Online threats like hackers and scams have been around since the 1990s. But the rate at which these crimes are increasing is worrying. Last year, cyber attacks increased by 45%. On the flip side, identity theft cases reached 12.46% in Canada according to Statista.
If you want to use online casinos safely, choose secure and trusted payment options. Below is a list of the best online casino banking providers in Canada.
Bank transfer is one of the oldest ways to send and receive money from online casinos in Canada. It’s easy and convenient to wire money to a gambling merchant. All you need is the correct details of the recipient bank.
There was a time Canadian banks would prohibit payments to online casinos. But ever since provinces around the country legalized the industry, it’s unlikely to face the same problem in 2021.
The only safety issue you can expect while wiring money is to send it to an untrustworthy company. In that case, you risk losing your money because the receiving casino is a fraud. Another downside for using bank transfer is the speed: It’s slow, at least compared to its competitors.
In some countries—like the UK—it’s illegal to gamble with money from a credit card. In Canada, though, you can use either your credit or debit card for casino deposits and withdrawals.
Credit cards store borrowed money while debit cards let you spend money saved in your bank account. Most online casinos support both Visa and MasterCard—the two most popular card networks. You can also use Discover, Maestro and iDebit in Canada.
How safe are card payments? For starters, credit card companies in Canada offer a refund in case you lose your card to fraudsters. Additionally, credit cards tend to limit the maximum you can spend.
With debit cards, it’s essential to perform due diligence on the casino you plan to join. Additionally, set a password and enable 2-Factor Authentication.
PayPal is the grand daddy of digital wallets. It started life in 1998 as Confinity but later merged with Elon Musk’s X.com to become PayPal. According to the SpaceX CEO, PayPal’s biggest strongpoint has always been speed.
It came out at a time cards and banks would take days to process payments. PayPal introduced instant transactions, all while keeping the fees low. Additionally, the e-wallet is free and doesn’t charge to store your money.
Not every website supports PayPal. But generally speaking, online casinos that accept PayPal tend to provide quality services. There’s an explanation. The digital wallet picks merchants to transact with carefully, often by prioritizing security, trustworthiness, reliability and great reputation.
When it comes to online security, Google leads the way. The leading search engine utilizes multiple security layers to protect you. For starters, you can lock your phone or log out of your Google account in case you lose one of your devices.
Secondly, Google stores your data in its secure servers. The information remains encrypted. So, even if someone were to hack Google’s servers, they wouldn’t decrypt your data. Also, the search engine company has a data protection policy that ensures your data can never be traded or sold.
That being said, Google Pay is relatively new. As such, it’s not yet available at all leading casino sites in Canada.
Skrill is a London-based digital wallet founded in 2001. The company launched to serve online casinos and financial trading websites. Nowadays, it also works with eCommerce sites and can allow you to send or receive money from family and friends.
For many Canadians, Skrill is a convenient way to bank at casino sites for one reason. It’s available at hundreds of gambling websites. The company uses SSL encryption to keep your data safe.
It also provides password protect and 2-factor authentication. Additionally, it works with MasterCard for deposits and withdrawals, ensuring your transactions remain safe in every step of the way.
Now, MasterCard has one downside. Some casinos won’t give you a welcome bonus if you use it for deposits. These sites often accuse Skrill of not being strict enough with its account opening laws, allowing people to open multiple accounts.
Neteller started in Canada in 1999 but moved to the Isle of Man in 2004. Today, it’s owned by the same company that runs Skrill: Paysafe. Unfortunately, it also faces the same problem as its sister company—you might not qualify for casino bonuses.
With that in mind, Neteller is a secure and reliable digital wallet. Creating an account is seamless and you can deposit money through MasterCard fast. You can also use your account to deposit money to hundreds of casino sites stress-free.
Electronic check providers are the latest companies to embrace the iGaming industry. For the uninitiated, an eCheck is like a digital check. They are quicker to process than traditional checks and they come with a guarantee of receiving the money.
You see, a bank can’t clear an eCheck unless you have money in your bank account. Due to that, casinos have no reason to fear eCheck transactions. On the other hand, players benefit by transacting with fees as low as 10 cents.
Electronic checks qualify for bonuses. But similar to Google Pay, they are not yet available at leading online casinos.
Another new way of depositing and withdrawing money from casino sites in Canada is through Bitcoin. Contrary to popular belief, bitcoin is safe. It operates through a digital ledger designed to eliminate fraud completely.
Known as the blockchain, it keeps crypto transactions safe in multiple ways. For example, every transaction is stored and verified. After that, it can’t be erased. The blockchain is run by independent computer nodes, making it impossible to hack.
Like many payment options, you can claim bonuses through crypto payments. But beware: you can lose your money if uncareful. For example, you lose your funds if you send it to the wrong address. You can also lose it if you store crypto at an unsafe wallet.
