An important consideration, when looking to join an online casino, is how you will make transactions in/out of your account. Knowing this, operators offer a wide variety of banking methods, to make it as easy as possible to manage your account balance. To give you an idea of the banking methods available, we will run through the most popular and outline their specific features.
Credit & Debit Card
As with offline transactions, credit and debit cards make up the bulk of transactions for Canadian casinos. That being the case, those with a Visa or Mastercard should have no problem making a deposit. Maestro and American Express users may find themselves more restricted, but it is still possible to find operators who accept these.
Like most payment options, deposits made through debit/credit cards will appear in your account almost instantly. Withdrawal requests are slower, taking somewhere between 2-5 days to reach your account. Though they are widely available and highly reliable, casinos will require you to enter your full card details into the site - which can raise privacy concerns for some.
E-wallets - EcoPayz & MuchBetter
To remedy the concern of entering card details into multiple sites, e-wallets have become an increasingly popular alternative for many players. By entering your card details just once, into an e-wallet provider, you can make deposits directly to multiple online casino accounts. Though the likes of popular providers Skrill and Neteller are no longer available to players from Canada, alternatives such as EcoPayz and MuchBetter perform almost identical functions. Whilst these may not be as established, they have quickly built reputations for being reliable payment options.
It is worth noting that it is not always possible to withdraw back into an e-wallet. Whilst this is uncommon, it is always worth checking if this is the case. When it is possible, withdrawals usually take between 2-3 days to appear in your e-wallet account.
Prepaid Cards
With privacy and security on the agenda, prepaid cards are becoming more popular. One of the most established providers is PaySafe, which mixes elements of online and offline transactions. Purchasing these cards offline provides users with a code which, when entered into a casino site, adds the purchase value to your account balance. In doing so, a user never has to share their identity or card details online.
Of course, this comes with one obvious issue - how do you withdraw? You will still need another banking method to receive any winnings, reducing the attractiveness of this option.
Wire Transfer
Whilst providing added security to players, operators will often place restrictions on the amount of money that can be deposited using the more anonymous payment options, of e-wallets and prepaid cards.
That is why, among high rollers, wire transfers remain popular. These allow for large transactions, whilst also being highly reliable. However, there are some drawbacks, including processing fees and long waiting times. As all requests are processed manually by the banks, it can take as long as 7 days to cash out your winnings.
Cryptocurrencies
Though they are yet to reach widespread adoption, cryptocurrency wallets are growing in popularity across the online casino space.
Being the best known, Bitcoin is the most common cryptocurrency used by online gamers. This offers both privacy and far superior speed, compared to more traditional banking methods. Withdrawals can occur near instantly, or in just few hours. This carries some positives for operators as well, who can benefit from operational efficiencies. As such it is not uncommon to find attractive bonuses linked to the specific use of cryptocurrencies, for deposits.
