Shakepay Exchange Review | Positives, Negatives & Fees Structure

Shakepay Review Image
Jack Moreau
Apr 2024
8 min read
Fact checked

Are you interested in learning about Shakepay and how it stacks up against other cryptocurrency exchanges? Look no further as we have conducted a thorough review of Shakepay, covering key factors such as features, fees, and user experience. Our analysis will provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision about using Shakepay for your cryptocurrency trading needs.

Shakepay

pros & cons

Pros

Beginner friendly exchange
Licensed as MSB in Canada
Free fiat deposits/withdrawals

Cons

Only available to Canadians
Only supports BTC & ETH
2% trading fees
Limited product range

Shakepay

vs alternatives

Shakepay
Uphold
Kraken
Founded
2015
2013
2011
Users
1M
10M
10M
Cryptos
2
+300
+220
Spot Fees
2%
0.9-1.2%
0.16%
KYC
Yes
Yes
Yes
Countries N/A
All but CA
DE, NL, RU, TR, IN
OFAC
Best for
Limited To Absolute Beginners
Beginner Crypto Investors
Beginners & Security
Rating
Signup
Shakepay
Your Capital is at risk.
Uphold
Kraken

What is Shakepay?

Shakepay is a Montreal-based technology company that provides financial applications for building wealth. Founded in 2015 by Jean Amiouny and Roy Breidi, Shakepay has grown to over 50 employees.

Shakepay exchange
Shakepay exchange

The company is registered as a Money Services Business (MSB) in Canada and has served over 1,000,000 Canadians during its 8 years in operation. ShakePay is only available to Canadian citizens, and users outside of Canada are not able to use the exchange.

Shakepay is a beginner-friendly exchange exclusively for Canadian citizens who want to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum. The exchange offers a simple and secure way for users to invest in the cryptocurrency future. The Shakepay exchange is also available on Android and IOS, where it has been downloaded over 100,000 times.

Shakepay app
Shakepay app

Shakepay Signup & KYC

To sign up to Shakepay, users must first select a username, an email address and a password. Once the email address has been verified, users need to provide a Canadian phone number and verify it as well.

Shakepay signup
Shakepay signup

Once these two steps have been taken, the account will have been opened and users can then continue to complete the KYC process. Shakepay is a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange that requires KYC for all users. This means that no buying or selling can occur without having a verified account.

Shakepay KYC
Shakepay KYC

To complete the KYC process on Shakepay, users must provide personal information, submit a valid government ID and be a Canadian citizen. Unfortunately, users who are not Canadian citizens will not be able to complete the KYC process and therefore cannot use Shakepay's services.

Shakepay Products & Services

Shakepay is a very basic exchange that is designed for beginner crypto investors based in Canada. It is tailored to be as simple as possible to use with support for only two cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Shakepay dashboard
Shakepay dashboard

Shakepay does not offer an orderbook but instead a simple buy and sell functionality that lets users buy Bitcoin or Ethereum with CAD. The user experience on Shakepay is very beginner-friendly, and the exchange has done a good job of keeping things simple.

Shakepay buy and sell Bitcoin
Shakepay buy and sell Bitcoin

However, we think that the exchange is too basic with only buy and sell functionality for two cryptocurrencies. Considering how long this exchange has been operating, one would have expected it to branch out to more cryptocurrencies and products and services.

Shakepay

products vs alternatives

Shakepay
Uphold
Kraken
Spot
-
Yes
Yes
Futures
-
-
Yes
Leverage
-
-
50X
Copy trade
-
-
-
Lend & Borrow
-
-
Yes
Staking
-
Yes
Yes
NFTs
-
-
Yes
Signup
Shakepay
Your Capital is at risk.
Uphold
Kraken

Shakepay Trading Fees

Shakepay is a retail store that buys and sells cryptocurrencies and earns money by taking a commission of the spread between the buy and sell price. However, the spread fee charged by Shakepay can be up to 2%, which is quite a steep price to pay for basic buying and selling of cryptocurrencies.

Shakepay also does not offer any volume discounts which means that all users will have to pay the same fees irrespective of how often they trade.

To put these trading fees in perspective, they are twice as expensive as alternative exchanges such as Uphold and over 8 times as expensive as more crypto specific exchanges such as Kraken.

Shakepay

fees vs alternatives

Shakepay
Uphold
Kraken
Spot fee (mkr)
2%
0.9-1.2%
0.16%
Spot fee (tkr)
2%
0.9-1.2%
0.26%
Futures (mkr)
-
-
0.02%
Futures (tkr)
-
-
0.05%
Signup
Shakepay
Your Capital is at risk.
Uphold
Kraken

Shakepay Deposit Methods

Shakepay is a Canadian exchange that offers its users two options for depositing CAD into their account, Interac e-Transfer or Wire Transfer. Both of these methods are free of charge, with Interac being the faster option as the funds will arrive in just a few minutes.

Shakepay fiat & crypto deposits
Shakepay fiat & crypto deposits

Wire Transfers, on the other hand, may take up to 2 business days for the funds to arrive. Shakepay also allows users to deposit Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) into their account free of charge. Overall, Shakepay is a user-friendly and convenient option for Canadians who are looking to deposit CAD into their cryptocurrency exchange account.

Shakepay Withdrawal Methods

When it comes to withdrawing funds from Shakepay, once again, users can withdraw their AUD with either Interac e-Transfer or basic Wire transfer free of charge.

Shakepay fiat withdrawals
Shakepay fiat withdrawals

Interac e-Transfer is instantenous and has a max limited of $10,000 while Wire transfers has no upper limit but takes 1-2 working days to arrive. Bitcoin and Ethereum withdrawals are free of charge as Shakepay covers those fees for their users.

Shakepay

security vs alternatives

Shakepay
Uphold
Kraken
Hacked
No
No
Proof of reserves
Yes
Yes
Licenses
FinCEN (US), FCA (UK)
FinCEN, FSP, FCA, VASP, APAC
Signup
Shakepay
Your Capital is at risk.
Uphold
Kraken

Shakepay Conclusion

In conclusion, Shakepay is a well-established retail store that offers an simple service for Canadian citizens looking to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum. With over 1,000,000 users served during its 8 years in operation, Shakepay has established itself as a beginner friendly exchange in Canada.

Although it only offers two cryptocurrencies for trading (BTC & ETH), Shakepay prioritizes user experience and simplicity by providing a user-friendly platform. The commission fees charged by Shakepay for buying and selling cryptocurrencies can reach up to 2%, which is very costly.

Shakepay offers convenient deposit options without any charges, including Interac e-Transfer, wire transfer, and cryptocurrency deposit. Withdrawal options for both fiat and cryptocurrencies are also available for its users with the same deposit methods.

While Shakepay has done a good job of targeting beginners, we think that they have kept things too simple. Only offering 2 cryptocurrencies in 2023 is extremely limiting to users who surely will want exposure to more digital assets. On top of this, Shakepay does not offer any other services besides basic buy and sell.

Shakepay

Beginner friendly exchange

Licensed as MSB in Canada

Free fiat deposits/withdrawals

Visit Shakepay
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Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.

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