Skrill is a popular and well-known money transfer service that will be familiar to web users the world over.
Casino, bingo and sportsbook customers in particular will be only too familiar with the payment provider. Along with Neteller, it’s probably the most widely accepted alternative payment method on the web.
The majority of online casinos accept Skrill, and its ubiquity has made it a highly convenient payment option. Once you’ve signed up and created an account, depositing funds at every casino you visit or online store you shop at becomes a piece of cake.
The History of Skrill
Formerly known as Moneybookers, Skrill is a company that enables people to transfer money internationally at low cost and to pay for goods and services online. Skill Limited are based in the UK, though the company’s reach is global.
As a British financial services firm, Skrill is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. It also holds a requisite license to operate in the EU. The company was founded in 2001, and by 2010 was ranked as the UK’s fastest growing private equity backed firm. By 2013, Moneybookers had become Skrill and was purchased by CVC Capital Partners for €600 million.
In recent years, Skrill has continued to grow exponentially, including the acquisition of British competitor Ukash.
How Skrill Works
After creating an account with Skrill, customers are assigned an e-wallet, which essentially functions as an internet bank account. Like a regular bank account, you can spend money all over the web provided you have funds in your wallet. Signing up for a Skrill account is quick and easy.
Of course, an empty Skrill wallet is no use to anyone, so before you can make use of the payment mechanism’s many benefits, you’ll need to deposit funds into it.
There are various ways to get funds into your Skrill account. You can link a credit or debit card with your wallet and send payment that way or you can arrange a personal bank transfer. You can even send funds from other e-wallets to your Skrill account. With your e-wallet topped up, you’ll be ready to scour the web for casinos and other sites that will accept Skrill. The good news is, that constitutes a vast amount of sites.
Ways to Use Skrill
With Skrill, payments can be made instantly, making the service ideal for an array of everyday web-based activities. In 2011, around the time the company surpassed 25 million users, Skrill signed deals with Facebook, Skype and eBay, allowing for customers to pay for goods and services on these sites using the increasingly popular e-wallet service.
While Skrill is most commonly used to pay for goods and services – i.e to deduct money from your account – it an also operate in reverse. If you’ve won money playing at a casino or betting at a sports gambling website, you can withdraw those winnings into your Skrill account.
In addition, once you have a Skrill wallet, it’s easy to send funds to friends and family who also have Skrill accounts. This has made the service popular with immigrants and overseas workers, for example, who wish to send money to their loved ones back home without incurring the sort of fees that banks can charge.
Tips on Using Skrill
One of the main benefits of using Skrill is that transfers are instant. This isn’t generally the case when you’re sending funds to your Skrill wallet however or are waiting for funds to clear. Bank transfers and credit cards will typically take a few days to clear.
Once you’ve credited funds into your Skrill account this won’t be a problem, but if you’re eager to get started at an online casino, for instance, this wait can seem interminable. If you’re sending money between Skrill accounts, be aware that there may be a fee applied in some cases, especially if you’re sending between different currencies.
If you’re expecting funds from someone, you can check on whether they’ve arrived by logging into your Skrill account anywhere in the world provided you have internet access. The payment firm also offer Android and Apple apps that perform the same function and allow you to keep tabs on your account balance and to send money.
The Benefits of Using Skrill
You can’t sign up for Skrill anonymously, but the transactions themselves are anonymous. In other words, Skrill knows your bank or credit card details but the merchant doesn’t. This is ideal when playing at a casino for instance. Should the casino be hacked, for example, the attackers will not be able to steal your credit card data and use it to make fraudulent transactions.
When it comes to gambling, there are naturally other reasons why it may be desirable to maintain some semblance of anonymity, for personal reasons. There’s nothing shameful about gambling (in moderation) but that’s not so say you necessarily want to broadcast this information to spouses or work colleagues.
How to Use Skrill at a Casino
Once you’ve got a Skrill account, signing up and playing at casinos becomes a doddle. The moment you’ve created an account, you can deposit funds into it instantly at the tap of a button or two.
Skrill is usually listed under the e-wallets section of the casino’s deposits page. Submit the email address you used to create your Skrill account, enter the amount you wish to transfer and that’s it. In the vast majority of cases there will be no fee for sending money from Skrill to your casino account, although a handful of less scrupulous casinos may levy a surcharge.
When it comes to withdrawing funds from an online casino, you can again use Skrill. This time however there may be a wait before they appear in your Skrill account. This is solely due to the arbitrary waiting period that most casinos apply before releasing funds. The transaction itself will be instantaneous.
The Pros and Cons of Skrill
The pros of using Skrill should be self-evident. The e-wallet service provides a more secure and private means of paying for goods and services on the web than bank transfer or credit card.
Due to the sheer number of casinos that accept Skrill, it’s ideal for players with a penchant for slots, poker and blackjack. The only real downside to using the service is the initial waiting period while your account is verified.
Thereafter, there’s very little to fault about Skrill unless you take exception to the fees they charge in some cases for sending funds to accounts in different currencies. This is standard practice however, and is unavoidable.
Skrill Summed Up
The web’s most popular and best-known ewallet system, Skrill is accepted by loads of online casinos. Look out for the Skrill logo appearing in the footer of the casino in question; if it accepts Skrill, odds are the footer is where you’ll learn this fact. After funding your Skrill account, you can then transfer these funds instantly to your casino playing account. It’s the same when it comes to withdrawals. Best of all, Skrill is one of the fastest casino withdrawal methods. Some casinos will clear funds instantly into your Skrill ewallet, while others will do so within three working days at the very most.
FAQ
What is Skrill?
Skrill is an e-wallet service that enables you to pay for goods and to send money online quickly and easily.
How do I obtain a Skrill wallet?
Visit the Skrill website, create an account and sign up. Once your payment details have been verified you’ll be able to transfer funds into your Skrill account.
What are the benefits of using Skrill?
With Skrill, funds are transferred instantly without exposing your credit card details to third parties. The e-wallet provides a secure and private means of sending money.
Which casinos accept Skrill?
Most web-based casinos accept payments via Skrill.
Is there a fee for using Skrill?
There is no fee for sending money with Skrill, including depositing funds into a casino account. Likewise when withdrawing funds from a casino. Some casinos may apply a charge however.