What's the safest way to pay online?
If you have ever bought anything online, and chances are that you have, you undoubtedly had to use some type of payment option. There are many different kinds, with varying levels of functionality, security, flexibility and compatibility. You can usually just use a credit card to pay for nearly anything online, and if you use a modern service and a decent bank to back your card, you should have the extra protection of 3-D Secure, such as MasterCard SecureCode or Verified by Visa. These technologies make it virtually impossible to spy on your information.
But what if you don’t want to input any of your sensitive information on certain websites? Or, if you simply don’t want to give it to multiple sites? There are other options, some of which are offered by many payment receivers, while some are only useful in certain places. Even huge retailers like Amazon.com do not accept every method of payment. Certain business offer as many options as possible, in order to make it easy for people to pay – and thus more likely that they will.
Online casinos, such as InstaCasino.com, offer multiple payment options, including e-wallets, prepaid cards, bank transfers, debit or credit card payments and even mobile payments. But what is the safest option when shopping online? As previously stated, credit cards are very safe these days, but what if you don’t want your transactions to be traceable by your bank?
You can opt to go with an online wallet, also known as an e-wallet, which acts as a middleman between the payer and the payee. The most famous one worldwide is probably PayPal, but there are plenty of other reputable services, including Skrill, Neteller, ePay, Euteller and ecoPayz – just install the app and sign up. The advantage is that it makes your payments at least slightly more secure and anonymous – but the e-wallet itself still holds and tracks your payments.
This is one of the reasons people like to use one of the many cryptocurrencies, which can be made virtually traceless. The big downside is that very few retailers accept them so far. A good compromise are the prepaid paycards, which work just like a gift card – you load it up with a certain amount, after which it works just like any regular debit card. You can buy it with cash and make card payments anywhere they accept the type of card (such as MasterCard, Amex or Visa).
Other are not connected to the major players, but are still accepted in thousands of online stores, casinos and other websites. One such service is paysafecard, which can be bought in regular shops, at gas stations and in convenience stores. Lastly, we have mobile payment, such as Zimpler. It allows you to make and confirm payments through your mobile, after which you get a regular invoice sent to you. This is very safe if your mobile is.
Simply put, the safest option for mobile payments online is most likely the pre-paid cards, since they cannot be traced to you and cannot be overcharged. However, if you use an e-wallet or your regular credit card(s) responsibly, you should be very safe as well.