As payment providers go, they don’t really come much bigger than PayPal. Since it was formed in 1998, PayPal has gone on to become the de facto payment method of choice for online shopping, used by millions of consumers and merchants worldwide across a whole host of industries. The casino sector is not immune to the charms of PayPal, and now a growing number of operators are open to accepting payments and paying withdrawals in PayPal. Preferred for its convenience and security over other payment methods, PayPal is often one of the first things players look for when choosing where to play.
PayPal has a host of benefits over other payment methods, and from a player perspective, it’s the easy option for moving money to and from your casino account. But why is PayPal proving so popular with casino players, and what are the pros, cons and otherwise of using PayPal casinos?
Why Use PayPal?
As a starting point, PayPal is already ubiquitous. There’s unlikely to be a single player reading this who hasn’t come across PayPal at some stage in the past, and most probably already have a PayPal account somewhere. When PayPal linked up with eBay, it reached a mass consumer audience worldwide, and that effect continues to stick around today. Compared to other similar services, PayPal already has a far larger audience, and a far greater trust profile than other similar payment methods.
So there’s arguably less friction when it comes to using PayPal, because many players are already familiar with and may even have an account with PayPal before choosing an online casino. But there are other reasons too for using PayPal for deposits.
The payment flow through PayPal is convenient, with no need to input card details if you’ve already saved your card. This is a real time and hassle saver, especially for frequent depositors. There’s also the security element that comes with using one of the world’s most trusted payment providers for handling your transactions – players can use PayPal safely in the knowledge there’s a customer support team behind the scenes ready to address any problems.
Fees
The fees for depositing by PayPal are not an issue. Players pay no fees on deposits in most cases – PayPal simply draws the funds from your bank account and remits to the casino, with the casino picking up the tab. In some cases, you might find that the casino is passing on this small percentage charge to the depositing player, but in our experience this is rare. Instead, paying by PayPal makes it as easy and as low-cost as possible to deposit to your account.
The fees that do come up with PayPal are applied on receipt, and you may have to pay fees in some cases for withdrawals. However, on the payments end, there’s nothing additional required to your deposit, which means PayPal is often amongst the cheapest ways to deposit and play with your online casino account.
Security
One of PayPal’s best assets is its security. It’s practically impossible to have a more secure payment processor than PayPal, which employs state-of-the-art encryption technologies to secure and protect payment information. This end-to-end encryption means that your card and bank account details are completely safe. In fact, they never leave PayPal, and the casino doesn’t get a hold of your details.
Instead, the funds are transferred directly from your PayPal account to theirs, with no involvement of your bank account (other than getting the funds into your PayPal account in the first place). This means you are completely protected from hacks and ID theft, to ensure a totally secure payment experience.
In the extremely unlikely event of any problems with your payment, you’ve also got the added support that comes from PayPal customer service. Their years of experience in dealing with safe payments, coupled with in-built customer-side protections, mean you’re backed up by a strong team. Any problems, fire a message to support and they’ll put it right as quickly as they can. Yet another benefit of using PayPal for your online casino deposits.
PayPal Withdrawals
Another huge advantage of using PayPal comes when it’s time to withdraw from your casino account. Rather than debit card withdrawals, which can take days to process and a further number of days to get back to your bank account, PayPal withdrawals are virtually instant – in any event, always well within 24 hours. This means that the timeframe from winning to withdrawal is cut significantly shorter, so you can get your hands on your funds much sooner.
It’s the same on the deposit side, with PayPal deposits reflecting instantly on your casino account. This speed of payment in both directions, combined with the security and cost effective payments allowed by PayPal, make it the preferred payment method for a growing number of casino players.
Conclusion
PayPal casinos offer a distinct advantage over those that don’t accept PayPal. It’s how many players prefer to deposit and withdraw to their account, and casinos that don’t yet offer PayPal support are definitely missing a trick.
Payments through PayPal are easy, cheap, fast and secure, which is exactly what you want from any online payment method. With the trust and familiarity that comes with PayPal, it’s the ultimately online payment method for the most enjoyable online casino experience.
