What Sets the Best Payment Methods Apart in the Fintech Scene?

The term 'fintech' (financial technology) is used to describe a range of products, services, tools, applications, and other innovative technologies used in the financial industry, often to enable or support digital/online transactions. 

In other words, online payment gateways, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, your Visa debit or credit card, and countless other perfectly secure online payment methods, all fall under this umbrella term. 

On this page, I will be taking a quick look at some of today's safest payment methods that people like me use to purchase goods, services, and/or products on our favourite websites and find out which key factors separate the world's most reliable online payment solutions apart from their competitors in the burgeoning, global multi-billion-dollar fintech scene. 

What are the different types of online payment methods most commonly accepted at the checkout on websites today?

Today, there are literally hundreds of different ways to pay for things online, and each website is different in terms of which payment methods it accepts. 

Today's most successful online businesses typically try to cater to a broad customer base by accepting a broad range of secure, reliable, and convenient online payment methods at their virtual checkout/cashier/banking section. 

I've noticed on many of the websites where I have deposited money to play games, trade crypto, purchase everyday consumables, and pay bills or subscription fees that they typically accept a range of traditional online payment methods and alternative online payment methods (APMs), so I never have any difficulties paying for things. 

A traditional payment method includes things like physical cash, bank transfers, bank cheques, credit and debit cards, whereas APMs include mobile wallets/Pay By Phone, and eWallets (also known as digital wallets, web wallets or electronic wallets), cryptocurrencies, prepaid cards/vouchers, By Now Pay Later, and eCheques. 

What makes a good online payment method truly stand out from the crowd?

A good online payment method that stands out from the crowd, such as Apple Pay, Neteller, Skrill, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Payz (formerly ecoPayz), Paysafecard, Jeton, AstroPay, or Trustly, to name just a few, has its pros and cons, but will typically sand out from the crowd because it boasts the following key factors:

• Device/browser compatibility and accessibility – a good payment method will work well and run smoothly at the virtual checkout in any decent web browser, such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Vivaldi, Safari, or Opera, and from any decent Wi-Fi/internet-connected desktop computer, smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, laptop, or console, and it will be widely accepted on most of the sites you visit

• Security – I think the number one priority when deciding which online payment method to use should always be security. The safest payment processing gateways will employ a range of cybersecurity measures to ensure your payments, PII (personally identifiable information) and other sensitive data are kept out of harm's way with high levels of encryption, firewalls, fraud detection, and/or 3D secure authentication, to name a few

• Low costing – the best online payment methods will be cheap to use and will never add considerable fees to each transaction, so always try to use the lowest-costing payment methods, where possible

• Convenience – I've found that the most reliable online payment methods are always quick and easy to use. The top brands will offer immediate confirmation if your transaction has been successful or unsuccessful. Some will also allow you to store payment details and have one or two other useful features, such as autofill and responsive checkout forms

When deciding which online payment method to use, I would suggest doing your research first to find out which one would be more suitable for you. In fact, I would suggest not limiting yourself to using just one payment method. 

I regularly use PayPal, but if that isn't accepted on any sites I join, I will use my Neteller or Skrill eWallet account, Visa debit card, or Trustly bank transfer. 

Is it safe to deposit and withdraw on betting sites to play online fruit machines and other classic favourites?

Yes and no. It is only safe to sign up to and deposit/withdraw on legally permitted sites. It's not safe to deposit and withdraw on unlicensed and unregulated sites. 

Typically, when I want to play a casino game, I have a game in mind, not necessarily the platform. As such, when I’m in the mood for line slots, for instance, I turn to review sites like www.johnslots.com/en/, which will point me in the direction of Texas Tea and which platform is best to play on. Each game has a review available so you can judge for yourself – from their writers’ expertise – whether or not the game is worth your time.

All of their featured brands that I've joined are controlled by some of the industry's most trusted names, and they are all fully licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. 

Final thoughts

When you next go online to purchase goods, products, or services, play your favourite online fruit machines or trade cryptocurrencies, always stop and think before entering your preferred payment method details at the checkout on that site to see if it's safe and worth proceeding. 

You might want to run the URL through a website safety checker tool just to be safe or carry out a few other basic background checks just to find out if the site is legitimate and can be trusted to handle your money, payment method details, and other sensitive data securely.