In order to play poker online, you need a way to get money from your pocket to the online poker room. At a live casino, it’s easy to get started – just plunk down some cash, get your chips, and it’s off to the races. Seeing as this same method would require a lot of time an expensive plane ticket for an online poker deposit, players around the world need alternate methods.
This is where online payment processors come in. There are two main types: e-wallets and direct transfer services. E-wallets, the most common, are online repositories for your poker funds. From these e-wallets, you can transfer money back and forth from poker rooms and withdraw funds back to your bank account. After the initial setup, which may take a few days for verifications, e-wallets are generally quick and easy to use. Direct transfer services simply facilitate the transfer of money from your bank account to the poker room. There is no stopping in the middle, no wallet to fund.
With a multitude of payment processors out there, it can be a bit confusing to choose one to use for your online poker needs. And with the landscape seeming to constantly change with the unfortunate legal environment in the United States and grey area in Canada, we felt it would be helpful to discuss the most popular online payment methods and processors in order to help poker players determine where they should keep their bankrolls and fund their accounts. Because things are changing so quickly, we are doing our best to keep up with the current changes and will post them here as we become aware of them.
UNITED STATES-enabled payment processors**
| Processor Name | Accept US | US Deposit | US Withdrawal | Accept Canada |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wire2Card |  |
|
 |
 |
| Cashier's Check | |
|
|
|
| MoneyGram | |
|
|
|
| Rapid Transfer | |
|
|
|
| Toggle Card | |
|
|
|
| QuickTender | |
|
|
|
| PrimaPin | |
|
|
|
| Phoenix Cards | |
|
|
 |
| IbankG | |
|
|
|
| Entropay | |
|
|
|
| eCheck | |
|
|
|
| Add-Funds | |
|
|
|
| instantCheck | |
|
|
|
| Maestro | |
|
|
|
| UseMyBank | |
|
|
|
| Visa | |
|
|
|
| Mastercard | |
|
|
|
| MyCitadel | |
|
|
|
| IPPPay | |
|
|
|
| Bank Draft | |
|
|
|
| Wire Transfer | |
|
|
|
| eWalletXpress | |
|
|
|
| PIC-Club | |
|
|
|
| eCheck, Bank Draft, Bank Wire | |
|
|
|
| UsemyWallet/Quicktender | |
|
|
|
| Money Transfer | |
|
|
|
| Physical Checks | |
|
|
|
| Miscellaneous | |
|
|
|
**Note that payment processors are enabled on a per poker site basis. Not all processors listed will work on all sites.