Neteller
Review
Right at the start of the internet age, we were still heading to a bank branch with a paper form to transfer money to other people or businesses. Alternatively, when sending money abroad we used services such as Western Union for transfers to friends and family. Admittedly, we had debit and credit cards, but they were not suitable for transferring money to other accounts, businesses or people.
The Beginnings of Neteller
Then came the ‘.com’ boom in the late nineties and it was hip to buy things or play video games online. New services were needed to facilitate easy money transfers that would guarantee purchases yet protect the clients’ identity as they would not need to disclose their card details to a merchant. Online gambling was still in its infancy at that point.
And this was the point where Neteller began. It was 1999, right in the middle of the first internet boom, when they started offering their services with what they called an e-wallet. Basically, an electronic account where you could conveniently load money from your bank account or debit/credit card and then use the balance to pay for online purchases, gaming sites and a whole range of other merchants who offered Neteller as a payment method.
Other so-called e-wallets such as PayPal, Skrill and Ecopayz were founded around the same time. But it was Neteller who became over the next decade the favourite non-card payment method at gaming sites. Utterly simple and convenient to use, it allowed deposits and withdrawals to be processed instantly. The early success was phenomenal and let at some point in the early 2000s to Neteller processing over 80% of all online gaming and gambling transactions worldwide.
Where is Neteller Today?
Today, the company is much more than just a simple e-wallet. Regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it guarantees that all client balances are kept in separate trust accounts and thus ensuring that they could repay all customers in case of a bankruptcy. However, one must not think that they are a bank as they are not, they simply adhere to the codes of practice of the FCA as a financial services provider.
Neteller grew steadily over the years and that organically as well as through acquisitions. The most prominent were that of rival e-wallet Skrill and Europe’s leading prepaid voucher company Paysafe Card. Together, they are today the world-leading e-wallet provider with millions of customer on all continents.
Services Offered by Neteller
Neteller is first and foremost a digital money account called e-wallet, where you can upload, withdraw and transfer funds to and from merchants as well as other people in meanwhile over 25 currencies. A wide variety of upload options such as bank transfer, debit/credit cards, bitcoin and other regional solutions are available for the first step of using your Neteller account, which is uploading funds.
Any available balance can now be used for instant payments at any merchant that accepts Neteller for payment. There probably 100,000s businesses from gaming companies, online shopping portals and the absolute majority of gambling and betting sites. Customers can also do instant money transfers to friends and family who themselves have a Neteller account.
The reverse flow of money is just as simple. Customers in the SEPA countries (Single Euro Payments Area) can request a Net+ Prepaid MasterCard which can be used to pay at any point of sale that accepts MasterCard or for withdrawals at virtually any ATM worldwide. Alternatively, they can transfer any balance from their Neteller e-wallet to their registered bank accounts.
Neteller Customer Rewards
All customers are automatically enrolled into the Reward Points Program where they collect points for each transaction. Once they accumulated sufficient points, they can exchange them for cash that is usually credited within 24 hours after submitting the request online.
Account holders with high turnovers can also take advantage of the Neteller VIP program with five levels – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. The lowest level requires currently $10,000 in transfers to merchants per calendar year while the amount for the Diamond level is $2 million.
The main VIP benefits are lower upload and currency exchange fees, free money transfers, higher daily ATM limits and more. The higher the VIP level the better the benefits.
Promotions at Neteller
Gaming sites offering special promotions when using Neteller is relatively new, although they have increased significantly in numbers over the last couple of years. Once you log into your account, you will be able to see the current offers from gaming sites that usually includes some perk such as a high match bonus, bonus or extra spins or a percentage in cash on top of your deposit.
Gambling Sites Restricting Neteller for Sign-Up Offers
More recently, some casino and betting operators have restricted the use of e-wallets when claiming the sign-up offer. However, in most cases, they do allow the methods for other promotions once the welcome package has been claimed. In light of those restrictions, we try to mark each offer accordingly but some casinos might not inform us in due time about changes to accepted payment methods. Hence, we do recommend that you read the terms of each offer carefully to avoid disappointment in case Neteller is restricted for a specific deal.
Final Words
Neteller has become so widely accepted that most people gambling online will have used or still use it at their gaming hangouts. It offers convenience and ease of use that is by far superior to any other payment solution be it cards or instant banking options. Whilst you get fees charged for uploading and withdrawing from your Neteller account, it makes it up with the speed at which deposits and withdrawals are being processed.