Blog
Fee-based onramp routing is costing you business
The most popular method for connecting users to onramps is deeply flawed — for a number of reasons. Here's why you should be considering alternative solutions.
My user has multiple onramps available. I should automatically point them towards the one that offers the lowest fees.
On the surface, this is a great decision. It makes perfect sense to want to provide your users with the lowest fees, as it results in more crypto received.
In practice, though? The transactions fail the majority of the time. And, even when they do succeed, the fees aren’t what you think.
What’s up with onramp fees?
The top providers offer some very attractive percentages when it comes to their fees. Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll find out that these figures only refer to the onramp’s cut.
In other words, there are other costs involved. Our recent report identified the culprits as conversion rates, bid-ask spreads and network fees.
These aren’t negligible, either: when we conducted a $200 USD → BTC swap on six different onramps, the crypto received varied by over 10% from solution to solution.
In short: price quotes are getting spoofed across the board. If lowering fees is your utmost priority, benchmark based on the crypto your users receive.
The critical flaw in fee-based routing
Let’s assume that fee-based routing does work as intended, and that it consistently matches your users with the cheapest onramp.
There’s still an excellent chance that this onramp isn’t actually able to complete the transaction. Owing to a range of factors, a given onramp is a poor fit for the majority of users. For instance, some solutions might be optimized only to cater to a limited European audience, while others may only be appropriate for a handful of Asian countries.
Even then, that’s a gross oversimplification. Transaction success hinges on over 70 factors, ranging from user location to their desired currency pair. With so much happening under the hood, transaction failure is basically a coin flip away when you don’t optimize your routing practices.
A strategy based on finding the lowest fees alone fails to take these factors into account — which is why you should consider the alternatives.
Which onramp routing strategy is best?
No method reigns supreme, though a handful stand out. In all cases, the more onramps available, the more effective your routing efforts can be:
- It means more options to point your users towards
- It means more sources to learn from and improve on the data collected
We advise that players in this space aim to aggregate at least 10-15 onramps. That way, you’ll have ample global coverage and plenty of fallback options should a single onramp go offline.
With that in mind, here are our top picks, based on over two years of onramping insights.
Success-based routing
This logic does what it says on the tin: it routes your users towards the onramp most likely to ensure transaction success.
Our engine does so by learning from previous transactions and matching users with onramps that have been successful for historical users matching their profile.
Return-user routing
Success-based routing is fantastic out of the box, but you’ll soon want to stack more precise routing rules on top of it to really push for high success rates.
Return-user routing doesn’t just make an informed decision based on industry-wide data. It actually recognizes the user if they’ve completed a transaction previously, and recommends the onramp they used.
Low-KYC routing
Know Your Customer regulations are in place for good reason — but the flows designed to identify users can be cumbersome and, often, needlessly complex.
With low-KYC routing, users are matched with the route that requires as little verification as possible for their desired transaction. This method is particularly effective, as KYC complications majorly impact success rates.
Route smarter with Onramper
Since our inception, we’ve made it our mission to create an onramping machine living up to the promise of the crypto revolution. That means a consistent fiat → crypto experience for all users, regardless of their location.
Time and again, success-based routing (paired with other logic) delivers phenomenal results for our clients and their users. Whether you’re just starting out and prefer a fully managed solution, or you’ve already got an in-house aggregator and want to expand your offering, our suite has you covered.
→ Download our latest success rate case study
Other articles
Helio Partners with Onramper to Power Unique Card to Stablecoin Payments for Global Merchants
Onramper’s industry-leading aggregator will localize payment methods for merchants looking to accept instant stabelcoin payments.
May 20, 2025 – Onramper, the world’s leading fiat-to-crypto on-ramp aggregator, today announced a partnership with Helio to supercharge stablecoin payments for global merchants. Helio, a leading crypto checkout app used by over 6,000 merchants and millions of users, has advanced the adoption of crypto payments by offering a faster, more affordable alternative to traditional methods.
To date, Helio has processed over $1.5 billion in transactions and integrates with leading digital platforms, including Shopify, where it powers the popular Solana Pay plugin. Now, the company is launching a revamped payment flow that enhances the onboarding experience for new users that don’t already have a crypto wallet when completing purchases with stablecoins such as USDC.
Now when Helio users select “Pay with Card”, they’re guided through a localized payment method selection screen tailored to their region powered by Onramper’s industry leading on-ramp aggregator and smart routing engine. Users can quickly fund a virtual crypto wallet tied to their email by purchasing USDC and easily complete their payment to the merchant. This seamless fiat-to-crypto flow unlocks valuable new commerce use cases for merchants, including instant settlement from credit card purchases (instead of next day settlement), zero chargeback risk, seamless iGaming deposits via cards, global support for high risk payments and more.
Stablecoin usage continues to rise – recent reports show retail usage increased by 35% in 2024 as consumers increasingly turn to stablecoins for e-commerce to avoid banking delays.
“Collaborating with Helio to enable stablecoin payments is a major step toward bringing crypto commerce to Web2-native users,” said Thijs Maas, CEO of Onramper. “Our aggregation engine delivers localized on-ramps and payment methods, making it easier for users to check out.”
Onramper accepts 130+ payment methods and enables users to purchase crypto across 190+ countries. This extensive geographic coverage is complemented by sophisticated routing engines that recommend the best conversion for users in real-time – maximizing users’ odds of a successful transaction and ensuring they receive the most crypto for their fiat.
"Helio is known as the market leader in native crypto payments, offering low fees and instant settlement. With the integration of Onramper, we’ve expanded backwards compatibility with the traditional financial system. This allows Helio merchants like Liquid Brokers and Bizcuits to accept instant card payments in over 130 countries through seamless fiat to stablecoin onramps. This results in increased sales for our merchants and a faster, smoother checkout experience for customers at Helio-powered stores. It’s a big step toward making crypto payments as seamless as traditional ones, especially for those new to crypto or looking to top up quickly." said Stijn Paumen, CEO of Helio.
“At Bizcuits, we support trading brokers and prop firms with operational solutions, including payments infrastructure. We integrated Helio for card-to-crypto payments because of its seamless experience, transparent pricing, and global reach. It enables our partners to offer reliable fiat-to-crypto onramps without added complexity, making Helio a natural fit for our ecosystem.” Debbie Colerio, Payments and Compliance Manager, Bizcuits
To learn more, please visit onramper.com and hel.io.
About Helio
Helio provides a suite of payment tools for merchants, creators and platforms, making it easy for anyone to accept USDC and other digital currencies. Designed for ease of use, especially those new to crypto payments, Helio is a faster and more cost effective alternative to traditional payment methods. Empowering over 6,000 sellers and over one million users, Helio supports major blockchains including Solana, Bitcoin, Ethereum and L2s.
About Onramper
Onramper is the leading fiat-to-crypto payments aggregator, providing a turnkey API-based solution for dynamically routing fiat-to-crypto onramp flows based on algorithms optimizing for conversion, fees and payment methods. Onramper’s platform allows users of clients to buy 2000+ digital assets, in over 190 countries with over 130 payment methods in 120 currencies, with advanced routing options and unified analytics. The company is based in the Netherlands. To learn more about Onramper, visit www.onramper.com.
Onramper Partners with Opera’s MiniPay to Expand Global Access to Stablecoins
MiniPay will tap into Onramper’s industry-leading on- and off-ramp aggregation infrastructure to broaden stablecoin accessibility.
May 13, 2025 – Onramper, the world’s leading fiat-to-crypto on-ramp aggregator, today announced a partnership with MiniPay – Opera’s stablecoin wallet – to expand the accessibility and utility of stablecoins for users worldwide. Stablecoins are rapidly gaining momentum as a medium of exchange, facilitating remittances and streamlining cross-border payments while promoting financial stability and inclusion. In 2024 alone, annual stablecoin transfer volume reached $27.6 trillion – surpassing the volumes of Visa and Mastercard combined.
Opera, the global web innovator with nearly 300 million users, first unveiled MiniPay in September of 2023 as an embedded feature within Opera Mini – the browser of choice for users across Africa. A dollar stablecoin wallet built on Celo, MiniPay offers seamless global peer-to-peer transfers at sub-cent fees using simply mobile phone numbers. It features easy onboarding with key backup through Google and now iCloud.
Since its launch, MiniPay has grown to over 7 million activations across 50+ countries, enabling fast, secure, and intuitive stablecoin transactions with an emphasis on accessibility and utility.
Today, MiniPay will tap into Onramper’s industry-leading on- and off-ramp aggregation infrastructure to broaden stablecoin accessibility.Onramper supports 25+ onramps and 130+ local payment methods, while its off-ramp product covers seven off-ramps, supporting 46 fiat currencies and 500+ cryptocurrencies.
“Stablecoins have emerged as one of the most impactful use cases for digital assets, with regions like Latin America embracing them for low-cost remittances and as a hedge against monetary instability,” said Thijs Maas, CEO of Onramper. “Collaborating with MiniPay allows us to onboard more users in SEA, LatAm, and beyond into the stablecoin ecosystem, using a gateway as simple as a mobile phone number to get them started.”
As of May 13, 2025, MiniPay officially launches as a standalone app for iOS, meaning it is now present both within Opera Mini and the Google Play and App Stores, making it a truly global stablecoin wallet. Key features of MiniPay include:
- Send and receive stablecoins in seconds using just a phone number
- Buy and sell USDT, USDC, and cUSD stablecoins with zero fees
- Access real-world use cases like paying for utilities, buying gift cards, redeeming vouchers, and more
- Localized cash-in and cash-out across a variety of local currencies
“MiniPay isn’t just another Web3 wallet, it’s a product designed for people who live globally, work remotely, and need fast, affordable access to digital dollars. Onramper gives us the rails to make that experience seamless for users around the globe,” said Jørgen Arnesen, EVP of Mobile at Opera.
MiniPay is now live across iOS and Android in countries including the US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, and more. You
To learn more, please visit onramper.com and minipay.xyz.
Xverse Partners with Onramper to Expand Global Accessibility to Bitcoin
Xverse Partners with Onramper to Expand Global Accessibility to Bitcoin
May 8, 2025 – Onramper, the world’s leading fiat-to-crypto onramp aggregator, today announced a partnership with Xverse to expand global accessibility to Bitcoin and its related assets. As crypto adoption accelerates – driven by rising institutional activity and favorable regulatory conditions – Xverse’s Bitcoin wallet provides a seamless gateway to Bitcoin, Runes, Ordinals, BRC-20 tokens, Rare Sats, STX, and more.
In Q1 2025, Bitcoin’s market dominance surged by 4.6%, accounting for over 59% of the total crypto market cap – its highest level since early 2021. As more users worldwide look to engage with the digital asset, Onramper’s partnership with Xverse enables them to fund their Bitcoin wallets using 130+ payment methods, from Apple Pay and Google Pay, to hyper-local payment methods across 190+ countries.
Further, Onramper’s industry-leading onramp aggregator is complemented by sophisticated routing engines that recommend the best conversion for users in real-time — maximizing their odds of a successful transaction and ensuring they receive the most crypto for their fiat.
“Bitcoin has demonstrated remarkable maturity and growth over the past year, driven by factors like Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. and increasingly friendly crypto policies,” said Thijs Maas, CEO of Onramper. “Collaborating with Xverse enables us to help onboard more users into the Bitcoin ecosystem and enhance the experience of those already engaging in the Bitcoin economy.”
With a growing userbase and nearly 2 million downloads, Xverse is the leading Bitcoin Web3 wallet supporting Ordinals, Runes trading and BRC-20 inscriptions. Its user-friendly interface on iOS, Android, and Chrome extension sets a new standard for Bitcoin wallets and plays a key role in driving mainstream adoption.
"Xverse, powered by our new Onramper integration, makes advanced Bitcoin capabilities like on-chain trading and DeFi seamlessly accessible worldwide,” said Ken Liao, Xverse founder and CEO. “We're bridging the gap from enthusiasts to everyday users, unlocking Bitcoin's full potential for everyone with unparalleled speed and simplicity."
To learn more, please visit onramper.com and xverse.app.
About Xverse
Xverse is the leading Bitcoin wallet for Web3, providing first-class support for Runes, Ordinals, NFTs, DeFi and decentralized applications. With a beautifully designed, easy-to-use wallet available on iOS, Android and desktop as a Chrome browser extension, Xverse lets users securely manage Bitcoin on layer 1 as well as layer 2 networks like Stacks, and soon, the Lightning Network.
About Onramper
Onramper is the leading fiat-to-crypto payments aggregator, providing a turnkey API-based solution for dynamically routing fiat-to-crypto onramp flows based on algorithms optimizing for conversion, fees and payment methods. Onramper’s platform allows users of clients to buy 2000+ digital assets, in over 190 countries with over 130 payment methods in 120 currencies, with advanced routing options and unified analytics. The company is based in the Netherlands. To learn more about Onramper, visit www.onramper.com.
