Online casinos in Canada continue to grow in popularity as gamblers look for more convenient ways to play. A recent report reveals that online casino wagers in Ontario reached a staggering $18.7 billion per quarter, with $16 billion coming from casino bets alone. That’s the highest number ever recorded since the province launched in April 2022.
One reason for the expanding iGaming landscape in CA is the availability of convenient payment options. Companies like Koho Financial, in partnership with Mastercard, have introduced prepaid card services that help simplify online transactions. With Koho, you can fund your virtual card using e-transfers, debit cards, or direct bank transfers and make payments seamlessly.
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Users with verified Koho accounts can also deposit cash at the nearest Canada Post location. But sadly, Koho cards cannot be used at regulated Canadian online casinos due to certain limitations. In this article, we’ll dive deep into Koho Financial and what makes it better than traditional casino payment methods. Keep reading.
Koho and Gambling Transactions
Prepaid cards like Koho are emerging as the perfect banking solutions for gamers. They allow players to manage their money and control their finances effectively. On top of that, you can build your credit score by using the Koho prepaid credit card. All you need is a verified Koho account with a balance of at least $10 to use the credit building service.
Sadly, despite being accepted on most online shopping platforms in CA, you cannot use Koho for online gambling transactions. This comes as no surprise, as a substantial number of prepaid cards in Canada restrict transactions on gambling platforms for Canadian players.
So, why is it so? According to a report by FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada), prepaid cards and vouchers are “high-risk funding” methods for gambling and entertainment platforms. This is because malicious individuals can use these cards to obtain funding from illegal sources. However, by restricting their use, the authorities can help prevent money laundering, including funding prepaid cards with cash at retail locations.
In conclusion, Koho is unavailable for casino deposits in Canada. Thankfully, there are many other prepaid card alternatives to consider for online gambling. We’ll discuss all the available options in detail later in this guide. Continue reading.
Comparison with Traditional Banks Regarding Gambling Transactions
Now let’s compare Koho to traditional banking methods. One of the reasons why Koho stands out is its digital-first approach. With Koho, you’re guaranteed faster transactions and easier access to your funds compared to conventional banking methods. Koho is a strictly online payment service, meaning there are no bank working hours or processes to delay transactions. This also makes Koho transactions near instant with minimal or zero fees
It’s also worth mentioning that Koho customers enjoy frequent incentives for spending cash. This prepaid card offers 1% or 1.5% cashback rewards, something you’ll rarely find with profit-minded banks. However, the main issue is finding a casino that supports Koho Financial. Most casinos accept payments via Interac, Bank Wire, Gigadat, and other options. That’s a significant disadvantage to Koho.
Challenges of Using Koho for Gambling
Like every other casino payment method, Koho has a few limitations. Understanding these drawbacks can help you choose a payment option that fits your casino transaction needs. Here are the challenges of using Koho in gambling:
- Limited availability: This is the main challenge of using this virtual card. Koho’s terms and conditions, its Virtual Card is unavailable for deposits at casinos and adult entertainment sites. This means you must look for other alternatives to make casino payments.
- No withdrawals: Koho is a prepaid card like Paysafecard, meaning you cannot withdraw money from the casino to your Koho account. Instead, you can cash out to your bank account before funding your Koho prepaid card.
- Low transaction limit: You can top up your Koho account with a minimum of $10 and a maximum of $3,000 daily. Also, the maximum monthly amount is $10,000. While this is a friendly limit for casual games, it may not impress high rollers.
- Payment Fees: Koho will charge you an exchange fee of 1.5% if you deposit money at a casino that doesn’t accept CAD. However, that’s still lower than the 2-3% foreign exchange fee that most credit/debit cards charge. The cost could be higher with bank transfers.
- Support Delays: There have been complaints about Koho taking too long to reply to customer inquiries. We found this thread on Reddit about a user complaining about Koho taking more than 4 hours to respond to chat messages. That can be truly sad if true.
Alternatives to Koho for Gambling Transactions
While Koho is a great choice for many users, there are several other payment methods that might be a better fit. In this section, we’ll discuss payments via traditional banks, prepaid cards, and e-wallets.
Traditional Banks
There are currently 80+ regulated banks operating in Canada. If you add regulated credit unions and financial institutions, this number explodes to 400+. Making a casino payment via Bank Wire or Bank Transfer is relatively quick and easy. Keep in mind that direct bank transfers to and from your casino account can have independent bank charges.
Below are some of the ‘big five banks of Canada’ that support casino transactions:
- Bank of Montreal: This is among the best banks for making local and offshore casino transfers. It often comes with a base fee of around $16 for casino payouts.
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce: This bank supports local and offshore transfers in over 120 countries. Casino deposits of $10,000 or less have a $30 fee.
- Royal Bank of Canada: This bank can provide you with wire transfer services upon making a request. The fees vary depending on the account type.
- Scotiabank: You can enjoy seamless wire transfers at Scotiabank. Though payments can take up to 5 business days, it’s an excellent option for substantial money transfers in Canada.
- Toronto-Dominion Bank: TD Bank provides wire transfer services at a fair price of around $15 for casino payouts. Free transfers are possible if your account is in good standing.
In comparison to Koho Financial, wire transfers tend to have backbreaking charges. In addition, most Canadian banks restrict direct transfers to offshore casino accounts. The only exceptions here are the Bank of Montreal and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Thankfully, nearly all the institutions listed above process echeck payments. This is simply an electronic check that allows players to bypass stringent bank transfer restrictions. Think of it as a digital pen and paper check.
Prepaid Cards
Here’s a list of popular prepaid cards you can use for online gambling in Canada. Like debit cards, these cards allow players to gamble with money they already have:
- Paysafecard: Launched in 2000, Paysafecard is one of the most widely accepted prepaid cards in the gaming industry. This is a voucher-based payment method that allows you to fund casino transactions securely using a 16-digit PIN code. The best part is that you don’t need to share your personal or financial details.
- Vanilla Visa: Although less common than Paysafecard, Vanilla Visa is a secure prepaid card accepted at most businesses that process Visa or Mastercard payments. It’s a versatile card with a gambling-friendly limit of $20 to $500.
- Neo Money: This is the best option if you’re looking for a Canadian prepaid card with frequent incentives. Neo Money offers zero NSF fees and 3% cashback for groceries and gas payments. You can also get a 1% cashback on payments anywhere else.
- AstroPay: This is a standard payment method on most gambling sites. You can buy a prepaid card directly on the AstroPay website and make casino payments in multiple currencies. It’s a great choice for offshore casino payments.
- Neosurf: Like AstroPay, Neosurf is an online wallet that also provides prepaid card services. With this voucher-based service, all you need is to enter a 10-digit code at a checkout point to complete transactions.
- Flexepin: Here’s another name you won’t miss at most international casinos. This prepaid card allows you to buy and use its vouchers globally. Simply purchase a Flexepin voucher and use the 16-digit PIN to complete a casino deposit.
Like Koho, these prepaid cards or vouchers are not a bank or money-saving account. This means you cannot use them to request casino withdrawals. But don’t fret because most Canadian casinos provide dozens of payment alternatives to request a payout. Most times, you may need to contact the support team to use a different method to withdraw winnings. That’s just about it.
E-Wallets and Cryptocurrency
In recent years, e-wallets and cryptocurrencies have become popular choices for casino transactions. These methods offer a seamless user experience compared to traditional bank transfers and prepaid cards. With e-wallets, you don’t need to share banking details or apply for payment cards to complete transactions. Plus, these options often support both deposits and withdrawals, with funds reflecting in minutes or hours.
However, some e-wallets are more common for casino transactions in Canada than others. EcoPayz (Payz) has emerged today as the most convenient web wallet for gaming. This Europe-based e-wallet allows users to complete casino deposit and withdrawal transactions without sharing vital bank details. All that’s needed is your email and phone number to set up your ecoPayz account.
Other widespread e-wallets for casino payments in Canada include:
- MuchBetter: A payment app available in 185+ countries.
- MiFinity: A web wallet connected to 600+ casinos worldwide.
- Skrill: An experienced web wallet launched in 2001.
- Neteller: A digital wallet initially started as a casino payment method.
- PayPal: The most popular e-wallet, although mainly limited to ON casinos.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum are reliable as well. You don’t need to provide personal details to make crypto payments. In fact, cryptos have an edge over e-wallets. These digital coins use decentralized blockchain technology, making transactions faster and more accessible. Some casinos even support as high as 10-20 cryptos.
Other Fintech Alternatives to Koho
Here’s a list of other Fintech alternatives to try out:
Neo Financial
If you’re unfamiliar with Neo, there’s a great chance you’re missing out on a great deal. Neo Financial is a relatively new company founded in 2019 in Alberta, Canada. It’s a challenger bank that provides debit financing through its digital-first services, including the Mastercard-powered Neo Money prepaid card. Like Koho, you can fund this virtual card using a credit/debit card or Apple Pay and Google Pay accounts.
That said, Neo is unique for several reasons. First, this company provides its customers with cashback for spending money on its retail partners. Neo has partnerships with 10,000+ brands countrywide. This includes big businesses like Walmart, Boston Pizza, and Pandora. Another reason to use Neo Financial is the zero annual fee and a wide range of perks based on your subscription.
For example, you can subscribe to the Travel plan ($7.99/month) to get 2% cashback for all foreign transitions. Alternatively, choose the Mind & Body plan ($9.99/month) to earn 1.25 times more cashback when you spend money at the gym and fitness studios. Neo Financial is an excellent choice if you’re looking for some free lunches here and there.
STACK & Brim
Stack and Brim are other prepaid card options to consider. Stack is a reloadable card that was launched in 2018 for multiple retailers countrywide. Stack Mastercard doesn’t charge any foreign exchange fee, making it ideal for travel and offshore spending. However, Stack was discontinued in August 2023. This service encouraged customers to use Koho as its “preferred partner.” Brim is another no-annual-fee prepaid card with zero FX charges. Today, Brim is among the few cards accepted Canada-wide. It stands out with its friendly foreign transaction fee of between 0% and 1.5%, which is better than the 2.5% on most cards. Brim cardholders also earn rewards by shopping at merchant partners. Every $2 you spend will earn you a point.
Wise & Tangerine
Lastly, consider Wise and Tangerine to enjoy convenient digital banking services on multi-currency accounts. Wise is a money transfer service that’s available to use in 70+ countries. It allows you to hold money in 40+ currencies at zero monthly charges. This platform supports money conversions between currencies like USD, CAD, and EUR at a fixed fee. The fee reduces as you send more money. Think of it as a bank right inside your palms.
If you don’t have a Wise account, use Tangerine instead. It’s an online personal bank that provides various services, including savings and checking accounts. The good thing about using Tangerine is its Canadian roots after being purchased by Scotiabank in 2012. With Tangerine, you can enjoy a fee-free savings account that also offers competitive interest rates. You can even open a children’s savings account with no monthly fee and zero minimum balance requirement.
Conclusion
We hope you found this guide helpful and gathered useful insights when choosing your next payment method. Prepaid cards like Koho offer a fantastic alternative to traditional payment methods like bank transfers and debit cards. With Koho, you enjoy fee-free casino deposits and best of all, you don’t need to provide any card or bank account details to make a transaction. Setting up a Koho account is also a walk in the park as the whole process is completed within 5 minutes.
However, keep in mind that all prepaid cards, including Koho, are unavailable for casino payouts. In addition, you’ll need to do lots of digging to find a casino that supports Koho transactions outside Canada. For this reason, you can keep it traditional with bank transfers or use e-wallets. Cryptos are also excellent choices if you have a few digital coins to spare. Nonetheless, Koho is a superb option to have in the gaming transaction sphere.
