Buy bitcoin with LumiCash
- Type
- Mobile money
- Works in
- 1 country
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-18
LumiCash shows up in Burundi as part of how people buy bitcoin locally, even though none of the exchanges we track lists it as a direct funding rail. The country guides below explain what that looks like in practice.
What is LumiCash?
LumiCash is the mobile money wallet run by Lumitel, the Burundian mobile operator owned by Vietnam's Viettel Group. Lumitel launched its network in 2015 and the wallet in September 2016, and it works from any handset on the USSD code *163# as well as through Lumitel's app, which matters in a market where most people are on 2G. Burundians use it to deposit and withdraw cash at agents, send money to other users, pay merchants, top up airtime and data, and settle tax and utility bills. Lumitel reported it as the leading e-wallet in Burundi with 47 percent of the market at the end of 2018, in a country where mobile money account ownership reached about 44 percent of adults by 2024.
- Speed
- A transfer between two LumiCash wallets credits the recipient immediately; a cash in or cash out takes as long as the trip to an agent.
- Cost
- Lumitel charges a banded fee on transfers and agent withdrawals that steps up with the amount sent, and it has revised the tariff more than once, so check the current schedule on *163# before you send.
Speed and cost describe the rail itself. What an exchange adds on top varies by platform and is shown per exchange below.
Using LumiCash in Burundi
LumiCash appears in one country guide on this site, Burundi, where deposits settle in Burundian franc (BIF). Buyers there fund exchange accounts with Bank transfer (BIF), EcoCash, P2P trades, Cash trades as well, and the country guide ranks the exchanges that take each one.
How to buy bitcoin in BurundiFrequently asked questions
Which exchanges accept LumiCash?
None of the exchanges we track advertises LumiCash as a direct funding rail. Where it appears in our country guides, it is part of how people buy locally, often through P2P marketplaces, so treat it as a local option rather than an exchange feature.
Where can I buy bitcoin with LumiCash?
LumiCash appears in our Burundi guide: Burundi. Each guide lists the exchanges that take it there and how it is named locally.