paying by credit card can trigger a cash-advance fee and interest from your card issuer.
An exchange may add its own charge, such as a deposit fee or a wider price on instant buys. Check both the MoneyGram screen and the exchange’s total before you confirm, so you see the full cost.
Why cash rails attract scams
A cash transfer that has been collected cannot be recovered, the collector needs only a reference number, and the network spans jurisdictions. That combination is exactly what an advance-fee scam needs, which is why MoneyGram itself warns about it prominently.
In a crypto context the pattern is usually a seller who asks you to send cash outside the platform’s escrow, often with a story about why the normal flow will not work. There is no version of that story that is true.
If you use this rail at all, use it inside a P2P platform’s escrow, keep every receipt, and never send a transfer to someone who contacted you first.
How to choose an exchange that accepts MoneyGram
Compare the total cost each exchange shows before you confirm, not just the coin price. Check how long account verification takes, which coins you can buy, and whether you can withdraw back to MoneyGram or only through other methods. Look at each exchange’s security record too.
If cash is your only funding option, weigh how the exchange handles disputes, since that is what stands between you and a bad counterparty. Use the list at the top of this page to see the exchanges that accept MoneyGram.
MoneyGram pros and cons
What we like
- Works with physical cash, requiring no bank account or card.
- A very large agent network, strongest in remittance corridors.
- The cash-to-stablecoin service turns cash into an asset any venue can accept.
- Transfers are identified by a reference, so collection is straightforward.
What holds it back
- Accepted on a narrow set of exchanges, often only through P2P desks.
- Cash transfers are irreversible once collected.
- Fees on cash remittance are high relative to bank rails.
- A favourite channel for advance-fee scams, so unsolicited requests to pay this way are a red flag.
MoneyGram FAQ
Yes. Send from a MoneyGram profile in your own name with a verified ID. Paying from someone else’s account can get the transfer or your exchange account flagged.
Not once it has been collected. Cash transfers are final, which is why they attract scams.
It converts between cash at an agent location and stablecoins on a public blockchain. It does not fund an exchange directly, but the resulting crypto can be deposited anywhere.
A payment from a name that does not match your account may be rejected or held. If it fails, keep the agent receipt and reference number, because those are the evidence any dispute turns on.
No. A request to leave escrow is the standard shape of a scam on this rail, whatever reason is given.
Convert cash into stablecoins through the in-app service and deposit the crypto, or pick an exchange from the list above that takes a method you already have.