Short answer: Apple Pay is the fastest and the most expensive. A crypto transfer is the cheapest and the slowest. The decision that matters more than either is how much — deposit under $200 and FOMO's $0.95 minimum fee will take a disproportionate bite out of every trade you make with it.
The three routes, and what each really costs
| Route | Speed | What it costs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Pay | Seconds | Provider spread on the quote | First deposit, small amounts |
| Debit or credit card | Seconds to minutes | Provider spread, sometimes a cash-advance fee | When Apple Pay is unavailable |
| Crypto transfer | Seconds to minutes | Network fee only | Larger amounts, anyone who already holds crypto |
The Apple Pay and card routes hide their cost in the quoted rate rather than showing it as a line item. Before you confirm, compare the amount of crypto you are being quoted against the market price on a source like CoinGecko. The gap is the fee. On small first deposits it is usually worth paying for the convenience; on four figures it is not.
Depositing with Apple Pay, step by step
Open the funding screen
Tap the balance or the deposit button on the home tab.
Choose Apple Pay and an amount
Enter the amount in your local currency. The app shows the crypto you will receive.
Check the quote before confirming
Compare the quoted amount against the live market price. This is the only moment the spread is visible.
Confirm with Face ID
Funds land in your embedded wallet, usually within seconds. You can trade immediately.
Depositing crypto instead
Your FOMO account is a non-custodial wallet powered by Privy, so it has a normal blockchain address you can send to. Open the deposit screen, pick the chain, and copy the address.
One rule, and it is unforgiving: match the chain. A Solana address is not a Base address. Sending USDC on the wrong network to the right-looking address is the most common way people lose funds in crypto, and no support desk can reverse it. Send a small test amount first the first time you use a new chain — the network fee on Solana is a fraction of a cent, so the test costs nothing.
How much to deposit
This is the part other guides skip. FOMO charges 0.50% per trade with a $0.95 minimum on Solana. That minimum applies on the way in and again on the way out, so a $50 position that you open and close pays $1.90 in fees — 3.8% round trip before any price movement.
Deposit enough to trade in blocks of $200 or more and the percentage takes over from the minimum. Below that, the fee structure is working against you on every single trade.
The full arithmetic at each trade size is on the fee page. If you are funding with less than $200 total, consider whether a percentage-only competitor suits your trade size better — we would rather tell you that than take the signup.
If the deposit does not arrive
- Card declined: many banks block crypto purchases by default. Ring them, or use Apple Pay, which is declined less often.
- Crypto sent, nothing showing: check the transaction on a block explorer such as Solscan. If it confirmed to your address, it is a display delay. If it confirmed to a different address, it is gone.
- Wrong chain: unrecoverable in almost every case. This is why the test transfer matters.
Before you deposit anything
Enter a referral code during signup. It is the only moment FOMO accepts one, and it is worth 10% off every trading fee for the life of the account — it cannot be added afterwards. Deposit second.
Next: making your first trade, getting money back out, or the full review if you have not decided yet.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from one of these. We link them so you can check us rather than trust us.