The plan for the Paysafe Card was hatched by four entrepreneurs in Vienna, Austria in 2000. The concept was to bring “cash for the Internet” to the online world through prepaid cards purchased at retail outlets. By the next year the first cards were operational in Germany. In 2004 the plastic cards were joined by printouts called e-vouchers. The money passes from the Paysafecard to Internet vendors via a 16-digit PIN that offers a high degree of security.
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Paysafecards steadily expanded their concept of paying on the Internet without a credit card across Europe. They now operate in 39 countries with more than 480,000 sales outlets. Paysafecards can be obtained with denominations in 14 currencies. The company also has a license agreement with MasterCard that allows credit card convenience without requiring a bank account. The Yuna Prepaid MasterCard is available in Germany, Austria, France, Great Britain and Switzerland.
How Does Paysafecard Work to Make Deposits in Online Casinos?
The cards are on sale in retail stores across Europe and one or two other countries – Great Britain alone sports more than 20,000 retail outlets. Beware of cards sold over the Internet. These are offered by resellers, many times below value, and are often linked to fraud. Paysafecards are accepted at more than 3,500 online merchants, including many online gaming and social gaming sites.
When you register with the eVoucher program you are assigned a 16-digit Paysafecard PIN. You can keep this card and add money to it or purchase multiple codes. The lengthy PIN numbers will deter hackers from breaking into the card. If you have no mnemonic devices to memorize the 16-digit code, keep it written down in a safe place.
The vouchers are sold only in denominations of £10, £25, £50, and £100 – or their exchange equivalent. For deposits up to £1000 ten cards can be combined. Players can deposit Paysafecard money directly into casinos that accept e-Vouchers or they can be used to fund accounts in other third party payment processors such as Skrill or NETeller. There is no way to pay casino winnings onto a Paysafecard – the cash flows only one way at online casinos.
Why Use a Paysafecard to Fund Online Casino Bankrolls?
E-Vouchers are the essence of simplicity. Players can purchase one or many vouchers, load the money into a current casino account and start playing. There are no applications or registration forms and no personal information is exchanged. The trade-off for this level of convenience and anonymity is that Paysafecards are not an option for big money gamblers. The small denomination levels on the vouchers are more suited to playing a few hands of blackjack to pass the time waiting for a bus than to fund a night’s session of play. A good way to use Paysafecard e-vouchers is to test new online casinos with small amounts of money without exposing personal financial data.
How Do American Players Take Advantage of Paysafecard E-Vouchers?
For the most part they don’t. The vouchers are not currently sold in the United States and buying vouchers over the Internet is a violation of Paysafecard terms and conditions and not safe anyway. While traveling in Europe it is certainly possible for Americans to purchase Paysafecard vouchers and then use them back in the States. No one will know and the money will play just the same as a credit card deposit.