Why Pay n Play is the future of online casino payments
Martyn Hannah, Co-founder and MD of online casino comparison site, Comparasino, says online casino payments are changing as players seek convenience, speed and security.
Press release.- Payments are one of the most important factors players consider when deciding which online casinos to play at, and this is why brands have stocked their cashiers with as many payment options as possible.
It’s common for online casinos to offer more than ten ways to pay, including debit cards like Visa and Mastercard, digital wallets like PayPal, Skrill, Neteller and MuchBetter, plus mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
This helps the casino acquire players based on specific payment options – the more payment options in the cashier, the larger the addressable market they can tap into.
This approach has been taken for many years, but now things are starting to change, with operators stripping back their cashiers to just a handful of core payment methods.
These core methods include debit cards (Visa and Mastercard), PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as a relatively new payment option, instant banking.
Why have casino stripped back their cashiers in such a way? It comes down to demand and cost, and the need to strike a balance between the two.
For example, it might be the case that a small number of players want to deposit and withdraw using Payz, but the cost of having Payz in the cashier outweighs the number of players using it. In short, it’s not viable.
In addition to this, compliance remains a major concern for operators, and in the UK at least, we have seen payment providers find themselves in the crosshairs of the Financial Conduct Authority – most notably, AstroPay, which has had restrictions placed on its licence.
This sort of thing scares online casino operators – understandably – as their primary focus is to protect their licence at all costs.
So, this combination of demand, cost and compliance has seen operators transform their cashiers in recent times, but for me, it’s a positive move and one that lays the foundation for even more simplification in how players sign up for and deposit at online casinos.
How so?
Because one of the biggest issues players still face is the onboarding process they must go through before they can play at an online casino.
I sat with a friend while they signed up to an online casino for the very first time – a household name brand in the UK – and it took almost five minutes to complete the process.
This is far too long and explains why there is such a high rate of drop-off throughout the onboarding process – consumers simply won’t wait this long to play a slot game.
But online casinos have had their hands tied. They are required to take players through a lengthy onboarding process as part of the licence requirements they must meet in the UK, especially when it comes to KYC and AML.
That said, it’s a major friction point and one that operators have needed to overcome. Some have tried to do this by streamlining the sign-up process, but that really only removes a step or two. What’s needed is a complete overhaul.
That overhaul is now possible thanks to the latest payment technologies, and in particular, instant banking.
Providers such as Trustly and TrueLayer have developed solutions that allow players to make instant deposits and withdrawals via their bank accounts and banking apps. But this same technology is now being used to provide Pay and Play (Trustly’s product) in the UK for the first time.
Here’s how it works
The player arrives at the casino and taps the prompt to sign up and deposit via Instant Deposit. They then select the amount they want to deposit, followed by their email address, password and mobile number. Next, they select their bank and are taken to their mobile banking app where they sign in.
After that, they are automatically returned to the online casino where their account has been created and their deposit made. I’ve done it myself, and it literally takes 30 seconds from arriving at the casino to being able to play.
Better still, online casinos can also offer instant payouts with these solutions, ensuring players get their winnings in an instant – literally.
A small number of online casinos in the UK have been trialling Pay and Play – and Truelayer’s SignUp+ solution – with more set to introduce them over the coming months.
As they do, the need for other payment options will be mostly mitigated as both onboarding and depositing are undertaken at the same time, securely and in a matter of seconds.
And that’s why, for me at least, Pay and Play is one of the most revolutionary innovations to hit the market and is absolutely the future of online casino payments.
