Payment Methods

Payment Methods

When it comes to playing at online casinos, the biggest issue that usually arises is the payment method to use. This can be particularly complicated if you are making the transition from a brick and mortar casino to the online platform. There are usually an array of payment methods available, and this can be the problem! For both new and old players, it can be slightly confusing to know which payment method to use when transferring your money.

For most players, handing over personal banking details to an unknown site is a big part of the issue, and indeed a risk, of playing at an online site (we’ve covered safety and security right here, so pop over there if you want to know more on choosing the right new online casino). Additionally, you can get caught up in trying to figure out if there are hidden fees, how easy the payment method is, and how fast it takes to get transferred across between accounts.

Payment methods for your needs

With all these fears running around your head, it’s no wonder that making a final decision is a hard one. Because of that, we have taken the hard part on ourselves and have researched all the different payment methods that are available out there. Thanks to the continued development of online casinos, there are now a plethora of withdrawal and deposit methods that all offer quick, safe and secure transaction options, ensuring that your funds end up exactly where they’re supposed to be. This means that there will be a payment method to suit your needs; you just need to find it! And that’s where we come in.

This handy article will outline all the different options for you, giving you the pros and cons of each payment method so that you can go out into the scary online casino world and make a perfect choice. Keep reading to discover our comprehensive breakdown on all the payment options that are available to you.

A Quick Look at Payment Methods

Before we go into detail on each of the methods, we’ll just give you a brief overview of the options out there. One of the first options you’ll see, and one that all of us are most used to when it comes to online transactions, are the debit and credit card options. With the debit card connected to your current account, transactions are instant. Credit cards, on the other hand, are offered on a loan basis, so if you don’t pay back the bill on time, you can incur a fee.

Prepaid and instant payment options are next and work similarly to a debit card, but they need to be topped up with cash before you can actually use them. Some can be physical cards, and others are virtual. Similarly, instant payment options are just a barrier between the casino and the bank, giving you additional security. In addition, eWallets are fast becoming one of the most popular payment options thanks to their ease of use. They combine elements of both the instant and prepaid methods with the provider simply debiting your account, paying for you to the casino. Make sure you transfer funds to the eWallet in order to keep it running though. These are also highly secure, often with their own security policies in place.

Bank transfers are less common and can be time-consuming, but will allow larger sums of money to be moved about. Finally, there are newer methods such as paying through the phone, which requires a mobile phone and a monthly bill payment in order to work. Cryptocurrencies are also becoming a popular method as they offer complete anonymity for the player, though the vast majority of online casinos are not there yet with accepting this payment method.

Credit and Debit Cards – Visa, MasterCard and Amex

Visa was the first credit card to be able to make online purchases and as such is still a favoured option by many. To date, it is still the largest payment method in the world. A big benefit of this payment option is that it is accepted at almost any online casino in the world and will pretty much, never get declined – in both debit and credit card form. The only additional choice you will have to make here is whether to use it as a debit card or as a credit card. As we touched upon, debit card options will take the money straight from your account, paying instantly.

Credit cards, on the other hand, will not be charged until the end of the month. It’s therefore on you to make sure the bill is paid on time or risk having to pay a fee. In relation to this, Mastercard is Visa’s biggest competitor and is also widely accepted at most casinos. Highly reliable, it is definitely a great choice if a credit or debit card options is the one you prefer. Similar to Visa, there are a number of online casinos that will specifically accept this payment option.

The last major option in the credit and debit card category is American Express. Not quite as well used as the other two, Amex nevertheless offers a reliable payment option. However, particularly for you UK players, Amex is not as often accepted at UK casinos though there are a few. You can search around for casinos that will give this option, but you’re better off using the other two credit card options if that is the payment method that you would prefer to be using

EWallets – PayPal and Neteller

PayPal

There are a growing number of eWallet payment options now, but PayPal still has the distinction of being number one. Known around the globe, PayPal has been at the top of its game for years, offering players safe, reliable, secure and fast payment options with minimal fees. The high trust level that this option has garnered is a big incentive to use it. Better still, it’s found as an option at a large range of PayPal casinos, though surprisingly, not as many as you might expect.

You will also need to be wary of any fees that may be incurred when funds are being withdrawn, particularly if the casino is situated outside of the UK. The key here is to make sure that you are paying into the casino in the currency of your choice and there are no currency conversions to be made during the transfer.

Neteller

Neteller is another massively popular eWallet option and one that, in the online casino world, is actually more popular. In fact, this is the option that has been linked with gambling more than any other payment option, handling as much as 80% of all gambling fees as recently as 2005. Nowadays, it has partnered up with the prepaid Mastercard option and does not pull in quite as much as it used to. Nevertheless, it remains one of the top choices in online gambling and is widely available across multiple casinos.

As a UK player, this is a great option as it is now based in the British Isles and offers a highly secure and reliable payment platform.  Just remember to take in consideration that not all online casinos accept eWallet deposits when claiming casino bonuses or free spin offers. For anyone playing out of the US, they’re out of luck as the company chose to stay out of this area of the online casino gaming industry.

Ewallets – Skrill and EcoPayz

Skrill

One of the other significant eWallets to look out for is Skrill. This is Neteller’s biggest rival. Similar to its competitor, the company is based in the United Kingdom and offers a highly secure payment service to all players that use its services. Since its creation in 2001, the service has gone from strength to strength, also being bought out by various European competitors along the way.

If you’re trying to find the best eWallet option, Skrill is actually one of the most popular ones out there as it is highly convenient with a desktop and mobile app version making payments of any kind simply a click of a button. Additionally, for those of you planning on using a number of casinos, Skrill is offered at more casinos than both PayPal and Neteller, particularly if you’re based in the UK, so you won’t have trouble finding a casino that has it as an option.

EcoPayz

The last eWallet to discuss here is EcoPayz. Out of the four eWallets discussed, this is possibly the one found the least at online casinos. It works in almost the same way as the other three eWallets do, making it very easy for players to withdraw and deposit money into their casino accounts or bank accounts depending on the transaction. Additionally, EcoPayz can be used to withdraw money straight to a prepaid debit card option. This card, called the ecoCard, can be easily used to transfer money or items from a variety of different services, casinos being one of them. The transaction method is also available in a number of different languages and can use multiple currencies making it easy for everyone. Similar to the other eWallets, there are no direct transaction fees from the casino’s end when using this option for making payments.

Prepaid Options

Many casinos will offer prepaid options to their players, which operate in a similar way to debit cards. However, unlike the debit card, these must be topped up before playing and spending at a casino. The plus side of this means that it’s easier to control what you’re spending your money on. Transfers tend to be instant with this method and do not incur any fees, though this will depend on the provider you use.

Popular prepaid card options include paysafecard and Entropay, both of which can be found at online casinos. Paysafecard is found at marginally more places though both can be found quite regularly. The aforementioned provider fees will only be in place when looking at top-ups to the card. The casino you play at will not charge for any deposits or transactions made with this card, so it’s just worth checking out the individual providers to know the details.

Bank Transfer Payment Methods

Some players may not be so keen to transfer funds online, and if this is the case, then there are a number of offline payment options that can be used. The first of these is through bank wire. This option allows players to move funds from one company to another by using your local bank through a cash office. Many casinos will allow these transfer options and will actually give a higher transfer value rate.

eCheques are another option that can be used. These eCheques work in the same way as physical cheques and as such have the exact same use. The only real difference between the two is that one is electronic and the other is paper. A number of casinos will allow this option, but the choice is more limited than when using other payment options. It is therefore essential that players check whether this option is available.

The last option for the offline methods is via Western Union. Known for its ability to transfer funds quickly and efficiently, Western Union provides players with an excellent option to simply transfer your bankroll over the phone. Alternatively, players can go into a Western Union centre and fill out the required forms to send the money. Be warned; if you’re transferring across currencies, there is often a small fee put in place so the amount you send, might not be the amount that arrives.

Phone Payment Methods

Mobile payment options are becoming more popular, especially as most people do everything on a mobile device. Zimpler from Sweden is one of the biggest of these and allows you to move your bankroll to your mobile phone bill. It’s easy and simply to use and simply requires players to pay their mobile bill at the end of each month, with the bankroll added in. For the moment, they are only active in Sweden and Finland but it looks like they will soon add more countries to their list.

UK players are better off using Boku as more casinos tend to offer this option. Growing in popularity, this option lets players deposit funds in seconds online. Withdrawals cannot be made with this option; however, so you’ll have to use a different method to get hold of any winnings. Deposits are also generally limited to £30 at a time, which can mean this option is a little limiting, though highly secure and safe to use.

Cryptocurrency Payment Methods

For those who want total anonymity, cryptocurrency is the way forward. At the moment this is something that is still only just emerging in the UK market, though more and more casinos are taking it up. Out of the cryptocurrency options, Bitcoin is, without doubt, the one to choose. Around since 2011, it has become more mainstream in its use, though its value does still fluctuate wildly depending on the current marketplace at the time.

Bitcoin can now be used at a range of goods and company sites and is usually on offer for both withdrawals and deposits. Currently more popular on sites that offer eSports betting, regular online casinos are still limited if this is the option you are choosing. Highly secure, totally anonymous and very fast, Bitcoin looks to be one of the online currency choices of the future, let’s hope more online casinos start to embrace it.

Instant Payment Methods

Instant payment methods such as ClickandBuy and iDebit are not as popular online as many of the others. These options do make a barrier between your account and the online casino, serving as a middle man for the transaction. Once an account is created, you’ll simply need to use your login and password to make any payments. Transactions are generally free, though sometimes there is a small transaction fee in place although no casino will charge a deposit fee with either of these options.

Questions on Payment Methods

There are a number of common questions that usually surface with regards to payment options. One of them is how quickly do withdrawals occur. To an extent, this will depend on the individual casino as they will have their own processing time in place. After that, different methods will be faster with eWallets often being the fastest. Debit and credit card options along with bank transfers and other offline payment methods will be the longest and, in some cases, can take up to two weeks.

The issue of withdrawal limits is also something that pops up. Firstly, an overall limit will be given by each individual casino. This can also be affected by the withdrawal option that has been chosen. As we mentioned, bank transfers tend to have the highest withdrawal limit, whilst other options will generally be around the same value. It’s worth checking out the specific list given by the casino you wish to play at though to make sure.

Which Payment Methods Are Recommended?

At the end of the day, the payment method that you choose is entirely up to you and should be one that supports your needs. The first port of call in this decision though is actually finding a few casinos that you like and then checking out the different payment options that they offer. You can usually find a clear list of these options at the bottom of the main page of the site.

It’s also a good idea to double-check any fees that may be put in place by the casinos. Where we know there are fees we have said so in this article, but casinos will differ in their approach, so it is worth double-checking when you choose a site. If you don’t mind having a few fees in place, then you have all the choices in the world! Otherwise, check all the options carefully.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. These are the top payment options that are out there for you UK players to use. We’ve listed just those that offer secure transactions. There are a few more options such as Trustly that are popular elsewhere but have not made it into the UK market at this time. Check out this list, compare it to your chosen casino and get those transactions underway so that you can begin playing and having fun!