E-wallets are service providers that sit somewhere between bank accounts and virtual wallets. Much like bank accounts, they store money in a virtual account that you can access whenever you want, but they are more anonymous than banks and often have fewer rules and restrictions. Many e-wallets also offer self-branded debit cards, typically either MasterCards or Visa cards, that you can use at physical stores, online merchants and general vendors. Though they offer fewer services than banks, many people have at least one e-wallet account due to their unique features.
Storing and Depositing Money
Much like a checking account, e-wallets allow you to deposit and store money in your virtual account. While some e-wallets limit how much money your account can hold, the majority allow you to store as much money as you want.
Depositing money is fairly simple, which means that you can easily fund your account. Most e-wallets allow you to use credit cards, debit cards or bank transfers to fund the account. Bigger service providers, such as Paypal, offer gift cards that you can buy with cash. Others allow you to use payment gateways or exotic currencies, like Bitcoin, to fund the account.
Spending Money
Spending money directly from the e-wallet can sometimes be difficult because most websites don’t accept payments from them. Most of these service providers counter this by offering clients self-branded debit cards. These act just like regular debit cards that are tied directly to your account.
There are some websites in certain industries that heavily deal with e-wallets and have no qualms about accepting direct payments from them. Perhaps the most popular example would be online casinos. Most of these websites allow you to pay with your account, though many people still use their debit cards. Some of the most popular e-wallets that can be used at online casinos include Click2Pay, Skrill, NETeller and EcoCard.
International Support
International support is a very common feature with e-wallets. Most of them accept a dozen or so currencies, which makes them ideal for travelers or merchants who want to accept payments from other countries. Your default currency, or the one you use most often, is typically locked after making your first payments. For example, if you set the currency to USD, then you can’t change it to EUR. At the same time, you can still accept this currency as a deposit, but there might be a fee attached to it.
Fees
There are some fees attached to e-wallets, but they are few and typically very straightforward. Most of these fees are for making deposits. For example, you might have to pay a fee for using a wire transfer or credit card. Another common fee is a foreign exchange rate if you’re receiving currency that differs from your default currency. Check your e-wallet of choice for their exact fees.
Bank Comparison
E-wallets are similar to banks in some ways, but very different in others. They both allow you to store money and offer debit cards, but that’s where most of the similarities end. Unlike banks that might check your general background or credit score before offering you an account, e-wallets offer you an you account without any major checks. You might have to provide some personal information to create the account, but it’s very rare for someone to be denied access to a virtual wallet.
Banks also tend to be very personal. It’s difficult to spend your money with them without leaving a paper trail. This is often why online casinos prefer e-wallets because they are more anonymous. It’s harder for other agencies to see where you spend your money, and e-wallets rarely require as much information as a bank.
The only area in which banks are superior are number of services. E-wallets don’t offer much more than a debit card, an account for storing money and security for protecting your data. Banks have credit cards, loans and various accounts.
Conclusion
E-wallets are growing in popularity because they are perfect for staying anonymous, are widely accepted by online casinos and offer you a safe space for your money. While they don’t offer as many features as a bank, they are very popular for the features that they do offer.
