Paysafe Review

PaySafe Casino Banking Method Review

The online world brings greater convenience, but it also offers greater potential for fraud. Even in 2014, many users are frightened to send their credit card or bank details over the web. This is understandable, but what should we do about it? Well, one approach is to pay for items online using a 'voucher' scheme, like PaySafe or Ukash. With PaySafe, you go to a compatible sales outlet (there are over 450,000 worldwide) and use cash or another appropriate payment option to buy a voucher worth the equivalent amount. This voucher comes with its own 16-digit PIN number, which you can then hand over to an online merchant. In return you can deposit as much money as the voucher is worth. Hand this PIN to an online merchant, and you can deposit money right up to the value of the voucher.

Up to 10 separate PINs or vouchers can be combined as one, and if you don't use the entire amount in one go, the remaining amount will be stored in your PaySafe account until you can combine it with an existing PIN. PaySafe often comes as a voucher or as a card. The most important feature is the PIN number. You'll also need to know the value. Standard PaySafe demominations cover £10, £25, £50, £75, or £100 £100, £200 - UKash vouchers go right up to £500.

Like Ukash, PaySafe offers incredible security. You don't have to send out any of your credit card or bank details, either online or in person. For paranoid types nervous that criminal gangs will drain their bank accounts, vouchers are very appetising. They're also very fast to use, and many casinos are happy to take them. Charges tend to be non-existent. With vouchers, you can only spend money that you already have (assuming you're paying with hard cash), so you're unlikely to get sucked into a debt vortex.

While it's good to have the option of vouchers, gamers are unlikely to be too interested. Because they're designed for one-time use, vouchers are awkward to use as a regular means of funding your account - you've got to obtain a new PIN every time. The biggest problem, though, is the lack of any withdrawal facility. Although PaySafe is better tailored towards moving money back and forth than Ukash, few casinos will be prepared to send money to you as PaySafe vouchers. You can have money sent straight to your bank account (or as a cheque), of course. But for the modern gamer, looking for a way of quickly extracting money from one casino before quickly diverting it somewhere else, PaySafe's rigid nature is a problem.

Nonetheless, it's hard to deny that there's some advantage to being able to send money without disclosing important bank/credit card details. And vouchers do make it more difficult to continually refund your account. For somebody looking to prevent losses from getting out of control, that's quite an advantage.