Instant Bank Transfers – Online Casino Payment Methods

Playing at an online casino can be great entertainment and fun, and possibly even put some extra cash in your pocket. In order to enjoy your experience, you want to be able to deposit and withdraw funds with ease and securely. While most casinos accept credit/debit cards and various eWallets, some also offer direct and instant bank transfers.

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What is an Instant Bank Transfer?

We all know that a bank transfer, sometimes referred to as a bank wire payment, is a payment from your bank account to someone else, but we also know that traditionally, these payments can take anywhere from minutes to days to reach the recipient. When it comes to transacting with an online casino, no one wants to wait days to start playing. This is where instant bank transfers take the centre stage.

Instant bank transfers are facilitated by open banking payment providers who process the payment instantly so that your casino deposits are completed within a minute or two (sometimes even faster), and the same thing with withdrawals. Essentially, you pay the service provider, and they pay the casino, although the model varies a little with some services where they simply act as a payment gateway.

While this might sound similar to an eWallet, it works a little differently. With an eWallet, you first have to fund your eWallet, either with a credit card or bank transfer and then you can transfer the funds from the eWallet to the casino. When you withdraw from the casino, the withdrawal is processed back to the eWallet, and then you can send the money to your bank account.

With instant bank transfers, you eliminate the extra steps, and the funds are directly deducted from your bank account and sent directly to your casino account.

There are numerous instant bank transfer services that are supported by online casinos. Some of the big names you may recognize are Trustly, Zimpler, Volt, Brite, and Sofort. It is worth noting that each one has its supported regions and jurisdictions, so make sure you choose one that is available in your country.

For more info about fast withdrawal options read this article.

How to Deposit with Casino Instant Bank Transfers?

The process of making a casino deposit with an instant bank transfer service is super easy and quick.

Here are the key steps to deposit:

  1. Choose a transfer service to sign up with, such as Trustly or Zimpler.
  2. Fill in the short registration process and link your bank account. Some services like Sofort do not require you to register or open an account.
  3. You will need to do various verification and KYC steps if required by the service.
  4. Log into your casino account, go to the cashier and select the respective transfer option.
  5. Enter the amount you want to deposit.
  6. A new window will open and log into your bank account through this.
  7. You may need to enter a 2FA security code, sent via text or an authenticator app.
  8. Confirm the transfer and wait for your funds to appear in your casino account.
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How to Withdraw with Casino Instant Bank Transfers?

Withdrawing from your casino account with instant bank transfers is just as quick and easy as depositing, plus many casinos process these withdrawals immediately, which means within a few minutes, your winnings can be in your bank and ready to spend.

Here are the key steps to withdraw:

  1. Log into your casino account and go to the cashier.
  2. Select the withdraw option and your respective bank account / instant transfer option.
  3. Insert the amount and submit.
  4. Wait for the funds to reflect in your bank account.

Instant Bank Transfer Fees

In general, there are no additional fees charged by the casino or the transfer service, however, this may vary for each casino and payment service. Fees are typically charged by your bank, and these will vary depending on the amount and the bank. Traditional bank fees can be quite high, especially for cross-border payments using Swift, where fees can start at $30 per transaction.

With many instant bank transfer services, these companies can process the payments as a local bank payment which eliminates the typical high fees. However, this will all depend on the service and where you live.

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Safety and Security

It goes without saying that all your online transactions should be secure, and instant bank transfer services are no different, and even offer some additional benefits over some other payment methods.

All transactions are fully encrypted and in the majority of cases, they use 2FA (2-factor authentication). The additional level of security comes from the fact that you are not directly transacting or revealing your banking details with the casino, and this is all handled by the payment service.

With that said, you should be aware that when you join some instant transfer services, you will have to link your bank account to them to allow them to deduct funds from your bank account automatically. While this might concern some players, just bear in mind that these organizations are licensed and regulated financial service providers. However, as mentioned, there is a 2FA process that only you have access to, so they cannot just process transactions without you.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Casino Instant Bank Transfers?

As you can expect, there are pros and cons of instant bank transfers, so here are some points to keep in mind:

Advantages

  • Safe, secure and reliable
  • Widely available and accepted by gambling sites
  • User-friendly and fast
  • Can be low cost (depending on the casino, bank, and service)
  • Near instant deposits and withdrawals
  • Funds are deducted immediately from your bank balance, so no credit card debt
  • High transaction limits are ideal for high rollers

Disadvantages

  • Transactions are not always near instant, depending on the casino, etc.
  • Fees can vary wildly from one bank to another
  • You may overspend as the funds come directly from your bank account. Be sure to keep track of your gambling spending.
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Popular Instant Bank Transfer Providers

Trustly

Trustly is a fintech company from Sweden that was founded in 2008 and is licensed by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, and they hold a European Payment Services Provider license. Trustly went from a small start-up to a genuine rising star and has big investors, like BlackRock, onboard.

The company has developed an open banking payment system that allows people to shop and pay directly from their bank account without the need for a card or app. As of January 2023, Trustly was integrated with more than 6,300 banks across the globe and had over half a billion users.

Trustly has pioneered many new technologies and a key area they focus on is the iGaming space, providing their services to hundreds of operators across the UK, Europe, Canada, and Australia. If you still have doubts about trusting a company called Trustly with your money, bear in mind that they provide their services to PayPal, eBay, Dell, UNICEF, Facebook, and more.

Zimpler

Zimpler is another Swedish fintech company that is focused on open banking solutions. They are also licensed by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. Zimpler has been growing in size and popularity in recent years, having expanded beyond Sweden into Europe. Despite this, they haven’t yet reached the scale of Trustly. Zimpler prides itself on its state-of-the-art security and real-time monitoring to prevent fraud and protect its customers.

Zimpler has an app that allows users to manage their payments, but it goes further than that, with budgeting tools and the ability to set limits. This is ideal when you’re gambling, so as to keep your spending in check. You can also link a credit card to your Zimpler account.

Volt

Volt is a fair newcomer to the open banking arena, opening its virtual doors in 2019. Volt has its headquarters in the UK and is licensed by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). This innovative fintech company also has offices in the Netherlands and Poland. They also have licenses from the Bank of Lithuania and have subsidiaries licensed in Germany and Norway.

Volt made its casino debut in 2021 and has quickly gained traction in the hyper-competitive world of casino payment processing. Using Volt, you will have access to their already vast, real-time open banking network that includes direct transfers from more than 5,000 banks in 25 countries across Europe and the UK. They also entered the Brazilian market in 2021 under the brand name PIX.

The process of using Volt for transactions follows the same process as other B2B open banking instant transfer methods, which is super intuitive. Transactions take only a few moments to be completed.

Brite

Brite is another new entrant to the instant transfer space, founded in 2019. It is clear that the Swedish are strong competitors with this type of fintech, as they too are from Sweden. In fact, many of the people behind Brite come from companies like Trustly, Sofort, and others.

Brite is licensed by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen), and their services are available in the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and various other countries. Their goal is to expand further across Europe and then globally. At the time of this review, Brite was available in 20 countries with direct access to 3,800+ banks.

An interesting feature of Brite is that you do not need to register an account to use their service. As strange as it sounds, there are good reasons for this. Brite does not hold customer funds at all, they are merely a payment gateway, which gives you even more anonymity. The biggest benefit is the user experience as you will not need to fill in forms or do KYC. It gets even better, because when you complete a transaction through Brite, you are automatically verified by your bank and this info is passed onto the casino, so verifying your casino account is automated.

Sofort

Sofort is a German company that was founded by Christoph Kline and Markus Neun, way back in 2005. The aim of the company at the time was to be an intermediary between the customer, their bank, and the merchant. The purpose was to provide enhanced security for users by keeping their identities concealed from the banks. This was a truly pioneering move at that time.

Sofort’s innovation catapulted them to success, leading to thousands of online casinos adding it as an instant transfer solution. Then, in 2014, they were acquired by the Swedish Fintech giant, Klarna. By 2022, Sofort was serving over 85 million customers across 16 EU countries.

To take things to the next level and give them access to even more banks, in 2022, they partnered with Brite (See above) to create SOFORT Instant Payouts powered by BRITE.

Summary

Instant bank transfer is a fast, convenient and easy way to transact securely with online casinos. There are various payment bank transfer service providers that are widely accepted at many casinos which allow you to deposit funds into your casino account directly from your bank account instantly. And the same applies to instant withdrawals that transfer your casino winnings straight to your bank account. If you want an alternative payment method to traditional credit cards and eWallets, then instant bank transfers could be ideal for you.

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Instant Bank Transfer FAQs

Are instant bank transfer services secure?

Instant bank transfer or open banking is specifically designed to add layers of security, especially when it comes to card payments. With direct integration into the banks, when you use any of these services, you are in fact transacting directly with your bank, with no intermediaries where your personal information can be leaked.

Are there more fees with instant bank transfers?

Compared to credit cards, an instant transfer is cheaper but there are many factors that can influence the fees. Many transfer services don’t charge any fees, but there might be currency conversion rates. With no credit card processor involved (unless you fund your payment with a card), it eliminates the extra 2% – 5% fees. Overall using an instant bank transfer is cheaper but check the specifics for your locale and bank.

Are Instant Bank Transfer widely supported by online casinos?

Most definitely and growing constantly. Instant payment services are rapidly being adopted across the world in all types of eCommerce payments, not just casinos. As instant bank payments become more ubiquitous in our everyday lives, you can expect even more services and options from betting sites.

How do I know my money is safe?

It is important to understand that in the online world, there are no guarantees when it comes to the safety of your personal details and money. Fraudsters are becoming increasingly advanced, and you have surely heard about regular data breaches, with even some of the most “secure” businesses.

While we want to trust that every online company will take all the precautionary measures to protect us, it is our responsibility as consumers to take extra steps to increase security.

The first thing to ensure your online safety is to transact with reputable companies, and in the case of payment services providers, pick ones that are licensed and regulated. The same applies to casinos (although many people still choose to play at unregulated casinos).

When you transact with an open banking services provider, you do not reveal your banking details to them, and you are in fact interacting directly with your bank. By not exposing your personal information to the casino or payment service, you are adding additional security which makes your money more secure.