Security
Security is always going to be the primary concern when it comes to transferring money online. The good news is that the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates both Neteller and Skrill. This means that both are held to the same extremely high standards of security and privacy, and there is no discernible difference between the levels of protection offered by each.
However, there are a few small differences in the security procedures. Skrill offers two-factor authentication when logging in, with a onetime code sent to customers through the app. With Neteller, this is optional. Neteller also offers Secure ID, a separate login method that provides users with a unique 6-digit code that needs to be entered whenever customers are asked to confirm their identity, such as when logging in or carrying out transactions.
Websites and Customer Support
Both e-wallets have very easy to use websites where finding the information you need is straightforward; for instance, fee breakdowns, special offers, sign up, logging in, and so on.
The Neteller website has a clear support option on its home page that will take you to an FAQ, help topics divided by categories, and information about how to contact customer support including telephone numbers for 18 countries.
Skrill also has an easy to navigate support section and numerous contact options, including eight regional phone numbers. This means that while both are excellent, you may find it slightly easier to reach Neteller customer support.
Funding the e-Wallets
With both e-wallets, you will need to deposit funds in them before you are able to use them at an online casino. Both e-wallets have numerous funding options including bankcards, prepaid cards, e-cheques and bank wires.
Skrill offers its customers many free options, including bank transfers, Maestro Debit cards and Swift. There is a fixed fee of 1.90% for credit card deposits and fees in general will never exceed 5.5%. There may occasionally be charges for currency conversion but customers are able to choose up to four currencies for their account, which will help to reduce this. There is also an account maintenance fee of €1 per month after 12 months of inactivity.
Neteller offers more options than Skrill, and there are a number of free options, such as bank transfer, Trustly and moneta.ru. However, their non-free options have higher fees than Skrill, at 2.55%. Therefore, generally it costs more to fund a Neteller e-wallet than a Skrill e-wallet. However, Neteller also offers up to four currencies for accounts and it is possible to hold cryptocurrencies as well. Neteller also have inactivity fees; if you do not use your account for more than 14 months then you will be charged a $5 monthly maintenance fee.
Depositing at a Casino
Both of the e-wallets offer free deposits at online casinos and you will find that roughly 80% of all online casinos accept both e-wallets, including many of the recommended casinos here. You simply need to select the appropriate e-wallet from the casino cashier, enter how much money you wish to deposit and login to your e-wallet account. The entire process should take no more than a minute or two, and the money will be transferred to your casino account immediately so that you can start playing straight away.
Withdrawing from an Online Casino
The withdrawal process for both of these e-wallets is very straightforward. Again, you just need to select the appropriate e-wallet from the casino cashier and enter how much you wish to withdraw. Neither Neteller nor Skrill charge for these type of transactions, so as long as the casino does not charge you any fees, all of your winnings are yours to keep. The transaction itself should be instant, but the casino may take anything from a few minutes to a few days to process your withdrawal request.
Withdrawing from the e-Wallet
Again, withdrawing money from both providers is simple. Depending on where you live, if you have a Skrill account you can withdraw through bank transfer, credit cards, debit cards, and a Skrill card. Bank withdrawals tend to take 2 to 5 business days and cost €3.95 per transaction to your bank account. When withdrawing to credit and debit cards or using any other method, the withdrawals are subject to fees of between 1.45% and 5.50%. The fastest and cheapest way to access your money is to use a Skrill card, which will allow you to make a withdrawal at a cash machine with a fee of just 1.75%.
Neteller offer almost exactly the same withdrawal methods as Skrill with the addition of cheques. Neteller charge a flat fee of $10 for bank transfers and they take 3 to 5 business days. The other methods tend to have fees ranging from 1.45% up to 5.50% with a minimum amount of $0.50. As such, Neteller fees are higher than Skrill’s are. However, Neteller also offer the option to use merchant sites and they have a Net+ prepaid master card that can be used for instant and free withdrawals.
Physical Cards
As mentioned, both e-wallets offer members the chance to obtain physical cards. They are prepaid cards issued by MasterCard. This makes the funds much easier to access and allows them to be used in a wide variety of contexts.
Skrill will issue the card free of charge and it usually takes between 5 and 10 working days to arrive in the post. They also don’t charge for services such as online bank statements or changing the card’s PIN. However, the card is only available in USD, EUR, GBP and PLN. Furthermore, it also has daily and month limits on how much can be spent or withdrawn. However, these tend to be quite high.
The Net+ Prepaid MasterCard has a one off $10 fee and should arrive in 2 to 10 business days. There are not many fees, but if your transaction involves currency conversion, then there is fixed 3.99% fee. It is also possible to link up to 5 Net+ Virtual Prepaid MasterCard accounts to a physical card free of charge.
Additional Benefits
There are added benefits to using both Neteller and Skrill, with both e-wallets offering VIP loyalty schemes.
Skrill ranks your loyalty level based upon the funds traffic in your account per quarter. There are four tiers, Bronze, Silver Gold and Diamond, and they have minimum thresholds of €6,000, €15,000, €45,000 and €90,000 respectively. Those who reach even the lowest level will enjoy many benefits such as much lower or no fees at all for currency conversion, deposits and withdrawals, as well various dedicated services.
Neteller’s VIP loyalty scheme has five tiers, making it easier to reach the first level. Customers can advance through Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, and they bring many similar benefits to Skrill. Neteller measures your account activity annually and the thresholds that you need to meet are $10,000 for Bronze, $50,000 for Silver, $100,000 for Gold, $500,000 for Platinum, and $2,000,000 for Diamond-level benefits.
To Conclude
Both Neteller and Skrill are excellent e-wallets that give you the chance to enjoy significant benefits when banking at an online casino. When you are choosing one, it is worth considering what currency you will be using in order to avoid fees as much as possible. However, there are some restrictions on which countries the e-wallets are available in, and ultimately this may be the easiest way to choose between the two.