Wirex 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Wirex is a crypto and money app with a payment card. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional there: when it's on, Wirex asks for an authenticator code on top of your email and password. Wirex also has a trusted-device system that controls which phones can send money or change security settings, and turning on 2FA is one of the actions it guards. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Wirex steps come from Wirex's own help center at help.wirexapp.com, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Wirex account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Before you start: use a trusted phone

Wirex lists changing security settings, 2FA included, among the things only your Primary Device or a Trusted Device can do (Wirex). Only phones and tablets can be trusted. Wirex says laptops and the web app can't be (Wirex).

So turn on 2FA in the Wirex mobile app, on the phone you signed up with or one you've verified. An untrusted phone gets approved from your Primary Device or with a selfie check.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Wirex's newest page on this gives the path Preferences > Security > Two-factor authentication in the app (Wirex):

1. Open the Wirex app and go to Preferences.
2. Tap Security, then Two-factor authentication.
3. If Wirex asks you to pick a method, choose an authenticator app. Wirex's pages name Google Authenticator and Authy (Wirex).
4. Follow the prompts on screen.

Wirex's help stops there. It doesn't describe the setup screen or say whether you'll get a QR code, a text key, or both, and it doesn't say whether apps other than those two work. Novaz makes the same kind of time-based codes. To add Wirex to it:

• If you see a QR code on another screen, open Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it.
• If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, then in Novaz tap + and Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
• If you get a text key, tap +, then Enter key manually, type "Wirex" as the Service, your email as the Account if you like, and paste the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?

Then type the 6-digit code from Novaz into Wirex, if it asks for one, to finish.

An older Wirex article from 2023 calls the menu the Security section and the setting Two-Factor Authentication, and says it's in the app or on the website (Wirex). Labels may differ in your version of the app.

No backup codes mentioned

Wirex's help pages say nothing about backup or recovery codes. The only way back in they describe is an identity check by Customer Support (below). Without a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file to restore, losing that phone means going through Support. If Wirex does show backup codes during setup, keep them off your phone. See 2FA backup codes.

When Wirex asks for a code

With 2FA on, you enter the code after your email and password when you log in on the website or the app (Wirex). Setting up Wirex on a phone may also ask for biometrics or a 2FA code (Wirex). Sending money from an untrusted device is a separate check, by Primary Device approval or selfie.

If Wirex rejects your code

Wirex's help has no advice for rejected codes. Most of the time, the iPhone's clock is off. Open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

If you lose your authenticator

Wirex's route is a 2FA reset through Customer Support (Wirex):

1. Send a support ticket from the Wirex app or website, with your full name and the email address on your account. The help center's request form is one way in.
2. Support checks your identity first. Wirex says this may mean a copy of a government-issued ID, a selfie holding your ID and a note that reads "Wirex" and the current date, or answers to security questions.
3. Once you're verified, Support turns 2FA off so you can log in without a code.
4. Set up 2FA again with the steps above. A reset wipes the old 2FA settings, so the old entry in Novaz stops working. Open it and tap Remove account, then add the new one.

Wirex doesn't say how long a reset takes (Wirex).

If the lost phone was also your Primary Device, Wirex says Support can unlink it, or you can trust your new phone with a selfie check (Wirex). More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Changing phones

Wirex documents how to make a new phone your Primary Device: sign in on it, verify it, then go to Preferences > Devices, tap the new phone, choose Set as Primary, and confirm from the old phone or with a selfie (Wirex). It doesn't say how to move your authenticator. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone. Without one, keep the old phone until you've set up 2FA again on the new one, or plan on a Support reset. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

Turning 2FA off

Wirex's help doesn't describe turning 2FA off yourself. The only documented way is a reset through Customer Support.

Official Wirex help

• Step-by-Step guide: How to protect your Wirex account
• How to reset Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
• How to recover access to your Wirex account
• What are the Primary Device, a Trusted Device, and an Anti-Phishing Code?
• How to Set up a Primary and Verify Your Trusted Device
• How to Manage Your Devices in Wirex
• How to export your transaction history