When it comes to making payments or sending money online these days, having a secure payment method is an absolute must. This will protect your funds and your personal and financial data.
There are many options though, so knowing which ones suit you best can be a big advantage. This will allow you to choose the most convenient option to meet your needs.
In this post, we’ll go over some of the most secure payment options that you can use for making payments online.
5 Online Payment Options
Revolut
Revolut is a relatively new form of payment that was founded in 2015. It’s widely supported but isn’t available in every country. It is expanding fast, however, so if you live in a Western country, chances are it’s supported in your region.
Revolut is a popular choice for people looking for a fresh alternative to traditional banking. Revolut provides users with a pre-paid debit card that they can use for purchases in physical stores or at online vendors.
Through the Revolut app, users can create budgets and even convert currencies at competitive rates. It also has very strong security features, such as fingerprint authentication, PIN codes and settings that let users freeze and unfreeze their cards.
Although Revolut is free with the basic plan, there are premium tiers for customers who are interested in extra features.
Revolut is a solid payment choice for online casinos since it’s so secure, fast and convenient. It allows players to deposit funds quickly and get to play their favourite games right away.
This compatibility with fun and popular online casino websites has made Revolut grow even faster as a payment method.
Revolut is essentially a digital banking app but without the financial protection that a bank has, such as deposit insurance.
For people who often travel or make purchases on international websites, Revolut is a great option due to its competitive exchange rates and low transaction costs.
PayPal
PayPal is the original e-wallet, having been co-founded by Elon Musk back when he wanted to title it X.com. It was made into a giant in the online payment market thanks to eBay and their buyer protection policy with PayPal.
Nowadays, PayPal is still widely accepted by online merchants and even has a crypto section on the website where users can buy and sell several different cryptocurrencies.
PayPal has excellent customer service and tight security protocols. It adds a layer of protection compared to using a bank card since users only need to log into PayPal to make their purchases with it. They never have to share their actual bank details with merchants.
This added buffer can help a lot to prevent bank account info from being hacked, but users still need to do their due diligence to protect their login credentials, as they should with any of their accounts.
Two-factor authentication can help keep accounts protected, but it isn’t the end all in terms of account protection. Users should never share their username and password with anyone else to help keep their accounts secure at all times.
It’s not accepted everywhere, but overall, PayPal is an excellent, reliable option for online payments. It can provide instant purchases and business accounts even have the option of a PayPal card which functions much the same that a debit card would.
Debit and credit cards
Debit and credit cards have been around the longest of any payment methods on this list. They’re tried and true, and are the most convenient in some ways, especially considering that just about everyone has at least one. For users who don’t have any of the other payment options in this article, this might be the best option.
Credit cards offer the ability to buy things without having the money in your account. This provides a huge advantage but can be abused and cause severe debt and a poor credit score in extreme cases.
Debit cards can often be used in the same way as credit cards while making purchases, but since the money needs to be present in the bank account they’re linked to, there’s less potential for issues.
However, there is a higher security risk for both credit and debit cards compared to the other options on our list. Financial information is needed which can leave the user vulnerable to hackers or fraud. Banks and credit card companies typically have policies to protect users in cases of fraud, but they’re not comprehensive.
Cryptocurrency
One of the most secure and anonymous forms of payment these days is crypto. Its use of blockchain ensures secure transactions that are decentralised and don’t expose your details or financial data.
Some of the biggest ones are Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are the most widely accepted at this point, but there are hundreds to choose from.
Crypto is exchanged from one cryptocurrency to another on exchanges, and stored securely by using a digital wallet.
The cheap transaction costs of cryptocurrencies compared to conventional banking systems is one of the main advantages. Plus, transactions frequently happen more quickly now that a lot of cryptocurrencies allow for near-instantaneous or instantaneous transfers.
Users need to be aware of how volatile crypto values are though. The worth of money and in turn the cost of purchases can be impacted greatly by value changes.
Despite this, more and more online merchants and service providers are accepting cryptocurrencies and embracing the technology.
Prepaid cards
One of the most private and safe payment options to use online is prepaid cards, which don’t link purchases to your bank account. These cards function by letting users load money onto them up to a certain amount, which they then use to make payments to vendors that accept them.
This method is excellent for protecting financial data like bank account info, and it’s also ideal for budget management for people who want to limit how much they’re spending using the card.
One of the things that makes prepaid cards great is how accessible they are since they can be bought at retail stores or online. They come in a few different forms, one being disposable that you literally throw away after consuming the balance. While others can act as pay-as-you-go cards that you refill when you need to.
Prepaid cards are ideal as gifts or for travelling. Since they’re widely accepted, they can come in handy in the right situations.
However, there can be costs associated with activation, reloading and even monthly upkeep. That’s why if you use prepaid cards, you should read the terms carefully, so you know what the potential fees are.
In summary
There are many options out there when it comes to payment methods these days, but the ones above are some of the most convenient. They offer fast transaction speeds and solid security, whether it’s for online payments or in person.
If you only have one or two of the above options, you might want to consider trying some of the others. You could end up saving a lot on fees, and you might find one of them to be more convenient for your needs than the others.
