Today’s offer of online casinos is huge and all these websites are trying to offer the best possible service in order to keep players satisfied. For beginners, the number and diversity of games are, naturally, the first thing that comes to mind. Also, online casinos like to advertise welcome bonuses a lot, which also plays a big role when deciding which online casino to pick. However, things are far more complex than that.
There are so many other factors that should determine your final decision and one of them is often overlooked. That would be a payment method, a thing that may not sound that much important initially, but actually affects your playing experience significantly, much more than things like promotion bonuses.
Why are payment methods so important?
We can look at this from so many aspects, as the chosen payment method can affect your convenience, and playing experience in general, in so many different ways. So, we will go through some of the most important aspects only.
One of the first things that come to mind is to understand that the payment method includes both deposits and withdrawals. In some cases, you can use a certain payment method to land a deposit but can’t withdraw the money with it. In other cases, things are completely the opposite and you can only withdraw your money with the same method you made a deposit. So, it’s vastly important to carefully read the terms and conditions of a certain casino website, to find out what are your options in this matter.
Payment methods can drastically determine your convenience. For example, some of these are significantly different when it comes to payment speed. For example, payments are much quicker with e-wallets and usually measure in hours. On the other side, bank or wire transfers can take a couple of days.
The preferred payment methods varies a lot from country to country. For example: Paypal is the absolute favourite method in Germany while everyone prefers iDeal in Netherlands. Read up payment methods at online casino here.
Another important aspect is safety. Of course, we all want to keep our personal information safe and the fact is that most casinos are pretty good in this aspect. This doesn’t just mean that a website won’t use your personal details, but that it also possesses software that can successfully defend your data from cyber-attacks. Still, if safety is your main concern, it’s good to know that certain payment methods don’t require sharing personal data with casinos at all. That’s an even higher level of safety.
Also, keep in mind that you will probably want to try some other online casinos one day. So, it would be good to choose a payment method that’s widely accepted among casinos, as well as in different parts of the world. This particularly refers to specific e-wallets, which don’t operate in certain countries.
Finally, don’t forget the charging fees. Every payment service charges its service with every transaction. These fees can be significantly different between payment methods. The fee also depends on the part of the world, so make sure to do detailed research about charging fees of every payment method in your country.
We’ve pointed out some of the most important things to consider when choosing a payment method. All these things are vastly important in terms of playing experience and the overall level of satisfaction, so it’s easy to conclude that payment methods are crucial when choosing an online casino.
Therefore, here are some of the most popular payment methods around, with their biggest strengths and weaknesses:
Credit and Debit Cards
We believe that this is the first method that comes to your mind. There are various credit and debit cards around but we will focus on the two biggest names in the business, which operate on the global level. Of course, we are talking about VISA and MasterCard.
In the case of VISA, the biggest strength is that these cards are accepted in every online casino. Besides availability, a good thing about these cards is that making a deposit is super easy. On the other side, the withdrawal process lasts much longer compared to e-wallets. Furthermore, most casinos allow withdrawals with VISA only if you also make a deposit with it.
MasterCard has similar strengths and weaknesses as VISA, though we have to say that not all casinos have MasterCard on their lists of payment methods. Also, withdrawals can last a couple of days. On the other side, what we like about this service is its impressive simplicity of use.
E-Wallets
The number of e-wallets is huge these days. So, we will only stick with those that operate on the global level.
Naturally, we would start with Paypal, the most popular e-wallet around. With this payment method, the biggest strength is speed. This particularly refers to withdrawals, which take less than 24 hours. Also, this e-wallet is widely accepted among casinos. On the other side, count on withdrawal and currency exchange charging fees.
Skrill is another popular e-wallet. Just like Paypal, it also charges different kinds of fees. On the other side, it is accepted in more than 200 countries, withdrawals are completed in a couple of hours, while customer support is very good.
Neteller is actually the most popular payment method in the world of online casinos. What customers love about this e-walled is speed and simplicity. Also, this e-walled operates all around the world and it is one of the safest payment methods around. Besides fees, withdrawal limits are another drawback.
Bank and Wire Transfers
Another popular payment method, which is also widely accepted. Safety is definitely the biggest strength, considering that you won’t have to share any of your personal data with an online casino. On the other side, these transfers are time-consuming and usually last a couple of days. Also, wire transfers like Moneygram and Western Union are known for very high fees.
We have to say that bank transfers have become notably faster than before, with a tendency to become even faster in the future.
Cryptocurrencies
You can also use Bitcoin, Litecoin, Etherium and similar cryptocurrencies to make payments and withdraw money. This is a fast and super safe method, which keeps you anonymous as well. The only drawback is that these cryptocurrencies aren’t widely accepted, so the offer of casinos that have such payment methods in the offer is actually quite limited.
