The dangers of sharing personal details online are constantly brought to our attention, and the risk seems especially vivid when it comes to money.
Although gamblers obviously enjoy a bit of a risk, ideally the gamble is confined to the fun and games they play – no one is looking to take a punt when depositing funds or withdrawing winnings. Are you a casino regular who worries about safety on the internet? Or a newcomer to the scene wondering how it all works? Do you want to know more about secure payments online? Click here!
1.Debit and Credit Cards
Deposits via credit card have the attractive feature of being instant. As far as safety goes, customers are pretty well protected: the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) provides regulated security standards for organisations handling the most popular credit cards, for example, Visa and MasterCard. Further protection comes from the end-to-end encryption and SSL protocol.
Watch out for fees incurred by late repayment and charged by some online casinos when you deposit with a credit card. Debit cards, on the other hand, don’t incur any additional fees, and they instantly transfer cash from your current account.
2. e-Wallets
e-Wallets are one of the most popular ways of making payments over the internet, and that’s especially true in the case of online casinos. Big names include PayPal, Neteller and Skrill.
How they work varies from provider to provider. In some cases, customers will have to transfer funds into their e-Wallets before they can be used, while in others your account details are required so that the service provider can make payments on your behalf. Both options are often offered.
Customer information is protected by encryption, and some e-wallets have their own software code for added peace of mind. Look out for fees – although online casinos are unlikely to charge you for depositing with your e-wallet, you may incur costs when you transfer money into the e-wallet, or when the provider makes transactions on your behalf.
Although customers will receive instant notification of any transaction, cash transfers can take anything up to a few days to go through.
3. Prepaid Cards
These work much like top-up cards with pay-as-you-go mobile phone plans. Prepaid cards can be ‘real’ or ‘virtual’, and you need to top them up with funds in order to use them. Like debit and credit cards, they allow for instant transfers, but they only access the cash you’ve put on them, and not funds still in your bank account.
Different providers may levy fees each time you top-up the card, or use it for payment, but online casinos don’t charge customers depositing via their prepaid card. Provider fees do vary quite a bit, so do your research and shop around. paysafe card is well-known and trusted in the online gambling world.
4. Instant Payment Services
Developed to meet the ever-growing need for fast and secure transactions, instant payment services, such as Click2Pay and iDebit, for example, provide cash transfers from your bank account within minutes or even seconds. These electronic payments are available around the clock every day of the year and require you to simply create an account with your chosen provider and enter your bank account details. To make payments online, you log in with your secure password. Online casinos don’t charge customers who deposit using such services, although a few service providers do apply transaction fees.
5. Bank Transfer
Funds are moved directly from your account to the recipient’s. Direct bank transfers don’t usually attract fees if they’re made from one bank account to another bank account, but if a mediating bank is involved fees may be incurred. Transactions can take anything from a few minutes to a few days.
There is some risk – limited consumer protection in the event of things going wrong; for example, if you have second thoughts the only way to stop the payment is by contacting your bank, and even then, it may be too late.
Look to the Future
Cryptocurrency is gradually making itself more familiar, and it’s particularly suited to the world of online gambling. Designed for use online, it comes with high levels of security and is an easy and efficient method of making payments and withdrawing funds. As Bitcoin-only casinos begin to emerge, we can expect more mainstream casinos to offer cryptocurrency payment options – particularly as the instant cash-out of winnings that cryptocurrency wallets allow is likely to be favoured by both regular and occasional gamblers.