Payment Methods

A credit-based online payment method doesn’t require you to have money in hand. You can technically “borrow” the money for a real money deposit. A credit card is the most prominent example of such a method. Also, pay by phone casinos follow the same modality.

Debit-based methods, on the other hand, require you to have the money at your disposal. Your bank account, debit cards, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies follow this modality.

Both credit and debit payment methods are suitable for use in Canada. Now, let’s go over why it is important to have access to the best payment methods in the first place.

Whenever online payments are concerned, you can’t skip on the credit cards and the debit cards. The OG method of paying merchants is still going stronger than ever and we don’t see the paradigm changing anytime soon.

Credit cards or debit cards, whatever you may want to use, you must go through a financial institution to get them. It might be your local bank or a credit union that offers cards to the customers.

These organizations initially need a few days to provide you with the card and charges annually, directly from your account. They’re one of the most economical payment methods you can use right now.

There are plenty of networks for credit and debit cards worldwide as well as in Canada. But a few of them have been dominating the rest and they also happen to be the most commonly accepted ones at online casinos. Here are a few examples.

• Visa: Visa as a payment method is nothing new to introduce. It’s been around forever since 1958 to be precise. But it wasn’t known as Visa until 1976. Soon enough, it became the most popular method for POS transactions. The secure 2-factor authentication along with the 3D Secure protocol made it a prime choice for Canadian users. Pretty much all online casinos now accept Visa credit, debit, and even prepaid cards.
• Mastercard: The names Visa and Mastercard go hand in hand for the most part. The same is true for the gambling industry as well. You’re more likely to see the casinos offering Visa and Mastercard in the same on the offered list. Mastercard is a little younger than Visa but the competition between the 2 is unparalleled. In recent times, Mastercard has barred withdrawals from gambling sites in many countries, giving Visa the boost it needed.
  
• American Express: Did you know that America’s very own multination corporation didn’t start as a payment method? It was an express mail service based out of Buffalo, New York. But now, most Americans use their Amex cards for online shopping. As it happens, online casinos accept this card too. But when compared to Visa and Mastercard, the number of Amex operators is very limited.
  
• Interac: This is Canada’s exclusive debit card, also credited as the national debit card in the country. Interac Debit is currently integrated with Visa, allowing Canadians to use the card for international transactions as well as in overseas POS locations. The biggest benefit of using Interac is that it’s “more than a card”. You don’t even need to look at your card at merchants because the mobile wallet can take care of it.
  

At the time of writing, e-wallets are the most convenient online payment method, no questions asked. These wallets work very similarly to a bank but these are not banks. Rather, these are virtual wallets that can do everything your bank account can, minus the frustrating waiting times.

Since the early 2000s, we’ve seen many e-wallets coming into circulation. Some of them even launched with the sole purpose of processing gambling transactions. So, let’s go over the best payment methods that belong to the e-wallet category in Canada.

• PayPal: PayPal has established itself as one of the finest and safest online transfer methods all over the world. Did you know that it’s classified as an e-wallet? Although PayPal is more common in the UK than in any other country in the world, you can find lots of PayPal casinos in Canada. You can deposit as well as withdraw your winnings from the casino using this method.
• Neteller: People who know about online payment methods know about Neteller. It had its humble beginning in Canada before moving its headquarters to the Isle of Man. Since the very beginning, Neteller has been specializing in gambling transactions. At some point, it was responsible for processing more than 85% of the gambling transactions in the world! Another unique feature is that Neteller keeps the customer funds in a separate account than its operational account. So, you get better protection in case of insolvency.
  
• Skrill: Initially known as Moneybookers, Skrill is an extremely popular online wallet in European countries. It has widespread operations in Canada as well, making it one of the best payment methods for online payments. Casinos that accept Neteller will most likely accept Skrill too. And the number of Skrill casinos is abundant in the country.
  
• MuchBetter: Labeled the “Smart Payment App”, MuchBetter has made its place in the online payment industry in a very short time. It has a separate gaming component that can streamline your gambling payments. MuchBetter is also very easily integrated with Google Pay. You get to generate virtual cards that you can fund with your traditional banking methods and use the virtual card to protect your original credentials at online casinos.
  
• EcoPayz: EcoPayz is another veteran when it comes to online payments in the industry. This method is based in Cyprus and has been offering seamless payment support since 2000. Just like the rest of the e-wallets we’ve listed so far, EcoPayz lets you deposit and withdraw funds without waiting days at a time.
  

E-wallets are certainly amazing if playing games at online casinos is one of your priorities. However, there’s a problem with all of them. The fees. For each account top-up and withdrawal to bank accounts, you need to pay either a fixed fee or a percentage of the deposit/withdrawal amount. If you’re okay with it, the e-wallets are the best payment method for you.

Online bank transfers have gradually become an integral part of our day-to-day lives. From getting our salaries to sending money to friends and family, bank transfers are the most economical and secure way to go.

However, bank transfers at online casinos are not as simple as sending money to another account. Banks do not partner up with casino operators so you need an intermediary. That’s where the bank transfer methods we’re discussing come into play.

• Trustly: Trustly is currently the most popular and most widely used bank transfer method in the iGaming industry. It’s available in plenty of countries all over the world including Canada. The best thing is that it’s affiliated with all major banks in the country. All you need to do to use this method is choose Trustly from the offered list and select your bank. After that, you need to enter your usual bank credentials to facilitate the transaction. None of the data you input your recorded or stored in any way!
• Interac e-Transfer: Interac e-Transfer is undoubtedly Canada’s favorite bank transfer method. It allows users to send or receive money based on a simple email address or phone number. Unlike other methods, you need to open a separate window and provide all the necessary details to complete a deposit or a withdrawal. It’s faster than most other bank transfer methods we know of as well.
  
• Instadebit: Instadebit is a widely used bank transfer method as well as an e-wallet for Canadians. You can deposit it directly from your bank account. But for a withdrawal, you must use the wallet component.
  

The withdrawal time is a major factor to determine whether you should use the payment method or not. Let’s take a quick look at how long each type of method takes to pay out.

From the very beginning, we’ve been saying that having access to good payment methods is crucial and their availability must be taken into account when evaluating a casino. But why is that? What would happen if you didn’t have good options for deposits and withdrawals?

Well, let’s start with the safety of your payments. The better and more reputed the method, the more likely it is to have top-notch security protocols in place. Aspects like deposit delays, fraudulent transactions, and money laundering possibilities go down significantly. That is also why you see the best online casinos having the best payment methods.

Then comes the security of your details. You don’t know how well encryption is for a method that’s only been around for a very short time. You don’t know whether it’s selling your online activity log for a high profit to 3rd parties.

Last but not least comes the seamlessness of the payment. Would you be interested in waiting for 5 days or even more to receive your withdrawals? No, right?

The best payment methods can axe down on all of these challenges players face all the time in the iGaming industry. A good method will ensure that your deposit goes through immediately while giving back the money in the shortest time possible.

Moreover, they know how to protect gambling payments better than mediocre methods. Due to the nature of the gambling industry, these payments are very much at risk from scammers and hackers. A reputed method has the resources to protect you against it.

Now that you have a good idea of why the best payment methods are necessary for Canada, let’s move on to our next section where we’re going to learn about the different methods.