Skrill is a British e-Payment processor that is regulated by the FCA (UK) to offer users with the convenience of making payments for a majority of online products and services through their online payment gateway. Formerly known as Moneybookers, the company was highly popular among internet users due to their ability to make payments to online gaming and gambling websites.
Moneybookers derived its name from its affinity towards gambling and betting, which led to the site being banned in several countries. However, the company has moved away from its gambling past by renaming the service to Skrill in 2011, and has ever since been an integral part of the online payment system.
A Brief History Of Skrill & Skrill Forex Brokers
Skrill started its journey as Moneybookers in 2001, and within its two years of operations, the company had amassed more than 2 million users from all over the world. By 2008, Moneybookers had an extensive reach to more than 150 the countries in the world, and users found it easy to use Moneybookers to make payments for a broad range of products and services, including Forex trading, gambling, sports betting, and buying products from leading e-commerce stores. Skrill had witnessed a change in ownership between multiple industry giants and is currently owned by PaySafe, a publicly traded company in the UK formed by the conglomerate of leading online payment processors.
Forex brokers started accepting Skrill from as early as 2002, and as of the present day, Skrill is the preferred mode of payment for more than 300 mainstream FX brokers from all over the world. Several lesser-known FX companies, IBs, and affiliate merchants also use Skrill e-payment gateways, which takes the total number into the thousands. Neteller is the only closest competitor to Skrill regarding broker options, as even the world’s most popular online payment processor, PayPal, does not offer the sheer number of Forex broker choices that Skrill does.
Why Do Traders Prefer Skrill Forex Brokers Over Other Options?
Skrill is a regulated payment processor, and unlike other online payment gateways, FCA regulation provides a greater sense of security for account holders. Skrill has penetrated the online payment industry like no other company, which is attributed to the company’s willingness to indulge in several niche industries such as gaming, gambling, and investments. Skrill has a relatively easier set of guidelines and lower restrictions when compared to other popular systems such as PayPal, which help users to open an account and transact online with relatively lesser barriers. Skrill has also managed to increase the trust and confidence among their account holders by staying away from any major controversies and by offering a fully secure online payment platform.
Skrill also has fewer transaction costs comparatively overall, and the fees are less than 1% of the transaction amount. Skrill provides the option of initiating international wire transfers for both funding the account as well as for withdrawing money using a local bank, and the fees for bank wires are considerably lesser than standard wire transfers. Merchant fees are also lesser in the case of Skrill payment gateways for e-commerce businesses, which further enhances the utility factor for both personal as well as business accounts.
Skrill supports all types of credit cards and even offers a Prepaid Card option for EU account holders to withdraw their funds at any ATM. Account holders from other countries can fund their Skrill account using a credit or debit card, and can also make payments using their credit cards, without actually having any funds in their Skrill account. The multiple layers of security are designed for people who are very concerned about safety and confidentiality of their personal information.
How Do I Know Whether A Forex Broker Accepts Skrill Payment?
Skrill offers an expansive list of affiliated merchants on their dedicated partners’ page, but more importantly, FX brokers usually list Skrill (Moneybookers) as an accepted form of payment on their payments page and their home page. Some companies might falsely claim that they accept Skrill when in fact they can only accept card payments through the Skrill e-payment gateway. If you are intent on using Skrill for depositing money into a Forex broker, you should read through their website’s official payments page and through their trading services page to learn more about the deposit and withdrawal options.
There are cases where FX brokers might tend refrain from indulging in their payment options, in which case, you have the liberty to contact customer support to learn more about their deposit options. In most cases, the established FX brokers usually reveal the payment information not more than two pages into their website. For your reference, we have compiled a list of some of the most accomplished Forex Brokers that accept Skrill for deposits and withdrawals.
What Are The Problems Associated With Skrill Forex Payments?
Skrill is a great tool for online payments, but it is not without its drawbacks. First of all, Skrill is still associated with gambling and sports betting, and there are chances that a country can block access to your Skrill account if you are found to invest in gambling or any betting that is considered illegal in that particular country. Skrill is also highly popular among both regulated as well as non-regulated FX brokers; therefore, the trust quotient of Skrill FX Brokers is not as high as other payment methods.
Even though Skrill is highly popular among Forex brokers, it is still not as widely used for other e-commerce transactions as other payment processors. Skrill can be considered as the best option if your sole intention is to deposit and withdraw funds to a Forex trading account without enjoy more freedom for other online transactions.
The number of drawbacks of Skrill is diminutive when compared to the significant advantages that Skrill brings to the table. Skrill has one of the fastest payment options that transfers fund between accounts at a lightning pace. Skrill is also known to initiate Wire Transfers within 24 hours; therefore, users can receive funds in their bank account within a maximum of 2 days. Skrill is certainly one of the best options for online payments, especially in the Forex trading industry, and the popularity is only set to rise with an increasing number of brokers that inundate the market on a daily basis.
Other Forex Payment Systems
