Nowadays, how you spend your money matters more than ever before. Whether it’s shopping for groceries online or engaging in iGaming, payment methods can provide different benefits. It’s just that those perks are often beneath the surface.
Whether it’s due to hidden fees or transaction speeds, not all payment options are made equal. Here’s a rundown of the major payment methods regularly accepted online, what makes them stand out, and how you should take advantage of their unique characteristics.
Credit and debit cards
Everyone knows about credit and debit cards. With major company brands like American Express, Visa and Mastercard, owning at least one of these cards will give you access to use nearly every online vendor or service imaginable.
Credit cards are great for their convenience. As they are so commonplace, almost every website or gaming platform accepts them, including most online casino websites. You almost never have to worry about your card not being accepted.
Major credit and debit cards also tend to have their fees upfront, at least with most major retailers. This includes anything from shopping to gaming and gambling, including the best pay by mobile casino sites. Being able to pay with your card through a gaming app so you can play your favourite games on the go is very convenient.
Credit cards are also reliable when it comes to their speed and their security. They aren’t the fastest or most anonymous payment methods around anymore, but you can expect your transactions to either occur instantly or within a day or two, depending on the nature of the purchase.
Cryptocurrencies
If any payment method has been causing a buzz over the last few years, it’s definitely cryptocurrencies. This especially applies to the best-known coins, such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Lite, Ethereum and Litecoin.
Cryptocurrencies are exciting due to their use of blockchain and decentralisation. They represent a new focus that combines finance with tech, which is likely to revolutionise certain sectors of the economy.
One of the best things about using crypto is that transactions are anonymous. Your personal info is never tied to any crypto transaction, no matter what you are buying or paying for. The only thing that is needed is a wallet address — no name, real address or even email address.
Bank transfers
Bank transfers, most of which are conducted online nowadays, involve sending money directly from one bank account to another. Depending on the vendor or institution, you may also see them called e-transfers. They often take place among different banking agencies and over international borders.
Though they aren’t always the fastest method to use, both in terms of acquiring the necessary banking information and the transaction speed itself, they are notoriously very secure. When moving around larger sums of money, bank transfers are often the preferred method, whether making a large acquisition or paying off major bills or fees.
When buying expensive items from a custom marketplace, some vendors will request payment via bank transfers precisely because of their reputation for being so trustworthy. They typically have low or zero fees, making them useful for knowing the exact amount you will be paying.
E-wallets
One of the most popular online payment methods by far is e-wallets or digital wallets. Many of them are like a combination of online banking accounts and online debit or credit cards, but they are associated with a site or a mobile app instead of a conventional banking institution.
PayPal is probably the most famous example of all e-wallets as it’s been around for so long, but Apple Pay and Google Wallet have also gained millions of users over the past couple of years.
Like the online use of credit and debit cards, e-wallets have become so popular that they played a big role in the popularisation of contactless payments. They’re convenient, fast, great for shopping and are nearly as universally accepted as credit cards. Fees can vary though depending on which e-wallet you end up using.
Pre-paid cards
Pre-paid cards used to be relegated only to restaurants and major shopping stores, but now you can find pre-paid cards for major e-retailers like Amazon or Steam anywhere now. They even have digital equivalents, making them easy to obtain even online.
Pre-paid cards benefit from being easy ways to give gifts to friends or hand out as prize rewards to long-term customers. They are extremely easy to send off to people via email, and the funds from them can be deposited into an online store account for future use.
Account points
More websites, vendors and other businesses have started implementing rewards programs for their customers. They are sometimes named VIP or loyalty programs where you can earn points for continued purchases on their site.
These have proven to not only be effective ways of retaining customers, but they also give people a little something extra to look forward to when they purchase something. Account points are regularly used by restaurants, gaming vendors and online casinos and are awarded in a variety of ways.
