Alternative Payment Methods for Easy Casino Deposits 2023
Easiest Casino Payment Options: Cheap Alternatives to Online Banking
If you played real money online casino games years ago, chances are you used a credit or debit card, if not a direct bank transfer, to fund your account. Today, there are a lot more options to choose from. We call these alternative payment methods, or APMs for short. More and more players, especially here in Canada, now recognize them for providing fast, cheap and easy casino deposits and withdrawals.
APMs include anything that doesn’t require you to enter personal banking or card details. They cover a rather wide range of purchase options, but most often refer to online payment processors, colloquially known as web wallets, or eWallets. Years ago, eWallets were classified with among the most expensive deposit options. Thanks to considerable market expansion, that’s no long the case. More competitive rates are leading to greater popularity throughout the iGaming community.
APMs Rank #1 Payment Option at Canada Online Casinos
With trust and cost issues no longer relevant, the advantages to APMs are resoundingly clear. Alternative payment methods are more secure, and more reliable, than ever before. Deposits are instant. Withdrawals are lightning fast. They’re accepted on a global scale. The process of making a payment is far more simple than any direct banking method. Many of them even offer their own rewards programs.
You don’t have to take my word for it, either. The evidence speaks for itself. Over the last few years, Canada’s top online casinos have been reporting a remarkable increase in the number of players who choose APMs over card-based deposits. In a recent statement, Royal Vegas Casino reports it has “seen a surge in the number of players making withdrawals and deposits” via their multitude of APMs.
APMs for Cheap & Easy Casino Deposits
APMs are very simple to use. Setting up an account is quick, painless, and always free. Most online payment services allow users to link their eWallet directly to their bank account and/or debit card. This makes it easy to instantly access funds that are readily available (rather than gambling on credit and potentially spending more than you can afford to pay back).
Most of the transfers you make with a web wallet are free of charge; not all of them, but almost. Fees will vary from one eWallet to the next. Some charge a fee to send money, depending on the method. As for receiving money, you can expect to pay a small fee when the payment arrives, or when transferring that money over to your bank, but never both.
For example, ecoPayz charges anywhere from 0-10% to fund your eWallet, with lots of payment options to choose from. Receiving money (i.e. casino withdrawal) is always free. However, moving moving out of ecoPayz to your bank will cost anywhere from CA$8.58 to $14.54. a little pricey, but not so expensive when you consider the price of bank wire transfers.
Number of APM Web Wallets Shrinking
If there’s one downside to depositing at online casinos with APMs, it’s that the number of eligible web wallets is not what it used to be; at least, not here in Canada. there was a time when Paypal was the most popular eWallet for casino deposits. Those days are long gone. they were quickly replaced by Neteller and Skrill (formerly Moneybookers), but they too have fled the Canadian iGaming market for America’s “greener” (more lucrative) pastures.
For a long time, the only APM left to Canadians was ecoPayz. Catering to the True North for more than two decades, ecoPayz tops the list today. I’m happy to report, we do have a few other options to add. They include Jeton Wallet, MiFinity, MuchBetter, and Sticpay.
Canada’s Easiest Casino Payment Option in 2023
The following is a brief synopsis of the most popular APMs for easy casino deposits and withdrawals in Canada.
EcoPayz
This company’s roots date as far back as the turn of the millennium. Under the current brand name, ecoPayz didn’t appear until 2013, but it was originally launched in 2000 as EcoCard. In a time of tumultuous regulation, it spent years as the favorite online payment processor of online gambling enthusiasts all over the western hemisphere. Then in 2008, the brand’s reputation skyrocketed when it became a FSA regulated company under the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act.
Following the 2013 re-branding, EcoPayz took advantage of additional growth opportunities. The company extended its services in multiple directions, not just geographically, but in product development. The introduction of the EcoVirtualCard and EcoAccount for Android and iOS mobile devices were particularly valuable for customer acquisition. Today, it’s considered one of the most versatile ways to make quick, cost-effective and easy casino deposits.
Jeton Wallet
Established in 2016, Jeton has already seen its services spread to support over 150 countries, in more than 50 currencies. Its not the most widely accepted payment method, by far, but that’s more due to youth than anything else. With a stellar reputation and extremely competitive fees, I expect the number of Jeton casinos to grow exponentially in the coming years.
Jeton provides Canadian iGamers with instant casino deposits and quick withdrawals. Payments are secured by data encryption and two-factor authentication. Jeton is perhaps the most cost efficient web wallet on the market to date. All features of the Jeton Wallet are free except for a 2% fee to send money (i.e. deposit). Withdrawals and even transfers to your bank are free (aside from any fees your bank may charge).
MiFinity
MiFinity is a web wallet by definition, but it acts more like a virtual bank account. By this, I mean it does everything an online bank account does, minus the ability to access a physical banking branch. It has its very own IBAN number, so customers can transfer money in and out just as they would with any other local bank. This not only keeps costs low, but also accommodates much faster transfer speeds.
Prior to 2021, MiFinity was not available here in Canada. That changed thanks to a partnership with Interac; (hence the implementation of local IBAN banking). To make the service even easier to use, customers can link MiFinity to their personal bank account, thereby automatically debiting funds for payments. It’s also possible to pre-fund a MiFinity account via traditional methods, like bank transfer, debit card, credit card, etc. As for fees, depositing with MiFinity can range from free to 3.5%. Cashouts to the wallet are free, while transfers to your bank (via Interac) will set you back a flat fee of $4.00.
MuchBetter
The name says it all. MuchBetter is a web wallet that aims to provide a “much better” payment solution than what the industry has been offering for the last two decades. Unfortunately, MuchBetter only lives up to this name in certain countries, including the U.S. and parts of Europe; Canada, not so much. In fact, MuchBetter operates almost exactly the same as Interac, except that transfers use the ACH protocol, rather than Canada’s faster, more efficient EFT protocol.
My advice – just use Interac. It’s cheaper, faster, and unquestionably reliable. I would only suggest MuchBetter if there are no better APMs to choose from.
SticPay
If you like Paypal, you’ll love Sticpay casinos. Sticpay is a virtual mirror of Paypal except for two very distinct attributes. First of all, not nearly so many online merchants accept SticPay payments. That’s the down side. The other difference – one I’m certain you’ll appreciate – is that SticPay actually caters to the Canadian online gambling community. If you’re an avid user, you can even request a SticPay Debit/ATM Card, giving you instant access to your casino cashouts from thousands of ABMs all over the country.
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