Independent Reserve review: a no-spread order book with AUSTRAC and MAS standing and an IG Group parent, but a 0.50% base fee, a short coin list, an unnamed custodian and no independent proof of reserves.

Independent Reserve says it keeps a full 1:1 reserve of client fiat and crypto, never lends or trades client assets, and that an insured, enterprise-grade Qualified Custodian holds the vast majority of client crypto in cold storage; hot-wallet keys are multi-layer encrypted and cold-storage withdrawals use multi-signature or MPC approvals. It has been ISO 27001 certified since 2021 and says it is independently audited every year, with an external audit in Singapore required by MAS. These are company statements: its knowledge-base page names no custodian, insurer, auditor or cold-storage percentage, and gives no insurance amount. We found no independent proof-of-reserves attestation; an older company post said one was being prepared. Finder says the insurance covers a large-scale hack, not individual account compromises. We found no reported hack, enforcement action or customer loss in our searches, though absence of reports is not proof of strong controls.

Independent Reserve is registered with AUSTRAC as a digital currency exchange and certified by the Australian Digital Currency Association (Finder). In Singapore it received a Major Payment Institution licence from the MAS on October 1, 2021, after an in-principle approval in August 2021 (CoinDesk, company release). One company knowledge-base page links to the earlier in-principle approval story, so we rely on the October 2021 licence announcements instead. In January 2026 the exchange became majority-owned by IG Group, a FTSE 250 broker, in a deal completed on January 30, 2026 after MAS approval; IG holds a call option on the remaining 30%. We found no New Zealand licence in the sources we reviewed, although the exchange serves New Zealand customers. Australia’s Digital Assets Framework Act commences on April 9, 2027, and we could not confirm Independent Reserve’s licence application status.

Independent Reserve charges one flat rate for makers and takers, starting at 0.50% and falling to 0.02% as 30-day volume rises. Finder lists 0.46% at A$100,000, 0.38% at A$500,000, 0.32% at A$1 million and 0.08% at A$10 million. The company says there is no spread on order-book trades. Crypto deposits and AUD bank deposits are free; PayPal costs 1%. Card deposit fees conflict: the company’s fee page lists 0% for Australian cards, while Finder and the company’s own comparison pages say 1%, with 3.5% for international cards in one comparison. AUD EFT withdrawals are free and instant PayID withdrawals cost A$1.50. Crypto withdrawals are fixed per coin, such as 0.0001 BTC and 0.003 ETH on the current NZ fee page; an older company post showed 0.0002 BTC and 0.005 ETH. Leveraged positions pay the same trading fee plus daily interest of 0.05% on buys and 0.03% on sells.

Coverage is deliberately narrow. Counts conflict by source and date: Finder lists 44 cryptocurrencies, the company’s own comparison page says 41, and The Block, reporting the IG deal, said 34. Finder describes the selection as limited and says altcoin liquidity was thin. Fiat support is a strength with four currencies (AUD, NZD, USD, SGD). Other products are an OTC desk, leveraged trading, API access, and personal, SMSF, trust and company accounts. We found no futures and no staking or earn product for retail users, though Independent Reserve said in March 2026 that corporate payments and yield products are planned for the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

The platform offers beginner and advanced views on one order book, so fees and prices are the same on both, according to the company. Deposits via PayID, Osko and EFT are instant in AUD and SGD, and Finder notes a built-in tax estimator. Finder rates it 4.1 from 19 reader reviews and quotes a user calling the app easy to use, and the company cites an average rating from 2,000+ reviews across the App Store, Google Play and Google, which we could not verify. Drawbacks are that trading is order-book only, with no separate instant-buy screen, and, per Finder, thin altcoin order books.

ProductReview.com.au shows 4.3 out of 5 from 100 reviews, with 82% positive and 18% negative; some reviewers, including company and SMSF users, praise the service and security options. Negative reviews describe slow verification and an intrusive support process, including requests for a destination wallet address and extensive identity documents. The company says it offers 24/7 support and its comparison pages call it local online support; we could not confirm hours or channels from an independent source. We could not load Trustpilot for Independent Reserve, and review counts on ProductReview are modest. Finder lists support channels as not stated.

The extras are institutional rather than retail-flashy. Independent Reserve runs an OTC desk, an API with a Fireblocks integration, a PayPal partnership announced in 2023 (per Wikipedia) and, through IG, a spot crypto offering inside IG’s Australian app (Finder). The parent says it plans payments and yield products for corporate, accredited and institutional customers in the second half of 2026 across Singapore, Australia and the UAE, subject to approvals. There is no card, DeFi integration or retail staking in the sources we reviewed.