The Luno API enables other websites and applications to interact with Luno. An API key is the ticket you need to gain entry to a wealth of data or functionality provided by Luno.
How to set up your API key
Tip
Complete these steps on luno.com instead of using our mobile app. The app will redirect you to a web browser to set up your API key.
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Sign in to your Luno account and go to Profile, then Security
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From the Security menu, choose API keys
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Select CREATE API KEY
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Name your API key and choose which permissions and restrictions it should have, then select NEXT
Tip
If you’d just like another website or app to view your balances and transaction history, select Read-only access and leave both checkboxes unchecked.
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Copy and save your API key details in a safe place
Note
This is your only chance to copy the secret. You won’t be able to see your API key secret again after you’ve left this screen.
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Select CREATE API KEY
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Finally, you’ll get a push notification or email to authorise this action
That’s it! You’ve created your API key. You can return to API keys in the Security menu in future if you want to check your API key details or delete your API key.
Choosing the correct API key permissions
Since an API key opens a gateway into your Luno account, you should be careful about how much access you grant.
|
Access Type |
Risk |
Permissions granted |
|
Read-only access |
✅ Lower |
Only view account information, like wallet balances, transaction history, orders, and receive addresses. |
|
Trading access |
⚠️ Very high |
In addition to the above permissions, this also allows the other website or application to trade cryptocurrency, receive payments, send cryptocurrency out of your wallets or withdraw money to a bank account. In other words, providing this type of API key to a third party enables them to do anything they want with your funds. |
|
Custom |
☑️ Depends |
You choose the specific information or functions you’d like the other website/application to have access to. s. |
Other optional limitations
Besides setting access permissions, you can also restrict IP addresses or set an expiry date for your API key.
Restrict IP address
If you check this box, then any requests using your API key must come from the IP address or range you specify. For example, if you’ve created a custom application that you run from a specific computer or server, you could use this option as an added security precaution to ensure that only your device can use your API key.
Set expiry date
If you check this box, your API key will only work until the date you specify. You’d choose this option if you want to permit another website or application to access your Luno account for a limited time only.