CEX.IO is one of the older names in crypto: it has operated since 2013 and says it serves more than 15 million users in 185+ countries, with over 300 crypto markets. For someone in Georgia it does one job well and leaves another to other services. It’s a straightforward way to buy crypto with a Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay or Google Pay; it is not a place to deal in lari. This review covers what that means in practice: which company you’d contract with, how a Georgian card is charged, what limits apply, how to get money out, and where it falls short.
Who CEX.IO is and which entity serves Georgia
CEX.IO operates through several companies, each covering a region. Its legal page lists four:
| Entity | Covers | Status |
|---|---|---|
| CEX.IO Corp. | USA | FinCEN MSB, NMLS 1804170, money-transmitter licences in about 39 states and DC (not New York) |
| CEX.IO Markets UK Ltd | UK | FCA-registered cryptoasset business, FRN 1007192 |
| CEX.IO Europe, S.L. | EEA | Applied to Spain’s CNMV for MiCA authorisation; under review |
| CEX OVRS LLC | Other jurisdictions | Nevis, reg. no. L 22275; no regulator or licence named |
A few points worth being precise about. The UK entry is an anti-money-laundering registration, not full FCA authorisation. The Spanish application means CEX.IO is not MiCA-authorised yet. Older articles sometimes mention a Lithuanian registration; CEX.IO’s current legal pages don’t, so treat that as history.
Georgia is neither the US, the UK nor the EEA, so Georgian residents are most likely served by CEX OVRS LLC in Nevis. CEX.IO doesn’t name Georgia on that page, so this is our inference, not a stated fact. CEX.IO is not on the NBG register of crypto service providers. It serves Georgian residents cross-border, like Binance or OKX, rather than as a Georgian VASPVASPVirtual Asset Service Provider — a crypto exchange, ATM operator or custodian. In Georgia every VASP must be registered with the National Bank (NBG)..
Is Georgia supported? Yes: Georgia isn’t on CEX.IO’s list of 30 unsupported countries and territories (which includes Russia, Belarus, India, Japan, Singapore, Canada and Iran). CEX.IO also holds a PCI DSS Level 1 certificate, the card industry’s highest security standard for handling card data.
Buying crypto with a Georgian card
CEX.IO accepts Visa and Mastercard, and Apple Pay and Google Pay with those cards. The minimum card purchase is 20 USD, EUR or GBP. Every payment method requires at least identity verification.
There is no lari. A card is charged in USD, EUR or GBP. If your TBC, Bank of Georgia or Liberty card sits on a GEL account, the bank converts lari to dollars or euros at its own card rate before CEX.IO sees the payment. That conversion is a cost the exchange doesn’t control and doesn’t show you. If you hold a dollar or euro account and the card is linked to it, there’s no conversion on the Georgian side.
How much the purchase itself costs is the part we couldn’t pin down. CEX.IO’s help page says the price of a card “pack” includes the service commission and points to its limits-and-commissions page, which doesn’t publish a percentage in a form we could read. We won’t quote a number we couldn’t verify. Before paying, look at the final amount of crypto you’ll receive on the confirmation screen and compare it with the market price in our converter above: the difference is your all-in cost. Our guide to buying crypto with a card in Georgia shows how to do that comparison across providers.
Buying with Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay or Google Pay?Card purchases start at 20 USD; a lari card is converted by your bank.
Buy with a cardLimits for new accounts
CEX.IO applies a ramp-up period. For the first three months after identity verification, new customers are limited to 1,000 USD a day and 3,000 USD a month. The instant-buy limit for an identity-verified account is 3,000 USD, and it rises once you complete address verification. CEX.IO adds that limits vary by payment provider and country, so the number in your own account settings is the one that counts.
For most first-time buyers in Georgia that’s enough. If you’re planning a larger purchase, for a deposit on an apartment for example, plan ahead or use an NBG-registered local exchange or OTC desk instead; our real estate and crypto guide explains why property money should go through a registered VASP anyway.
Getting money out: card, SWIFT and crypto
CEX.IO publishes its payout fees:
| Method | Fee | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | 0.49%–4.99% + service charge | 20–50,000 USD |
| Mastercard | 0.49%–4.99% + service charge | 20–2,500 USD |
| SWIFT | 0.3% + 25 USD, min 50 USD | from 300 USD |
| Skrill / Neteller | 3.99% + 3 | — |
SEPA and Faster Payments payouts are listed too, but they are euro and sterling rails for European and UK accounts. A wire from CEX.IO to a USD account at a Georgian bank goes via SWIFT. With a fixed 25 USD component and a 50 USD minimum in the published table, SWIFT only makes sense for larger amounts.
Whether Visa payouts reach Georgian-issued cards we could not confirm. In practice, many people in Georgia who buy on CEX.IO send the crypto (usually USDT) to a Georgian exchange or office and sell it for lari there. Our guide to cashing out crypto in Georgia compares those off-rampsOff-rampTurning crypto back into fiat — selling on an exchange and withdrawing to a bank, or cashing out at a desk., and if your bank asks questions about the incoming money, our page on banks and crypto explains what documents help.
How to open and verify a CEX.IO account
Verification is where most delays happen, usually because of a blurry document or a mismatched address. CEX.IO’s KYCKYCKnow Your Customer: identity checks (passport, selfie, sometimes proof of address) that licensed services must run before you trade. has these steps: identity, proof of address, card verification with a selfie, and a tax identification number where required.
Register with email or the app
Sign up at cex.io or download the CEX.IO app for iOS or Android. Choose Georgia as your country of residence and set up two-factor authentication straight away.
Verify your identity
Upload a passport or Georgian ID card and take a live selfie. Use the same name spelling as on your bank card; a transliteration mismatch (for example Kh vs H) is a common reason for a second request.
Confirm your address
Upload a recent document showing your name and Georgian address, such as a utility bill or a bank statement; check the list of accepted documents in the app first. Address verification also raises your instant-buy limit above 3,000 USD.
Verify your card
Add your Visa or Mastercard. CEX.IO’s card verification can include a selfie with the card, which proves the card is yours. Follow the on-screen instructions for what to show.
Make a small first purchase
Buy the minimum 20 USD, EUR or GBP first. Check what your bank actually debited in lari and how much crypto arrived, then decide whether to buy more.
Move larger amounts to your own wallet
CEX.IO is a custodialCustodialSomeone else (an exchange, a bank app) holds the keys for you. Easy to use, but you depend on that company. exchange. If you’re holding crypto long term, withdraw it to a wallet you control. Our wallet guide explains the options.
The app and other features
The CEX.IO app has 5M+ downloads and covers the basics: a wallet, buy and sell, convert between coins, staking and price alerts. CEX.IO Pay lets you send crypto to another CEX.IO user by User ID with no fee; its availability page excludes the UK, the EEA and some US states and doesn’t mention Georgia. For coin choice, CEX.IO’s 300+ markets cover the major coins; if you’re after something less common, check our coins page for where it’s listed in Georgia.
Where CEX.IO falls short for Georgian users
Being specific about limitations is more useful than a star rating:
- No lari, anywhere. No GEL wallet, no GEL card charging, no GEL withdrawals. Every payment involves a currency conversion if your money is in lari.
- No P2P. You can’t buy USDT from another person paying by TBC or Bank of Georgia transfer, which is how a large share of crypto in Georgia changes hands. For that, see P2P trading in Georgia.
- Not NBG-registered. The Georgian regulator doesn’t supervise it, and the entity likely serving you (Nevis) lists no licence.
- Card purchase and spot trading fees aren’t published in a readable form. You see the cost only at checkout.
- New-account caps. 3,000 USD a month for the first three months is tight for bigger plans.
How CEX.IO compares with options in Georgia
Against the other platforms people in Georgia use, CEX.IO sits in the “card on-ramp with published payout fees” corner. WhiteBIT is NBG-registered and moves lari through TBC Bank and Hashbank with no fixed fee, but charges 3.5% on USD or EUR card deposits. Cryptal takes Georgian cards in lari at 2%. Binance, Bybit and OKX give you lari through P2P. Kraken, like CEX.IO, skips lari entirely and charges 0.25 USD + 3.75% on debit card deposits.
The full side-by-side table, including NBG status and GEL P2P depth for eight exchanges, is in our comparison of crypto exchanges in Georgia. And when you sell, remember that individuals in Georgia generally pay 0% income tax on crypto gains, with caveats explained in our crypto tax guide.
