Bitcoin vs. Interac

When you join an online casino in order to play games for real money, you are first required to register a payment method before you start playing. And, when you get to its payment methods list, you can see that many options are at your disposal, among which Bitcoin and Interac. If you’re indecisive on which one of these two to choose, you have to compare them. The question is: Bitcoin or Interac, which one to choose for online casino payments?

Bitcoin and Interac…

… are both excellent payment solutions, even though they’re extremely different in many aspects. But one thing is for sure, they are both offered across many online casinos, which proves that they offer some qualities acceptable and suitable to online casino players and operators. Why don’t we explore them together to see what they both have to offer?

An Overview of Bitcoin and Interac

You should probably be introduced to the two payment solutions separately before we compare them. It would be nice for you to get the big picture before we go into details, so let’s start.

As the first-ever cryptocurrency…

… Bitcoin is an extremely well-known payment solution. There’s not a person on Earth that hasn’t heard of it, because when it first appeared in 2008, it made the headlines and raised more brows than any other payment method has ever had. When it was first revealed, no one really knew its roots precisely, because its creator wanted to stay anonymous, but as years passed by, the truth came to light, and it was discovered that the name of the group or the person behind it was Satoshi Nakamoto.

It was invented…

… with one aim: to make online transactions untraceable by authorities. And that’s why at first, it received negative publicity. Speculations were it was used mostly underground, for black market purposes. But, as people saw its potential, they soon became interested in knowing more about it, so they started buying or mining their first coins.

Over the years…

… Bitcoin finally received recognition for what it was in the first place: a decentralized, peer-by-peer digital currency that could be used for many normal, everyday life purposes. It became so successful and used by millions of people all across the globe, that it had even inspired new cryptocurrencies to appear on the market. Still, being the first and the most trustworthy digital currency, it remained on top. Its main strengths, that persist to this day, are full anonymity, peer exchange, and again, untraceable online transactions.

While Bitcoin…

… is such a widespread, internationally-used payment method, Interac is very limited. It is a national payment network in Canada, launched in 1984, which provides Canadian citizens with three payment solutions: Interac Debit, Interact Online and Interac eTransfer. Each of these three solutions offers different things to users, but they all have one thing in common: they are all integrated with major banks in Canada.

As such…

… Interac is widely used and even considered as the number one payment method in Canada. Due to the multiple supported platforms, transaction speed, convenience and unrivalled safety measures, Interac makes Canadian users’ everyday payments as easy as pie.

The beauty of this solution is that it is found on the lists of most Canadian-focused casinos, so if you’re a Canadian player wanting to play with it, you will be able to.

How to Start Using These Payment Solutions?

You will learn that getting started with Bitcoin will take a bit more of your time when compared to Interac, but that doesn’t mean that you should disregard it right away, because, as said, it is an internationally-used payment method that offers a lot of benefits to its users.

The first step…

… would be to choose a Bitcoin wallet. And even though there are several types of wallets where you could keep your coins, such as the hardware, the desktop and the paper wallet, the eWallet solution is the most used one by Bitcoin users. Today, there are many cryptocurrency services such as Bitstamp, Coinbase and Bitfinex where you could create a wallet account.

Once the wallet account is ready…

… you need to get your coins. In fact, you can buy coins directly via your wallet, using your bank account funds ergo fiat currency, you can get some via the peer-to-peer exchange or you can mine for some by yourself. Mining requires special computing resources and equipment and makes your electricity bills skyrocket, so the most suitable option would be to buy some coins.

Finally…

… you need to remember your public key, write it down and keep it safe with you all the time. This is the wallet address that you’ll be using to transfer coins to and from your wallet, so you must have it with you all the time, in order to make transactions. On that note, there are no special costs tied to these transactions, because fees for using Bitcoin are second to none, exceptionally low. This is mostly because no bank accounts are involved when sending or receiving coins, so you don’t need to pay fees for the transfers. The miner’s prize or the mining process could be the only thing you are charged for.

To get started with Interac…

… you need to choose which of the three options you want to use. But, if you look at several online casinos, you will see that Interac Online and Interac eTransfer are the only two options available, and that’s because these are the two options for online payments. But, Interac eTransfer is the method of choice for Canadian players usually, because in terms of fees, security and speed, it surpasses eWallets, which are considered the most convenient for online gambling.

Interac eTransfer…

… is accepted by over 200 banks in Canada, and transfers funds via secure pathways from one account to another in an instant. Whenever a transfer is completed, you are sent an email or a message informing you on its status. And since it is a product delivered by a non-profit organization, no massive fees apply. You could only be charged to cover the basic cost of the transfer operation, which would be not higher than $1.50.

You get access…

… to the service automatically after you open an account with Interac. And opening an account requires no prior arrangements with a specific bank. But, you would need to sign-up for mobile or online banking. Once you do that, you would need to share no further personal details with the service. In fact, you will be sent an email or text message containing instructions on how to send and request to receive money via this banking solution. Necessary passwords and security questions and answers would be included here, as well, so you won’t need to go through lengthy registration procedures as you would normally go with other payment methods.

Once you’ve quickly and easily registered your account, therefore, you can start using it for your online gambling adventure.

Depositing and Withdrawing

Even though getting started with Bitcoin may seem like a lengthier process than with Interac, you should know that funding your account and cashing out your winnings with the cryptocurrency would be extremely easy.

Depositing with Bitcoin…

… can be done in a few simple steps. You would need to join a Bitcoin casino, hence, a casino that accepts it as a payment method, and then you would need to go to the Deposits or Cashier section. Find the icon with its logo and click on it. Considering it works on the peer-to-peer system, the transaction will go from your wallet to the casino’s Bitcoin wallet. Therefore, you would need to enter your wallet information, the coins you want to deposit and the casino’s public key in order to send the coins to its account.

When entering the public key you need to be alert and focused, because you don’t want to enter the wrong destination address. One wrong letter or number and the coins would be lost forever. Transactions with this digital currency are irreversible, so if you send the money to a different destination, you cannot bring it back.

So, once you’ve made sure that you’ve entered the right address, confirm your transaction, and the coins will be automatically received by the casino, and available on your online casino balance.

Withdrawing with it…

… is as simple. You repeat the same procedure in terms of logging in, finding the Withdrawals or Cashier section and selecting Bitcoin. You enter the amount that you want to withdraw and then enter your public key. The casino will review your request, and if you have enough coins on your casino balance, will approve it. The coins will reach your Bitcoin wallet in no time. As a reminder, remember to double-check your public key and see whether the alphanumeric sequence is correct. You don’t want your winnings to end up in someone else’s wallet, right?

When it comes to deposits with Interac…

… you would need to go to the casino’s Cashier section and click on its logo. A new window will open where you’ll need to enter your log in details to your online or mobile bank account platform. Enter the email address of the casino, the security question and the amount of money you wish to deposit. Once the casino submits the necessary security answer, you will have the funds on your casino account instantly.

Withdrawals with this payment method…

… are similar. You log in, find Interac in the Cashier section, enter the amount you wish to withdraw and wait for the casino to approve your request. This, however, may take up to 6 business days, and your transaction may be subject to fees. Nevertheless, as soon as the casino sends the funds to your bank account, you will be notified by email or phone about the transfer.

Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages these two payment methods share are instant deposits, low fees and top security. They are both extremely useful for online casino players who wish to deposit quickly, safely and cost-effectively to start playing their games of choice right away. But, there are some separate benefits and downsides of these methods that should be taken into consideration.

You’ll benefit from using Bitcoin…

… because of its decentralized concept. If you’re a player who doesn’t want your identity to be exposed, this is the payment method to go with. By using it, you will share no personal or bank account details with the casino you’re playing at. You can stay completely anonymous if you create a casino account under a username. Plus, transactions with Bitcoin are untraceable, so your online casino deposits and withdrawals won’t be present on your bank account statement.

Of course, this takes us to one of the two downsides of using it. Being untraceable, the transactions cannot be reversed. So, if you enter one wrong number or letter of your public key, you won’t be able to reverse the transaction, as no central banking authority knows where the coins went. The second downside is the continuous fluctuation. The value of the coins keeps on increasing or decreasing, so you can never be sure about its volatility or possible changes in software that might affect its value.

The perks of using Interac…

… for Canadian players are plenty. Considering it is a method integrated with over 200 of the major banks in the country, it gives players easy access and they can get started with it right away. And, considering its network continues to grow, with new reputable financial institutions joining every once in a while, its availability will only get stronger in the future. This makes it a very convenient, even ideal payment method for Canadian players since they can make easy, fast and secure payments whenever they want.

The country restriction, though, is the evident drawback of this payment solution. Even though it offers so many things that would appeal to international players, it is only available in Canada. So, unless you’re a Canadian player, even if you want to use it for online gambling purposes, you won’t be able to. The postponed withdrawals, when compared to Bitcoin, are a disadvantage, too. Withdrawals that may take up to 6 days are not something online casino players approve of.