Canadians are looking for new ways to fund their online poker account now that they can no longer use direct bank account transfers or, in some cases, their credit cards.
UKash is one of these alternative payment methods. UKash is an “eWallet,” a pre-paid online money transfer method that started in 2006. Originally, UKash serviced European and African nations only, and was especially popular in the UK. Since opening their doors to the Canadian market (while still leaving US customers in the lurch), UKash has become a hugely popular way to transfer funds to online poker accounts.
The name comes from a combination of the words UK and cash, and is available at any number of retailers from drug stores to small kiosks in shopping centers. UKash is well known as a quick and safe way to move money from your bank or credit card to your online poker player account.
UKash is getting more popular for online gamblers and poker players—it is convenient and cost-efficient with no need for you to hand over sensitive personal information to get your account started.
Canadian Friendly Ukash Poker Sites
What Are UKash Poker Deposits?
UKash is technically a hybrid eWallet and pre-paid cash voucher. You buy UKash vouchers at one of what the company describes as “thousands of in-store locations,” though depending on what country you’re in, your options may be a little more limited.
In Canada, for example, there are only about 600 stores currently carrying UKash vouchers for sale. The company reports on its website, as of this writing, that UKash customers will soon have the option of buying UKash vouchers over the Internet with a simple bank transfer, making this convenient funds transfer options even more so.
Right now, to buy UKash, you just head to your nearest store selling the vouchers and trade cash for what is called an “adult” UKash voucher card. The reason for the adult purchase? If you plan on using your UKash voucher at an online poker site, you’ll need to prove your age to the salesperson and use the adult UKash voucher to add money to your poker account. The salesperson just verifies your age, and doesn’t take down any information, so you remain anonymous.
There’s an easy way to find a store near you selling UKash vouchers; check out the UKash web site and click the button that says “Where to Get” near the top of the page. Here is the LINK.
UKash is currently expanding their operations into Asia and South America, which is a nice change for the world of eWallets. Look at how quickly PayPal and NETeller fled from the Canadian market when the legality of Canadian poker online was even put into question. UKash being willing to expand is a good sign of the company’s staying power.
UKash Fees for Canadian Poker Players
The best thing about UKash is their lack of a fee structure. The only time you’ll pay a fee is to buy the card itself, which comes in units of between £5 and £499. In fact, you can even convert your UKash money into 1 of 22 different currencies with no transfer or conversion fees whatsoever.
Before you worry about the top end of that cash amount, understand that you can buy multiple UKash cards and combine them when you deposit to your poker site’s cashier, so you aren’t actually limited to £499. You can even combine several UKash vouchers with a little bit of money remaining on them into one larger voucher at no cost to you. All this is handled through customer service.
UKash Deposit Security
As online poker deposit methods go, UKash is top of the security heap. You buy UKash at one of thousands of in-store locations, and since you don’t hand over any personal information, there’s nothing at stake. You can register your free online account if you want, and yeah you’ll have to hand over a few personal details then, but data encryption and SLL encryption has you covered. Since the UKash customer service team is available 24/7, you can use a toll-free phone number or email contact to have any of your questions answered. Phone support is open between 7am and 11pm CET.
Requirements for Canadians to Use UKash
Now that UKash is available in Canadian retail stores, there are very few requirements for Canadians to use UKash to add money to their online poker bankroll.
If you want to put money from your UKash voucher into your poker site account, you’ll need to buy the adult version of the card. That requires proof that you are over the age of 18, but this is handled easily by showing the salesperson your official government ID.
That’s really all there is to it. You choose the amount of cash you want on your UKash voucher, show your ID to the salesperson proving you are 18 or older, and you walk out with a voucher good at basically every Canadian-facing online poker site.
Canadian UKash Online Poker Sites
Our recommended Canadian-facing poker site for Canadians using UKash as a deposit method is Party Poker. Canadians can deposit to their Party Poker account using UKash with no problems.
Party Poker
Party Poker is currently handing new customers that make their first deposit with UKash a 100% match worth up to $500. Party Poker is one of the largest poker rooms in the world, featuring high player volume, regularly updated promotions, and a tournament schedule that should please even the pickiest online poker tournament fan. The competition at Party Poker is still on the soft side especially when you play in the low-limit tables of Texas holdem and Omaha.
More About UKash Deposits
Here are some of the more common questions about the UKash voucher system.
Do I Have to Register My Account?
You aren’t required to register with UKash at their website to use your cash voucher, but if you do you’ll have access to tools and other features that unregistered UKash users woudn’t normally have, such as online account management and live chat support.
How Do I Convert Currencies with UKash?
UKash offers a completely free conversion service any time you need to change the currency of your Ukash money. You can change currencies in any country in the world besides South Africa, where UKash is prevented from offering this service by that country’s government.
Here is a handy guide to converting currencies with UKash:
First, go to the UKash website. Then, login to your UKash account with your email address and password that you’ve created with the site ahead of time.
From there, just click the tab labeled “Tools” and use the Convert tool. You’ll need to enter your Ukash PIN once more and select the amount you want to convert. You’ll also select one of 22 available currencies to convert to.
There are no fees or extra charges at all for converting currencies with UKash.
How Many UKash Vouchers Can I Get?
You can buy as many as 5 Ukash vouchers, each worth 500GBP each. If you want to buy them in a different currency, you can still only hold that currency’s value compared to £500. That means your maximum holdings at any one time in UKash vouchers is £2,500 or the equivalent in your chosen currency.
Canadian Law and UKash Deposits
Thankfully, Canadian law does not prohibit Canadian poker players from using UKash vouchers to fund their online poker accounts. As of this writing, UKash is still expanding their presence in Canada and around the world, giving poker players all over the globe a safe and convenient (not to mention relatively inexpensive) way to fund their online poker accounts.
UKash has one of the lowest fee structures of any eWallet or payment transfer method, is available to poker players from most countries around the world, including Canada. If you are having trouble adding money to your Canadian-facing online poker site with your bank account, credit card, or other traditional funding method, check out UKash. It will cost you very little, is very safe and allows you to remain anonymous when you purchase it, and is accepted at all of the top Canadian online poker rooms.
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