Depositing and withdrawing are among the most significant features for online gamblers. Owing to the wide variety of banking options used at online casinos today, we have made out a list, covering the most popular payment methods to let you manage your electronic finances at casino easily.
Credit Card and Debit Card
The most popular and widely accepted payment method is credit and debit card, as payments with them are processed instantly. All online casinos accept MasterCard and Visa that are by far the most common credit cards. However, Visa Electron, Visa Debit, Maestro, and Switch are also commonly accepted.
- MasterCard (formerly known as Interbank/Master Charge) is a type of a credit and debit card, which can be used both to deposit and withdraw money from a casino website. Traditionally, there is a fee charged, as MasterCard is a credit card. Be sure to clarify this information before proceeding a transaction.
- Maestro is a multi-national debit card by MasterCard, which can be established as a prepaid card or can be linked to the card holder’s current account. Usually, using Maestro card incurs no fee; however, be sure to check this info. Maestro is eligible both for deposits and withdrawals on most online casinos.
- Visa is a financial service, which provides different payment forms, including payments with a Visa Electron and Visa Debit. The majority of casino websites accept Visa for depositing and withdrawing funds. Depending on a place you use a Visa card, there may or may not be any charge. Usually, there is no fee to use a Visa Debit; however, this depends on the online casinos. Visa Electron is similar to a Visa Debit and applies the same rules. However, being used throughout the world, it is not currently accepted in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the USA.
Besides the above credit and debit cards, they’re also some country specific cards:
- Carte Bleue is a debit card, which is available in France and allows making transactions without any authorization from a cardholder’s bank. In many ways, Carte Bleue works similarly to a credit card, but with no fees for a cardholder. Reflecting it’s a national system, a pure Carte Bleue card doesn’t work outside France. Though, it’s possible to make transactions outside France with a Carte Bleue Visa card, you can obtain from their bank easily.
- EFTPOS is a card available in New Zealand and Australia and is mainly used for online gambling and sports betting purposes. Ladbrokes (famous online sports book) has issued a special Ladbrokes EFTPOS Card, allowing instant winnings withdrawals into an EFTPOS card. The maximum withdrawal amount from an ATM is $1,000 a day; $2,500 is the daily maximum transferred amount with the card. No additional costs to the merchant are incurred; however, this depends on your provider.
- Electronic Cash, known as EC-Karte, is a debit card system available in Germany; it’s a type of a card often paired with a checking account. The charged fee for one e-Transaction depends on the amount transferring and is usually 0,3% of it; the min charge possible is 4 cents. Additional fees may incur (e.g., for technical deployment); these depend on a gambling provider you use.
- Interac is a Canadian card, used for making deposits with convenient e-Transfers. No matter what your transfer amount is, a flat fee of $4.00 is deducted from it. Transaction time is usually 4-6 business days and can be up to 10 days, once your financial info can’t be verified. For Interac online banking account holders, there’s no fee (for deposits & withdrawals). The max deposit is $1,000 per 24 hours (if not using online banking); if using online banking, the limit may be higher.
- Laser is a debit card, which was recently used both for deposits and withdrawals in Ireland, but it disabled not much time ago. The basic fees for transactions from casino websites were dependent on a casino used. Charged fees were up to 15 cents on a €500 purchase; the general withdrawal time was 2-5 business days. Since 28th February 2014, Laser cards were no longer accepted by retailers in Ireland and were replaced by the international debit card brands, Visa, and MasterCard.
- RuPay is a bank card used in India. It is so popular among the citizens that it’s competing with MasterCard and Visa in the country. RuPay incurs up to 0.01% transaction fee, which is deducted from the transferring amount.
- Solo is a widespread debit card in the UK, used for making deposits and withdrawals in an easy and secure way. The card allows making cash-back transactions and provides more financial control compared to its sister card (Switch). Sometimes, it can be used, showing a Maestro/Switch logo in online casinos; so contact your casino to make sure if it’s possible. Traditionally, using Solo card doesn’t incur any charge for all standard transactions (deposit & withdrawal); though it can be dependent on a gambling site you are using. Be sure to clarify this info beforehand. According to the terms of the bank, an opening deposit is limited to a minimum of $50, and a bank monthly for the card maintenance $5,95.
- UnionPay is a card used in China. It provides both virtual prepaid cards and plastic UnionPay credit or debit cards that can be used in online casinos. However, the virtual counterpart of the card is more popular for online gambling and is used by players worldwide (not only Chinese). UnionPay supports numerous currencies, such as CNY (Yuan Renminbi), GBR (Pound Sterling), EUR (Euro), HKD (Hong Kong Dollar), SGD (Singapore Dollar), USD (US Dollar), and many. There’s a 1-2% currency conversation fee for withdrawing/ purchasing abroad through their network. For online gambling purposes, the card can be used in one of 142 countries, where UnionPay outlets are available (USA, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Greece, Peru, Syria, Singapore, etc.).
Prepaid Cards
Prepaid cards are widely used in online gambling due to the number of advantages they provide. These include the absence of monthly/ annual fees, special rewards for spending money, exclusive discounts and cash-back bonuses, earning extra money for referring friends, etc. Among the most popular prepaid cards, there are:
- Entropay provides users with virtual prepaid cards of Visa and MasterCard, which can be used for funding Entropay accounts. Transfers here are instant. Fees charged include a 1.95% fee – for withdrawals, a £3 charge – for deposits, and a 4.95% fee – for card top-ups. Entropay is available in most countries worldwide (England, Italy, Spain, France, Holland, and many). However, it doesn’t work in the USA. Players in Turkey, Afganistan, Iran, and Cuba might also face some problems, using Entropay, are these countries prohibit online banking. Supported currencies include Euro, US Dollar, and British Pound Sterling.
- PaySafeCard is predominantly used in the European countries (UK, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, etc.). Topping up a PaySafeCard can be made at any of street retailers with denominations of £10, £25, £50 or £100. The card can currently be used for depositing funds exclusively with no fees charged for its using. There’s only a £6 refund fee, a £2 free for 12 months of your account inaction, and a 2% conversion fee. The card is valid for online gambling in countries with PaySafeCard outlets, such as Poland, Belgium, Sweden, Greece, Luxemburg, Argentina, Portugal, and many others. It cannot be used in the USA for gambling purposes yet. PaySafeCard PINs can be purchased over the Internet; the card supports different currencies, including British Pound Sterling, Euro, Australian Dollar, Argentine Peso, Canadian Dollar, Swedish Krone, etc.
- Ukash is a widespread deposit/ withdrawal method for those who are uncomfortable providing personal information to online institutions. You can top up the card in advance and use your Ukash details to deposit funds into a casino account later. Ukash allows exchanging cash at any of their stores, using a 19-digit code, which is redeemable online; a currency exchange charge is 2,75%. The transfer proceeds instantly, and there’s a charge for card-to-card transfers of £0.30. The deposit is limited to a maximum of £500. The card is available for online gambling purposes in over 50 countries. Ukash vouchers can be issued in more than 20 currencies (Euro, US Dollar, British Pound Sterling, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Chinese Yuan, New Zealand Dollar, and more).
E-wallets
E-wallets are quite a handy payment option, which provides easy, safe and quick transactions with no financial information share.
- PayPal is the most popular e-wallet service today (especially in the UK), supported by most online casinos both for deposits and withdrawals. It’s safe and quite fast with money transfers complete in 3-4 business days (from your bank to a PayPal account). There’s a transaction fee of around 3.4% of the transferring amount plus 20p per one transaction. It can be used for online gambling purposes in almost any online casino in over 200 European, Asian, South (North) American, and African countries, including France, Ireland, Argentina, Mexico, Kenya, Uganda Armenia, etc.). Supported currencies include US Dollar, Euro, Canadian Dollar, British Pound Sterling, Singapore Dollar, Hungarian Forint, Mexican Peso, etc.
- Neteller provides safe and fast payment processing. It’s available in more than 180 countries worldwide (the UK, Italy, Australia, Norway, Brazil, Sweden, and more). Transfer time depens on a postal service and can take up to 8 days. The min and max transfer amounts vary, depending on the top-up method; a top-up charge is 2.5%. Neteller supports multiple currencies, including US Dollar, Euro, British Pound Sterling, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, Norwegian Krone, etc.
- Click2Pay also offers easy, fast and secure payments. It can be used both to deposit and withdraw money from online casino accounts. Transfer time varies, depending on the top-up method; a fee charged for a transaction is 3% of the transferring amount. Among the supported currencies, there are Euro, British Pound Sterling, Japanese Yen, Swedish Krona, and other currencies. Click2Pay is available in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, China.
- ClickandBuy allows users to make deposits to online casinos with a credit/ debit card, or even a mobile phone; transfers are instant and incur a 1.85% commission of the transferring amount; transaction fee is €0.29. With some online casinos, withdrawals, using ClickandBuy, is unavailable; however, these are rare. ClickandBuy is available in the UK, USA, Ireland, France, Italy, Argentina, Greece, Denmark, and many other countries. Deposits and withdrawals can be made in more than 120 currencies, including US Dollar, Euro, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Danish Krone, etc.
- EcoCard (also known as EcoPayz) is a widespread casino deposit/ withdrawal method across Europe and Canada. It allows deposits in multiple currencies, such as Euro, British Pound Sterling, and US Dollar. Transfers are instant; a transaction charge for any type of Eco Card (Silver, Gold, Platinum, and VIP) is 2% and is limited to a minimum of €0.40. A currency conversion fee is 2,99%. Players from almost all European countries, such as Greece, Poland, and Sweden, for example, can use Eco Card for online gambling.
- My Citadel provides quick and easy deposits without sharing your financial information. It is a reliable payment method, which is accepted by many online casinos. There’s a fee of 1.9% for depositing funds into a My Citadel account with a credit card; a 6.9% fee is charged for deposits via ACH/Electronic check (proceeding time is up to 5 business days). Among the supported currencies, there’re USD, GBP, Euro, CAD, CNY, SEK (more currencies are going to be added in the future).
- Skrill (former MoneyBookers) – This payment method is accepted in over 200 countries (the UK, USA, Japan, Australia and more) and offers fast and secure online transactions in 40 currencies, including Euro, British Pound Sterling, US Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen, etc. Transfers are instant, and depositing money incurs a 1% of the amount deposited and is capped at €10 (£7.88). The annual card fee of €10 ((£7.88) up and above charged for an account maintenance.
- UnionPay is a safe and easy-to-use prepaid virtual deposit method, valid for making deposits at online casinos. It was first available in China, but now it is widely used in the USA and across the whole world. It is easy to get a UnionPay prepaid card via the cashier of any casino website, offering this payment method. Being a solely virtual prepaid card, it can be used once being requested.
Bank transfers
Bank transfers are a convenient payment option, once it comes to transferring big amounts, as these incur a law commission. The main types of bank transfers are:
Direct Bank Transfers
- International Bank Wire Transfer is valid for making both deposits and withdrawals at most online casinos. This method is perfect for big-size transfers that involve quite a small fee. For instance, in accordance with Bank of America charges, a fee for international transfer is $35-$45 – for export and $16 – for import. The transfer time can take up to 5 days.
- Local/Fast Bank Transfer deposits are quicker to proceed, compared to international bank wire transfers, and usually take 3 or fewer days to complete. It also incurs smaller fees. For instance, Bank of America charged a $25 fee for sending a wire and $12 for receiving the one within the USA.
Online Bank Transfers
Owing to its simplicity and a high-speed proceeding, online bank wire transfer is a widespread payment method, which can be of different types:
- eCheck is a simple and safe method for making deposits, which is particularly used by Canadians. Transaction time traditionally takes 3-5 business days, and the average fee ranges from $0,30-$1,50 per transaction.
- InstaDebit is another safe and fast deposit method that mainly Canadian players use at online casinos though it’s available in 25 countries, including Austria, Australia, Sweden, Italy, Japan, etc.). It charges a $1,50 (€1,00) fee for online banking payments, and there’s a $/€2,00 commission for transferring money from iDebit balance to a bank account. The average withdrawal time is about 5 days.
- iDeal is a widespread deposit method in the Netherland. It has quickly become a players’ favorite with 140 million transactions made in 2013. Annually, iDeal charges €2,500 per individual certificate holder as a licensed payment institution.
Other Payment Methods
- Digital Currencies
Bitcoin is the most widely used and popular digital currency today, which more and more casino websites are starting to work with. You should always remember that ordinary online casinos and Bitcoin casinos may share different rules, Terms & Conditions, related to payments with this digital currency. - Checks
This payment method can be used solely for making withdrawals and require the users to provide their address at which they’re going to receive the checks. After this, users can get cash at any cash transfer station, such as Western Union or just deposit it at a bank.
Conclusion
Knowing what banking methods are available today and their main features, such as fees, commissions, transaction times, is a big step in determining which option to choose. You should always make a comprehensive look at the deposit/ withdrawal method you’re going to use in order to overcome all possible issues.