After you choose an online casino, the next logical step is to select a payment method. You want a payment provider with low fees, quick transactions, great limits and top-notch safety. There are multiple banking options with these features.
But which is the best option for online casino transactions? It depends on exactly what you want. Below are the most popular online casino payment methods and why they might or might not be suitable for you.
Credit/Debit Cards
As far as casinos are concerned, there are three main card issuers: Visa, MasterCard and Maestro. You can use these cards as both credit or debit cards. But what are the differences?
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Visa
Visa is arguably the most popular card in the world. It works through the Visa network. However, you acquire your card at your local bank or credit card firm. Due to that, your bank, and not Visa, determines the fees you pay while processing online transactions.
The biggest benefit of Visa is its wide acceptance. As mentioned, this card is supported at all leading online casinos. It’s also safe, quick in processing payments and qualifies for bonuses.
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MasterCard
MasterCard is Visa’s biggest competitor. It works in almost the same way as Visa except for the fact that MasterCard transactions run through the MasterCard network. That means you acquire this card from banks and credit card companies.
Like Visa, MasterCard is equally secure, quick and low-cost. It also qualifies for bonuses and can be found at most casinos. As such, there’s pretty much no difference whether you use Visa or MasterCard.
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Maestro
Maestro is mainly popular in Europe. It works through the MasterCard network, providing safe, fast and low-cost transactions. It’s not as popular as Visa and MasterCard, so you won’t find it at every online casino.
In fact, Maestro is only popular in these countries: Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, China, Belgium, India and Venezuela. If you don’t live in any of these countries, you’ll find Visa and MasterCard just fine.
E-Checks and Bank Transfer
An electronic check works through banks and online accounts. You authorize your bank deduct money from your checking account deposit it to a recipient’s checking account. The entire process works online, which makes it fast and efficient.
In the online casino industry, sites that accept echecks are growing rapidly. That’s because electronic checks are incredibly cheap—costs $0.30 to $1.50 per transaction. They are also fast and can help you earn casino bonuses.
Although both e-Checks and wire transfer involve transacting through banks, they’re not similar. E-checks are much faster and cheaper. However, bank payments are more convenient when you want to cashout large amounts of money from casinos.
Digital Wallets
Digital wallets became popular at the start of this century. They launched with the goal of providing quicker transactions compared to cards and banks. They also came with much lower fees and improved privacy.
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PayPal
PayPal is one of the pioneers of digital wallets. It launched in 2000 and since then, has been an industry leader. Armed with 370 million customers and 30 million merchants, it’s not a surprise that 65% of online shoppers have the PayPal app on their phones.
Casino fans love PayPal for a lot of reasons. First, it’s accepted at a wide range of gambling websites. Second, casino deposits made through PayPal are almost always free. It doesn’t matter whether you deposit $10 or $10,000.
PayPal is also secure, right from the way it encrypts your data to the tools it offers for securing your account. Additionally, the e-wallet’s chargeback service assures you of a refund if scammed by one of its merchants.
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Skrill
Before many e-wallets warmed up to the idea of transacting with online casinos, Skrill was the go-to e-wallet for gambling payments. The Paysafe-owned company is still a major provider in the casino space.
Like PayPal, Skrill is quick, safe and cheap. Precisely, deposits are often free but withdrawals might cost an average of 3%. On the downside, some casinos don’t give you a bonus if you use Skrill for payments.
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Neteller
Neteller is Skrill’s sister company. Both companies are owned by Austria-based Paysafe Limited. Neteller started in Canada in 1999 before moving to Isle of Man in 2004. Like Skrill, Neteller has been serving the online gambling industry since its launch.
Payments made through the e-wallet are quick and relatively cheap—free casino deposits and a 2.99% fee during withdrawals. Similar to Skrill, Neteller works with MasterCard, which is convenient when you want to add money to your account. Sadly, it also often does not qualify for bonuses.
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EcoPayz
EcoPayz is a fast-growing digital wallet popular among European countries. It came out as an e-wallet for sending money to friends and family cheaply. But it now also partners with tens of thousands of merchants, including online casinos.
The beauty of EcoPayz lies in its fees. It’s free to send and receive money from EcoPayz online casinos. But if charges are required, EcoPayz charges 1.5%, much lower than PayPal, Visa and MasterCard’s average of 3%.
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Google Pay
Google Pay is a relatively new entrant in the digital wallet space. It launched in 2015 as the successor of Google Wallet. Google Pay works like any other e-wallet. You create a free account, fund it with money and use the money to transact with friends or merchants like casinos.
The main benefit of Google Pay is Google’s reputation when it comes to security, availability and reliability. It’s also mobile-friendly, increasingly popular with online casinos and can earn you bonuses.
Cryptocurrencies
There’s no doubt Bitcoin is a mainstream payment method nowadays. You can use the digital currency to buy coffee, pay for school fees or deposit money to an online casino. Crypto payments are generally safe and private.
They’re much cheaper than credit cards and equally fast if not faster than e-wallet. The only downside to e-wallets is that they can’t be reversed. If you make a mistake during payments, you stand to lose all your money.
