If you have a connection to the iGaming world, you most certainly have heard about the ecoPayz. It is a popular banking services provider for online casinos, which appears in many gambling news articles.
The company offers financial services to individuals and businesses in the digital sector, including virtual casinos and sportsbooks. The ecoPayz e-wallet allows conducting payments and instant money transfers across over 150 countries worldwide and in 46 currencies. The company also issues prepaid plastic and virtual card – ecoCard.
Read this review from our gambling online magazine to find out whether this payment service is legit for your online casino. Learn about licensing, fees, and ecoPayz virtual cards.
General information about ecoPayz company
ecoPayz is an England-based financial institution, which was initially named EcoCard and has been in the market for over 20 years. The company was established in 2000 by PSI-Play LTD, a principal member of MasterCard International Inc.
As many casino operators aim to protect customers and their funds, they only choose to work with licensed payment providers. According to ecoPayz reviews, the service can be regarded as a trusted and regulated payment platform. Since 2008, the company is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a specialized electronic money institution. Currently, ecoPayz operates under the EU regulatory framework and is allowed to issue electronic money and conduct other operations. In addition, ecoPayz is permitted to provide financial services within the European Economic Area.
To protect the personal information of its clients, the payment services provider uses the latest developments in terms of data security and encryption. ecoPayz also abides by Payment Card Industry (PCI) and Data Security Standards (DSS).
As of July 2018, ecoPayz is the first UK-based payment provider that collaborates with Western Union. This allows virtual cardholders and other ecoAccount users to easily send money to almost anyone, even those without a bank account.
The main office of the fintech firm is located in Horsham, England.
Useful facts about ecoPayz platform for casino ops and players
The users of the e-wallet and ecoPayz virtual card can get access to their ecoAccounts not only from the PSc but also via an application, which is available for Android, iPhone, and iPad.
To streamline the account’s security, the payment platform has a two-step authentication. Every time a user signs up to their account, the app or website will generate a unique QR-code.
The service’s coverage and currencies
As it was said before, ecoPayz is extremely popular and covers over 150 GEOs. However, the use of this e-wallet is prohibited in 48 states. Some of these countries are:
- Afghanistan;
- The United States;
- Cuba;
- Belarus;
- Vietnam;
- and more.
The payment service also supports forty-five currencies, including:
- euro;
- British pound;
- US dollar;
- Argentine peso;
- Bulgarian lev;
- Indian rupee;
- Chinese yuan;
- and others.
Banking options for customers
Reviews state are several methods to deposit funds onto the ecoPayz account, which mainly depend on the user’s location:
- a credit or a debit card;
- international bank transfer;
- local bank deposit;
- local services;
- an alternative currency.
Users should note that to validate their debit or credit card they may need to add a micro deposit of €1-2. However, this is a common practice for major e-wallets.
For withdrawals, users have to link their bank accounts to the ecoPayz profile. The registered customers can only use their own physical or virtual cards.
ecoPayz account fees
The fees for the payment services on the ecoPayz website depend on the level of the user’s account. There are five types of accounts with different fees and limits – classic, silver, gold, platinum, and VIP.
Service | Standard fee |
Registration | Free |
Bank deposit to virtual IBAN (the UK only) | Free until 23.11.2021, then €0.50 |
Bank wire deposit | 0-10% |
Credit card deposit | 1.69-6% |
Alternative currency deposit | Free |
Bank transfer (for silver level and higher) | Silver-platinum accounts – €5.90-10, VIP account – €2.90-7 |
Western Union transfer | Free |
Currency conversion | Classic-silver – 2.99%, gold-platinum– 1.49%, VIP – 1.25% |
Inactivity fee | €1.5 per month |
Which ecoPayz services are suitable for online casinos?
Although ecoPayz offers many services for both individuals and merchants, this review will mainly focus on the tools, which will be useful for iGaming businesses.
It should be noted that ecoPayz conducts two main types of operations: online payments and international transfers. However, cross-border transfers of funds are allowed only within the ecoPayz network.
ecoPayz merchant account for casinos
Gambling operators can add ecoPayz e-wallet as a banking option to their online casino platform. User reviews claim that the process of integration is pretty straightforward and involves the specialized API.
There are three levels of a merchant account – finance, merchant payment, and reporting – that depend on the level of access.
One of the great features of ecoPayz is that it allows payouts for casino players who don’t have a personal account at the payment platform. ecoPayz provides so-called Money Codes to digital casinos to enable this feature.
API service
To help operators integrate e-wallet into their online casino software, ecoPayz offers a specialized API service. This web service helps iGaming operators in conducting various operations:
- automated payouts processing;
- automated account registration – a digital casino can send player’s details to ecoPayz to set up new accounts for these users without the initial registration on the payment platform;
- automated activity reporting.
As for the statistics, ecoPayz reports on several types of data:
- statements, which share the data on individual finical operations (payouts, deposits, transfers, etc.) during each day;
- payouts performed during a certain period at the merchant’s account;
- settlements, which provide info about the total number and number of financial operations conducted every day via a merchant account;
- balance reports.
Useful marketing tool
For iGaming ops, ecoPayz offers a Merchant Referral Application – a marketing tool that enables online casinos to advertise their services directly to the customers whom they’ve referred to ecoPayz. Every time users top up their ecoPayz account, they get a unique casino promotion.
ecoPayz prepaid card
Among other services, ecoPayz issues a prepaid debit or virtual card – ecoCard. The feature was introduced in July 2020, when the company has secured a MasterCard partnership. Online casino operators and other merchants can apply to up to 4 ecoPayz Mastercards in eight different currencies out of 45 available on the platform.
As of recently the company also offers a credit service – ecoVoucher. However, all services are only available within the SEPA region.
Business account
Some online casino operators may find a business account feature useful as well. Many merchants in the casino niche use it as a cost-efficient and instant way to pay salaries, commissions, and payments to other affiliate companies and individuals in near 50 currencies.
Similar to the merchant’s account, the Business account is available in three types.
- the master account allows to receive deposits, transfer and withdraw funds, and distribute money between expense accounts;
- the expense account is used to separate the funds for commissions and payments to employees;
- the member account helps to handle payments to affiliates and employees.
Pros and cons to using the ecoPayz platform
Login Casino has studied reviews of the ecoPayz website and has selected the main benefits and disadvantages of the use of ecoPayz e-wallet or prepaid virtual card at online casinos.
Pros | Cons |
No set-up fees | Account verification takes a lot of time |
Instant transfers across 150+ countries | Fee for international money transfers |
Supports 45 currencies | Transfers available only between ecoPayz users |
An easy-to-use platform for PCs and mobile | A virtual card is available only in the SEPA region |
Easy to integrate into the casino platform | Many limitations for the basic account |
Detailed reporting for merchants |
As seen from the table above, the ecoPayz offers a wide range of financial services, however, there are some limitations as well. So, iGaming operators and casino players should decide for themselves on whether use it as a banking option.
Read more: Best Gambling Payment Providers