Relai App Review
Swiss Bitcoin savings app delivering purchases straight to your self-custodial wallet with zero-fee monthly buys.
Why We Recommend Relai App
Relai solves a real problem for European Bitcoiners: most exchanges make you keep coins in their custody, while most self-custody wallets require you to find your own on-ramp. Relai combines both into one clean mobile app where purchases go directly to keys you control. The UX is genuinely beginner-friendly with App Store ratings around 4.6-4.8/5, and setup takes minutes rather than the hour-long KYC gauntlets common elsewhere. The zero-fee monthly purchase up to 100 EUR/CHF is a nice touch for small DCA stackers, and the standard 1% fee (0.9% with referral code) is competitive for a service this simple.
From a regulatory standpoint, Relai operates as a Swiss company under VQF self-regulatory membership and has a French CASP registration under MiCA for EU customers. They use proper encryption standards (TLS 1.2+, AES-256) and have integrated Keyless biometric MFA for account security. The self-custodial architecture means even if Relai disappeared tomorrow, your bitcoin remains accessible via your backup phrase. They've raised venture funding and report hundreds of thousands of downloads, suggesting staying power beyond a typical startup.
Best For
Relai is ideal for European residents who want the simplest possible path from bank account to self-custodied bitcoin. If you're a beginner intimidated by exchange interfaces, order books, and withdrawal procedures, or you just want to set up a weekly DCA plan and forget about it, this is built for you. The app strips away everything except buy, sell, and view your wallet, which is exactly what savings-focused Bitcoiners need.
Recurring buyers get particular value here. Setting up automatic weekly or monthly purchases from 25-50 EUR/CHF minimums means you can dollar-cost average without logging in constantly. Combined with the zero-fee monthly allocation and direct-to-wallet delivery, it's a compelling stack-and-forget setup. Swiss and EU residents across 20+ countries including Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland can access the service with SEPA transfers.
High-net-worth individuals in Europe can use Relai Private for purchases in the 100k-250k CHF/EUR range with reduced percentage fees while still receiving coins into self-custody rather than exchange accounts. This bridges the gap between wanting institutional-grade compliance and maintaining personal key control.
Services & Features
- Instant bitcoin purchases
- Automated weekly/monthly DCA
- Zero-fee monthly buy up to 100 EUR/CHF
- Built-in self-custodial wallet
- SEPA bank transfers
- Credit/debit card purchases
- Apple Pay integration
- Relai Private for 100k+ volumes
- Referral fee discounts to 0.9%
Considerations
Service is strictly Europe and Switzerland only with no U.S. availability. Full KYC is now required for most users, and there's no Lightning Network support, so you're limited to on-chain transactions which can be slow and expensive during fee spikes. Card and Apple Pay purchases add a 3% surcharge on top of Relai's fee.
