Whenever you buy something online, you will probably end up with a choice of multiple payment methods. But which one should you choose? To help you find the best method, we will take a look at some of the options and give you information about them our evaluation will mainly be based on three criteria:
- Security
- Transaction fees
- Convenience
This article is mostly about payment methods you could use while buying online lottery tickets. But the information is also pertinent to all other goods you may want to buy on the internet. Whether you buy material goods at an online sales site, or digital products of any kind, knowing the upsides and downsides of the best online payment methods is important.
Some first thoughts
For obvious reasons, your choice of payment method for online lotto will often depend on whether you actually have funds in the account you want to use. If you make online purchases on a regular basis, it is a good idea to always keep some funds in your accounts with the payment services you use often. When you buy online lotto tickets regularly or do other kinds of online gambling, it is important to know that Skrill and Neteller are mostly used for gambling purposes. Therefore, if you do not have an account with either of these two, we recommend that you should register one. That way, you can easily transfer funds, withdraw winnings and stay in control of your gambling transactions by keeping those funds in one single site.
Another great option to get the same effect would be a dedicated prepaid credit card. One of the reasons why I prefer Skrill for all types of gambling is the fact that they will even issue you a prepaid debit card that is connected to your Skrill account. So whenever you want, you can even cash out some of your Skrill funds from an ATM machine.
One important factor to consider when you choose your online payment method
The factor that is often overlooked is the question of the currency the sales site uses. Let’s say you buy at a site where prices and invoices are set in US dollars, but then you use a Paypal account set in Euros to pay. Then, on top of the fees that Paypal charges for the transaction, you have to think about the exchange rate.
Changing money from one currency to another at your local bank will always cost you money. And some payment processors give you exchange rates that sometimes can be up to 6% worse than what you would pay at your bank!
Now let’s take a look at some of the payment options:
Credit card
The most frequently used method for all kinds of payments. Moderate fees, good security and very convenient. But there is always a certain danger of spending too much money (unless you use a debit card, see above). Also, maybe you do not want your gambling transactions to show in your credit card statements. RedFoxLotto offers this payment method for all transactions (in rare cases, country restrictions may apply).
Bank transfer
The cheapest way to pay online, and very convenient too, but not all online sales sites offer it. Depending on how it works on the sales site, funds can take a few days before they arrive at the destination. Usually, there is no way to dispute a payment once it has been initiated. At RedFoxLotto.com, we use an instant bank transfer method. That means that if you use it, the funds will be deposited in your RedFoxLotto account within seconds.
Skrill
Great method, especially for online gambling purposes of all kinds. Moderate fees, excellent security. This is the most convenient method in my personal opinion, especially if you get their prepaid Skrill debit card.
Neteller
Similar to Skrill, including the option of a prepaid debit card. They recently increased their fees, which makes Skrill the better choice.
Dusupay
A great option for residents of most African countries, or people who do business with African companies. Cool mobile phone wallet. Not sure about security though.
Paysafecard
This is by far the safest method and the least convenient one at the same time. You can buy a card with a pin code worth a specific amount of money at a shop close to you, paying cash. Paysafecards are for sale in 48 countries across the globe – that is, if there is a shop close to you.
Simply go to the website www.paysafecards.com, set the country you are in, and your location. There is an easy search function helping you find shops in your neighborhood where you can buy those cards.
Then, you enter the pin code at the sales site, and the value of the card is credited to your account. No fees (paid by the merchant). This is a one-way service, no withdrawal possible.
Ecopayz
A service similar to Skrill (including the debit card), but their focus is a little less on gambling and more on sales and international money transfers.