Best Mastercard Casinos Online
About Mastercard
Mastercard is one of the earliest payment methods used by casinos when they started growing in popularity towards the end of the 20th century. At the time, players didn’t have access to e-wallets the way they have today. This is why many online casinos relied on Mastercard as their primary payment method.
Not all casinos allow Mastercard as the payment method for their players today. It is, therefore, essential that you check with your issuing bank or financial institution and the online casino whether deposits can be made using your Mastercard credit card.
Bank of America came up with the BankAmericard program during the late 1950s. In response to this credit card program, an alliance of several regional bankcard associations created Master Charge. The BankAmericard program was seen as a disaster initially, but it started to turn profits in the early 1960s.
To maintain secrecy of its profits, Bank of America deliberately avoided responding to the negative impressions about BankAmericard. This strategy proved to be successful until the mid 1960s. However, the profitability of the credit card program soon became too big for the bank to hide.
An executive vice president of Marine Midland Bank, Karl H. Hinke, met with representatives of many other banks in Buffalo, United States, in 1966. Bank of America had declined its request for a regional license of BankAmericard. In response, Marine Midland Bank had launched its own bankcard.
After the meeting, the banks along with several regional bankcard associations formed the Interbank Card Association and launched the Interbank card. The Interbank Card Association had 150 members with Hinke as its chairman by the end of 1967. Two years later, Interbank developed Master Charge, its new national brand. In 1979, it was renamed Mastercard.
Mastercard became the first among the credit cards to use holograms in 1983. By 1995, the worldwide acceptance of Mastercard ATM network, credit cards, and debit cards grew almost 10 percent. In 2012, the expansion of its mobile contactless payments program was announced. The current president and CEO of Mastercard Inc. is Michael Miebach.
Pros and Cons of using Mastercard in online casinos
Owing to a greater degree of reliability, Mastercard has become one of the most popular and sought-after payment methods in online casinos. However, it has its advantages and disadvantages. So, let’s go through the pros and cons of using Mastercard on any of the casino websites where it can be used for deposits and withdrawals.
Pros
- It offers one of the most secure networks for online and offline transactions
- Many casinos offer large and attractive bonuses on deposits made using Mastercard
- Some of the Mastercard credit cards offer attractive reward points for cardholders
- Most of the online casinos have Mastercard as one of their payment methods
- You can deposit money into your casino account instantly without any fees
Cons
- It might take 3 to 5 business days to receive your withdrawals
- Some casino websites charge 2 to 3 percent fee on the withdrawal amount
- There are quite a few online casinos that don’t accept Mastercard as a payment method
- An unreliable online casino might misuse the information you enter on the site
How Mastercard compares to other payment methods?
In recent times, there has been a considerable increase in the use of Mastercard on the casino websites. Many players choose this method of payment owing to its ease of use, security, and faster deposits and withdrawals. However, several online casinos charge transaction fees for using Mastercard. When compared to the e-wallets like Skrill, the fees can be typically higher.
However, the fees can be much lower when compared to the bank wire transfer fees. According to some reports, American Express can take up to 10 days for processing the transactions on some online casinos. In this regard, Mastercard is certainly faster than American Express, Visa and cryptocurrency transactions.
When making a deposit or withdrawal using Mastercard, you’re required to key in the credit card details. This can be seen as a disadvantage when many of the other payment methods such as PayPal don’t require you to provide such details.
Mastercard Fees
One of the major reasons why many online casino players use Mastercard is that it charges lesser transaction fees. It is well-known for offering many credit cards with no annual fee for the cardholders. The fee charged by Mastercard on the online casino transactions is up to 3 percent.
If the online casino is based in a country that’s different from the player’s country of origin, the issuing bank might impose additional fees. In this case, the foreign exchange rates apply. They are specific to the date and time of authorization of the transaction.
If the casino website has the provision to convert the transaction, then the foreign exchange rates may not apply. This is usually true in case of online casinos that allow you to pay in the currency of your Mastercard credit card.
How to use Mastercard Debit cards for deposits
Once you’ve found a casino that accepts Mastercard as one of the payment methods, sign up on its website. The online casinos that accept Mastercard have a pretty simple and straightforward process for making the deposits. Besides, you can be assured that your personal details used for registration are safe with its advanced security features.
Nevertheless, it is extremely important to choose an online casino that is reliable and safe. Once you’ve registered on the online casino, you’ll be taken to the deposit page. The location of deposit page varies depending on the casino that you choose. Usually, it is found on the account page or in the main navigation menus.
When you’re on the deposit page, choose Mastercard as your payment method. You’ll then need to enter your credit card number, security code, and other details. Next, you’ll need to enter the deposit amount. Your payment will be processed as soon as you proceed further and enter the unique code sent via text or email.
How to use Mastercard for casino withdrawals
There are many online casinos that don’t allow withdrawals using Mastercard. Before registering on the online casino you’ve chosen, you’ll need to make sure that it allows Mastercard withdrawals. If this is not done, you’ll be forced to cash out your winnings using a different payment method. Mostly, you’ll have to choose a bank wire transfer or an e-wallet in this case.
While e-wallets are faster, bank wire transfers are rather slow and attract higher fees. The steps for Mastercard withdrawals in all the online casinos are typically the same. You’ll need to navigate to the withdrawal page of your online casino, choose the amount you want to withdraw, and select Mastercard from the options provided.
Most of the online casinos will ask you to confirm your identity. The processing time for withdrawals would depend on the online casino you’ve chosen. You’ll receive your funds usually between 3 to 5 business days after the withdrawal request is processed.
How secure is Mastercard?
Mastercard users based in the United States have the benefit of Mastercard ID Theft Protection. It is a system made available for the cardholders of Mastercard in the United States that detects and prevents identity theft. Besides this system, Mastercard uses the latest chip technology to ensure reliability and security of its cards. This unique code is used for approvals of all the online transactions.
Users are also given the option of applying tokenization on their cards online. By using tokenization, they need not enter their 16-digit credit card number for the transaction. The fact that it was named one of the world’s most innovative companies by Forbes speaks volumes about its enhanced security measures for cardholders.