Casino Payment Methods Evolution
Long gone are the days of playing with coins or chips at slots machines and roulette. From e-wallets to cryptocurrency solutions, technology nowadays allows us to fund our gambling accounts easily from anywhere at lightning speed.
However you want to manage your funds, you are guaranteed to find the casino that offers your preferred payment method.
e-Wallets
Now you would think that we would begin with credit cards and debit cards. However, in our opinion, the very best and quickest ways to get your cash in and out of a casino are via one of the many e-wallets made available to you as a financial tool by the online casinos.
- PayPal
- PayNearMe
Credit Cards, Debit Cards & Prepaid Cards
If you do not have an e-Wallet or prefer not to wait to set one up, then you have several options to deposit and withdraw to your chosen online casino via card payments. Card payments, depending on the one you choose, are quick and reliable ways to deposit and withdraw from online casinos.
Bank Transfers
After e-Wallets and Credit Cards, Debit Cards, as well as Prepaid Cards, the next most popular way to deposit and withdraw from an online casino, is via bank transfers. There are several options available depending on the online casino you play at.
Other Online Casino Financial Tools
You may from time to time see other payment options offered by online casinos that you have never heard of. This is mainly because they are not available in your country. The main purpose of some these deposit and withdrawal methods is to target online casino players in certain countries where financial facilities are either scarce or very strict.
Mobile Payment
Fast becoming more popular as mobile purchasing has become more prevalent, some online casinos allow you to fund your account through various mobile payment operators.
Boku offers one of the most robust mobile payments platforms in the world. You don’t need to provide any bank details to make a casino deposit; all you need is your phone number. The system is compatible with all mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets.
Siru Mobile is another pay-by-phone system where you’re charged directly to your phone bill. It has multiple safeguards in place such as strong user authentication, a currency conversion service, and it works on all mobile devices.
Zimpler is a Swedish banking solution that combines the best of both worlds – it works as both an e-wallet and a mobile payment system. You can connect your card to the wallet and pay online easily without filling in many details every time – you only need to enter your phone number.
Google Pay and Apple Pay are the most trusted worldwide mobile pay solutions for Android and iOS devices. They work very similarly to digital wallets that you can use for quick payments, by syncing them to your bank accounts or cards.
Cryptocurrency
The anonymous nature of cryptocurrency makes it an appealing option because it provides a very secure and fast transaction process for playing at an online casino. However, it’s biggest downfall though is that it’s not widely accepted yet and it can seem quite complicated to new users on how to convert CAD to cryptocurrency in the first place.
The volatility of cryptocurrency itself can also be a concern for users that the process for converting CAD to crypto to play at a casino and then convert it back to CAD, seems like an awfully risky approach. By the time you withdraw back into fiat currency, how much have you gained/lost in conversion rates can be an absolute nightmare. For this reason, we don’t recommend using cryptocurrency for inexperienced users, however, it’s probably a great option if you already have crypto stored or if you’re a resident from the US where the laws are quite ambiguous. However for Canadians, since it’s legal to play at online casinos, there’s plenty of better options to process payments.
Cryptocurrency casino options include:
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Etherium
- Ripple
- Litecoin
- Bitcoin Gold
- zCash
- Lisk
- Dash
- Tron
Instant Banking – the Best Option!
Instant banking methods allow you to connect your bank details to the online casino site through an intermediary party offering a very seamless and fast way to transfer funds.
In the banking or payments section, you will need to enter your banking or cheque numbers, choose the amount you want to deposit and then press submit. Shortly afterwards the funds will be on your casino account.
Instant banking options include:
- iDebit
- Interac Online/Interac e-Transfers
- eCheck
- Instadebit
- Citadel
- InPay
- PremierPay
How Do We Classify Casino Deposit Methods?
Below are a few criteria that we think are important elements of the best casino deposit methods:
- Coverage – International, regional, local payment or borderless payments (e.g: Transferwise);
- Availability – Payments that allow 24/7 use vs. payments restricted to certain working days (e.g. banking days);
- Safety – What safety procedures are in place, such as data protection and two factor authentication, and what prestige and reputation that the payment processor holds;
- Anonymity – The level of personal data users must disclose in order to use the service;
- Speed – Some casino deposit methods offer fast withdrawals and top-ups, whilst others have higher processing times (e.g. bank transfers);
- Fees and limits – How much you can deposit daily, weekly and monthly, if it’s free or if it comes with service and/or exchange fees;
- Currencies accepted – Single currency payments vs. multicurrency accounts.
Deposit Procedure at Online Casinos
Every casino has its own deposit procedure. However, the steps you need to follow are pretty similar at both local and international casinos:
- Sign up – To create an account, access the sign-up option from the menu and fill in the registration form with your personal data (name, address, age, e-mail etc.).
- Verify your account – Confirm your e-mail address and attach personal documents to verify your address and identity.
- Go to “Cashier” or “Banking”.
- Select the deposit method you want to use (in some cases, you may be redirected to a third-party payment page – if you deposit through online banking, for example).
- Input the sum of money you want to deposit.
- Confirm the transaction.
Depending on the payment method chosen, your deposit will either be credited instantly and ready to use for any welcome bonuses, or within a few working days (if you’ve opted for bank transfer).
Deposit processing times range from 10 minutes to 48 hours on average.
How to Choose the Best Payment Method – Short Guide
As a general principle, we believe there’s no such thing as the best payment method overall – it’s up to you to decide which of the ones we’ve described in this article suits you best as a player.
Ask yourself what you value the most when gambling – convenience, anonymity, speed, or safety – and narrow your focus towards the payment method that best fits those goals.
Other aspects to keep in mind are deposit and withdrawal limits. If you’re a high roller, you may want to stick to credit card or bank transfer; alternatively, if you regularly play on your phone, there’s no reason not to use it for payments as well.