At ManySpins we know how important it is that you can fully trust the payment process. You need to be sure the method you choose to pay with is safe and secure. ‘In the vault’ as the Seinfeld crew would describe it. That’s why we’ve listed the most common financial transactions between you and the casino and the major benefits of each.
Since the launch of online casinos, debit and credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard have been the most popular form of payment. And it’s clear why. You don’t have to share any details with anyone and it’s quick and easy. Unfortunately, credit and debit cards are among the most vulnerable to fraud, such as keyloggers, trojans and malware.
While all the major cards are accepted by online casinos, Visa and Mastercard continue to be the most popular. Both can almost be grouped together as they have so many similarities. They are both known for their availability and flexibility, as well as charging less than competitors for merchants to process. While their credit cards are not available for use in UK online casinos, you can still use the debit cards of both. There are notable differences between Visa and Mastercard however.
Visa is active in more than 200 countries, covers 165 currencies and is represented by more than 15,500 financial institutions. It covers all the major markets and can be used to both deposit and withdraw in online casinos. It is known for being one of the most secure methods, using Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), which requires you to use PIN, one-time passwords (OTPs) and 2 factor authentication when making a payment, as well as using the highly thorough Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
While deposits aren’t usually charged, you do need to check as you may have to pay a fee of up to 10% of the transaction, depending on
The minimum you can deposit is usually €10-50 and the maximum depends on the casino, but is usually €1,000 up to €50,000. However, while most online casinos will allow you to withdraw using the Visa card, Specific EU regulations and those imposed by certain Visa cards’ issuers mean that not all will allow you to.
Aware of the many changes taking places across the industry, Visa have tried to offer more in recent years. Their contactless solution can be used through Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay. In March 2021, Visa became the first global payment network to enable transactions in the USD coin, which is backed by the US dollar and powered by the Ethereum open-source blockchain. In May 2022, Visa Direct was created to offer a new service to online casinos (among other industries) in Europe, including the UK.
Mastercard is connected in more than 210 countries, featuring more than 150 global and local currencies. Mastercard is known for being one of the most secure forms of payment, using authentication, data analytics and tokenisation. Authentication is the one -time password sent out to customers while the sophisticated data analytics and artificial intelligence is an added security. There is also the EMV 3-D Secure protocol that enables consumers to authenticate themselves when making card-not-present (CNP) online purchases.
Tokenisation replaces a card’s primary account number (PAN) with an alternate card number called a token, which leverages the EMVCo Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) framework. The process allows anonymized data to be aggregated, analysed, and leveraged for stronger detection of fraudulent activity.
Depositing is free at online casinos with an average minimum of €10, and the maximum ranging from €4,000-€50,000. The minimum amount allowed to cash out is €10 – €50, with the maximum withdrawal going up to €4,000-€50,000.
The Paypal Debit Business Mastercard (launched in September 2022) and the Zilch BNPL (buy now pay later, extended to include Europe in January 2022) are as yet unavailable for casino use. However, in November 2021, Mastercard launched their new debit card with Bit2Me, a cryptocurrency from Spain. It allows transactions in cryptocurrencies and euros whenever Mastercard is accepted. It offers the first 2,000 requests free, and has no maintenance costs and no limit, as well having the highest form of security and being available in plastic or virtually.
These are the 21 cryptocurrencies it covers and what each can earn up to:
Prepaid cards are straightforward and work exactly as you would expect them too from their description. They differ from regular credit and debit cards by being anonymous, not containing any personal details and set with a specific amount. So you can only spend what is already paid for. As you will see below, major companies like Visa and Mastercard offer them and there are also specific ones like MoneyPak, Paysafecard and Webmoney. All you need to purchase them from is a place like a supermarket or Post Office and then use the pin given. However, they are not as popular as other forms of payment on this list as they can be used as a deposit but not as a withdrawal method.
If you’re not familiar with Revolut, you’ll soon know why the British start-up is so popular and effective. Launched in 2015, the London-based company is putting the Revolut in revolution, catering for younger consumers who want a more tech-savvy process for their finance and banking needs. Known as a NeoBank, Revolut is only available in digital/internet form, with everything being done through what they themselves call the “financial superapp”.
Revolt offers what traditional banks offer in the form of checkings and savings accounts, as well as various extras. It has been designed for the more independent players as there is no email service. There is also a 2% charge for ATM cashouts of £200 or more. Users enjoy aspects such as the ease with which you can transport crypto currencies, its anti-fraud device Sherlock is statistically more effective and it is all run internally, so no third-party interference. The situation with the pandemic, when many banks were closed or had limited hours, only highlighted the benefits of the model.
The Crypto.com Visa card is a pre-paid card has interbank exchange rates, no overseas fees and if you go for one of the higher of the 5 tiers, increased cashback and reimbursements.
The ecoPayz Mastercard is available in 8 countries, and is free and quick to sign up for. It is a prepaid plastic card, with benefits including being able to freeze and unfreeze your card, being able to disable contactless and no credit checks or bank account required. However, drawbacks include a small ATM withdrawal fee and it only applying for those who live within the 36 countries that make up the Single Euro Payments Areas (SEPA).
The Edge Mastercard is a prepaid card by Mastercard and KCB Bank which only requires a passport or national ID card. It had announced plans to expand to crytocurrencies but that has been placed on a “temporary pause” as mentioned on their website. While the White Edge card is only for Kenya Shillings, the Black Edge card is for:
As seen with the Edge Mastercard, a major benefit of these prepaid cards is that they can help countries outside of Europe. Neosurf is known as an emerchantpay-integrated APM and covers over 40 countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Senegal and the Ivory Coast. It gives a 10-digit code and is used by 350,000 people worldwide. Posteplay is a rechargable prepaid card service widely used in Italy, and connects wherever Visa Electron and Mastercard are supported. It has 5 settings, as well as having an app that has PostelD, fingerprint and faceID security.
E-wallets (electronic cards used through a computer or mobile device) are more popular than ever and experts even believe that one day they might overtake debit and credit cards. We’ll keep a look out. The main reason for their increased use is their speed and their security, especially internationally. More major worldwide companies than ever are a creating their own system for you to use. Whichever one you choose depends on what you’re looking for.
The strongest selling point about PayPal is how popular it is over the world. PayPal supports 25 currencies and is available in over 200 countries and regions (and you check them all on the list on their official website). Although there has been a raft of new rivals, PayPal continues to do well. During 2020, Paypal acquired 16 million new users and reached a total of 377 million users globally.
An eBay subsiduary from 2002 – 2014, PayPal has benefitted from being one of the first major e-wallets so trusted by people, helped by data protection like SSL and two-factor authentication. It has transfer limits for three main reasons.
While a regular transaction has a limit of $4,000, if you verify your account with extra details, you can send up to $60,000 per transaction, with no limits of how much you can send overall. However, as only Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania allow online gambling, it’s no surprise Paypal is not commonly used for American players.
Skrill covers more than 40 currencies (and 40 cryptocurrencies), protection from chargeback fraud and multi-lingual customer support. It is known for its connection with online casinos and on its website has a direct link to 14 online casino offers applicable through using Skrill. This is useful as not all casinos allow you to claim the deposit bonus if using Skrill, with another drawback being it has high fees.
However, one of Skrill’s most popular benefits is Knect, its loyalty programme that allows you to get exclusive online betting, casino and poker promotions if you use the payment provider regularly. The conversion rate is 0.1% of transactions being converted to points.
Skrill was also the first e-money to be issued in the UK and uses PCI-DSS Level 1, the highest industry data security standards. It also trades on the London Stock Exchange FTSE 250 and has an e-money license. It has also made signficant improvements for its US players, with notable upgrades making it easier for them to use gambling websites.
With its VIP status, benefits include:
It is also known for his layered options for its VIP members, which are broken down into:
VIP status also lowers the currency exchange costs (FX fees): 2.89% for Silver VIP, 2.59% for Gold VIP, and 1.99% for Diamond VIP.
There is also a Skrill 1 tap, which was designed for casino players. It allows players to make instant deposits without having to close the games or exit the screen. All you have to do is create a new account. You can make quick payments and avoid having to enter your personal details. However, while most major casinos allow Skrill, less offer Skrill 1 tap. This is because the online casino has to pay fees every time a transaction is made. A big benefit though, is Skrill’s money back guarantee which reimburses you if any of your money is taken fraudulently.
Neteller and Skrill are both owned by Optimal Payments (now known as PaySafe), and both use the Knect loyalty programme. There are notable differences however. Neteller covers only 28 currencies, has a stronger focus on crypto and has an added layer in its VIP section, along with different minimum spend.
You can buy crypto from more than 100 alternative payment methods and 28 currencies. There is also a Recurring Orders feature that allows you to buy cryptocurrencies every month without having to log on. As well as the benefits of crypto, another is that if the recipient doesn’t have a Neteller account, Neteller sends them an email knowing their money is waiting for them. It’s easy to set up a two-step authenticator too, check your transaction history and you’ll feel more secure knowing Neteller is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The only major problems are that it isn’t available for Australian, American and Canadian players, and there can be some restrictions for bonuses with some online casinos. However, some further good points though that are in December 2020 it made it easier for players to deposit from its app and in the past few years has continually added more cryptocurrency options.
Named after the coin-like medals available across Europe from the 13th-18th centuries, Jeton is one of the newer digital wallets, with a boosted profile due to its sponsorship of West Ham and Aston Villa football clubs. It is very convenient for mobiles, as it just has to be downloaded in the App store or Google Play.
Jeton accounts can be created in over 50 currencies, with over 70 payment methods in 100+ countries. Jeton is an FCA authorised company. It also has a loyalty programme, with 1% instant cashback (not including bonus accounts). With a Jeton digital, you can deposit and withdraw 6 different cryptocurrencies.
Jeton is also known for its high-level security.
To deposit, withdraw and transfer using Jeton, limits and waiting times vary from country to country, covering countries from Albania to Zimbabwe. There are significant differences from country to country. In the UK, there are only two deposit methods, whereas in Turkey there is 8, including cryptocurrency. To withdraw, the UK has 3 while Turkey has 6. There is nothing for the USA. While the KYV (know your customer) can take a little long, Jeton scores highly for being able to use it for claiming casino bonuses.
Around for over 20 years, ecoPayz is more popular than ever thanks to its range of over 200 countries and 54 currencies and is aimed at those who like to gamble in online casinos and sporting events. It has 5 status groups:
In the silver to VIP groups, there is no total lifetime limit, you can send money and withdraw funds to bank accounts and there is no lifetime limit. Another feature of those 4 groups is that you can access up to 4 ecoPayz Mastercards.
But there are numerous types of ewallets, each catering for a different part of the market. Giroplay is a German online payment service that uses an e-wallet interface rather than the direct banking interface and supported by Austrian and German online casinos. IDeal is represented by almost all Dutch banks and over half of the country’s payments are made through it. It’s used in online Benelux casinos. Euteller provides its Finland-based customers with real-time payments without registration.
We all know how forward-thinking online casinos are, so it’s no surprise that plenty of them have been using cryptocurrencies for a while now. And that has only been increasing with online casinos using some of the lesser-known ones too. Crypto works as a digital currency exists digitally or virtually and uses cryptography to secure transactions. It is different to traditional currency in that there isn’t a centralised system to record everything so you don’t need to worry about the government getting involved. As well as not needing to carry it around in a wallet, it also can’t be counterfeited.
The most common types are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT).
There are many more, with plenty growing in popularity. Litecoin (LTC) as its name suggests, is aimed at making transfers lighter. It is liked because of its quick time to transfer and making it easier to meet wagering requirements. Ripple (XRP) has a fast transfer time and very low transactions fees. Cardano (ADA) was created by the co-founder of Ethereum and uses smart contracts, enabling identity management.
Bank transfers are especially popular for those that don’t have, or don’t want to use, their credit card. Players don’t have to disclose any financial details and can be done through a phone app. Benefits also include no possibility of payment reversal or chargebacks. Wire transfers work like bank transfers in that actual cash is not transferred, but rather electronic units that represent them. The main difference is that bank transfers are cheaper but take up to 11 days and tend to have more limits attached. They can also be blocked by government.
ManySpins gives all this advice and information about the different payment methods with a reminder of responsible gambling. It is important you only bet what you are comfortable with.