ACH vs. MasterCard Credit

Transacting in the online gambling space is often more complicated than it seems, which is why popular payment options like ACH and MasterCard can be a saving grace for many. If you’re an online casino connoisseur, you’ve likely run into these two options before. They’re pretty popular among iGaming fans, despite the limited availability one of them has. These two payment solutions might seem very different at first glance, but that’s on the surface. The background processes related to their operation are pretty similar, so both offer solutions that have much in common. While both methods have excellent perks for online transacting, they’re not the only methods available to online casino visitors. Because of this, we’ll try to answer a question you might be asking yourself right now – Why choose ACH or MasterCard as your online casino payment method?

About ACH and MasterCard

The methods we’ll explore today have plenty of commonalities. They're on the more traditional side, relying on the old-school banking system to get things underway. Naturally, this brings with it some excellent perks. They include a higher security level, reliability, and usually much higher transaction limits than what you’d see with some modern options. Of course, just because they function similarly, doesn’t mean they’re very different from each other. Let’s look at them separately.

ACH, or Automated Clearing House, is a US-based banking solution that’s made quite a name for itself in the online gambling space and far beyond it. It’s a pretty reputable method, collaborating with several of the most trusted US banks. The service is available exclusively to players in the USA. It offers them a safe and reliable way to transact online, sans the need to jump through hoops to get there. It’s a convenient way to transact, which is why millions of Americans prefer it to other options! To use it, players must have an active bank account. 

If you’re wondering how ACH operates, the answer is pretty simple. The solution facilitates transactions between the sender’s bank account and the person receiving the money. Essentially, the service ensures your money makes its way to the service you’re paying for safely and without issues. A few third parties are involved in the process, but they’re trusted partners that help keep things in check. Convenience plays a key role in this service. By using it, you needn’t bother with accounts, visiting banks, or even creating online banking profiles. Just request a payment through the service, enter the essential details, and ACH takes care of the rest. Money will be deducted from your account, and it will make its way to the recipient in no time.

Other than top-tier convenience, ACH is known for offering a few other excellent perks that users can’t seem to get enough of. The first one is security. There’s more than one layer of protection with the service. Not only is your bank’s security system at your side, but you have the aid of additional third-party services that keep transactions as safe as possible. Another great perk of the service is the high transaction limits. The method has no trouble processing large transactions, and this is one of the biggest reasons casino high rollers love it! Thanks to this service, they can make huge deposits and withdrawals in line with their hefty investments and even bigger wins.

MasterCard is a well-established payment method that’s been dominating globally for years now. Unsurprisingly, the service was created decades ago in 1966, starting as a membership organization formed by powerful financial institutions in the US. These included Crocker International, United California Bank, Wells Fargo, and the Bank of California. As time flew by and the service became increasingly popular in the United States, it grew to encompass over 25,000 financial institutions in its list of shareholders! Word of it spread quickly worldwide, and soon, it rebranded into the juggernaut we know today, issuing various bank cards. 

From reading the previous paragraph, it’s easy to tell where MasterCard’s strength lies. The service has an insanely large global network that covers over 180 countries! Thanks to this, it’s used in all corners of the world, offline and online. Of course, the service is used for all kinds of purposes, mainly because of the safety it provides. Since this perk applies gambling too, the popular method seamlessly made the jump into the online gambling space, offering players a safe and reliable way to transact on any site they set their sights on. 

As you probably already know, MasterCard offers several different bank cards that players can use for transacting. Right now, the two most popular cards of the bunch are credit cards and debit cards. These two are seemingly two sides of the same coin, but some crucial differences between them can affect the user experience immensely. Debit cards are pretty much the default. With these cards, users are free to spend as much money as they have available on their accounts. Credit cards take things to the next level. Users can spend money beyond what they have on their account, amassing debt over time. 

It’s worth noting that the latter of the two cards hasn’t had the best time in the online gambling space lately. Unfortunately, a few countries have imposed a ban on using credit cards in online casinos and other gambling venues. The ban is now effective in countries like Germany and the UK, but we’re afraid others may follow in their footsteps. Before considering this method, it’s best to take this into account.

Getting Started with the Two Methods

It doesn’t matter which one of these methods you’ve decided to go for, both sport incredibly easy getting started processes. Convenience is a big part of these services after all, and it extends beyond transacting. Here’s a bit more on how you start using these methods below.

The first contender we’ll look at is ACH. It should come as no surprise to learn that this service practically has no getting started process. This is one of the biggest pros you get with it, and it applies to every transaction you make. Since there’s no need to sign up for the method or visit a bank to make a transaction, all that’s left to do is click a few buttons. Just choose the option from a list of available methods, and you’re almost done! Still, it’s good to remember that although using the service is easy, it does come with a few conditions. Players must be US citizens with active US bank accounts to use it. 

Regarding the procedure required to request a payment, the specifics aren’t something users will have trouble with. The first thing you’ll need to do is enter the required bank account information, how much you want to send, and some important information about the recipient. After you confirm the transaction, the money will be deducted from your account and safely transferred to the recipient.

Getting started with MasterCard takes a bit more work than what we just covered with the previous service, but it’s a familiar process most adults are acquainted with. To be issued a bank card, you’ll need to visit a bank or other financial institution near you that partners with the service. Naturally, this is incredibly easy to do. Thanks to the payment method being so widespread, you should be able to find a bank that qualifies minutes away! Before you head in, you should consider what type of card you want to be issued. Credit and debit cards come with different offers, so do your research and be careful when choosing the one better suited to your needs.

Once you visit the bank and request a card, you’ll be given a few application forms to fill out. These are pretty standard, but they can be tricky in a sense. Since these forms require personal information, such as monthly earnings, addresses, and other similar details, some players might be uncomfortable proceeding. We should note that this information is typically only used by the bank unless otherwise stated in the contract. After you’re done with the forms, you’ll likely need to verify your identity. You can do this by providing a form of photo ID. A driving license, government-issued ID, or passport should do.

After you’ve submitted everything, it will take the bank a few days to approve your application and issue your card. When it’s ready, it will be available for pickup at the location it was issued, or you can have it sent to you by mail. You can use your card immediately after receiving it.

Using ACH and MasterCard Across Online Casinos

We’ve already mentioned a few times that these methods are pretty popular in the online gambling space. While ACH is limited by location, it’s a smash-hit in the United States. Nearly all US casinos support this method, or at least the reputable ones tend to. With the other option, MasterCard, your choices are far less limited. You can use the service to transact in nearly all online casinos currently available on the market, with a few exceptions. In any case, you have more than enough top-tier casinos to choose from with both services.

Casino fans who’ve chosen ACH as their go-to deposit need to follow the following steps to start:

1. Locate the casino’s Banking/Payments/Cashier page and look for ACH’s logo. 
2. Click or tap on it, and in the pop-up, enter your bank account details.
3. Just specify how much you’d like to deposit.
4. ACH will ask for your confirmation to deduct the money from your US bank account. 
5. Confirm the transaction by giving your permission, and wait for the money to arrive on your casino balance. 

There are a few things to note about transactions with ACH. Unlike with most methods, deposits with the service aren’t instant. The transactions go through a few channels to ensure maximum security, and transaction times suffer. The same goes for withdrawals. While they are a viable option, they’re not instant. Both deposits and withdrawals take a few business days. Fortunately, it seems that most US players don’t mind. The service is only growing despite this, so if you’re patient like most other users, you should have no issue with it.

For those that prefer a classic deposit method like MasterCard, here’s what to do:

1. Choose the “Deposit with Credit/Debit Card” option.
2. From the list of offered credit/debit cards, select MasterCard as your deposit option. 
3. Enter the card’s number, expiry date, your name as the cardholder, and the CCV2 code on the back of the card. 
4. Specify how much you wish to deposit and confirm the transaction. 
5. In an instant, the funds will arrive on your balance!

As you probably know already, MasterCard withdrawals are an option. You can request withdrawals by following the same steps listed above, with some slight changes in steps three and four. Unfortunately, this option tends to be somewhat scarcer in the online gambling space compared to depositing. We’re afraid the bad news doesn’t end there. Much like the previous method, MasterCard withdrawals suffer from slow processing times. While they usually take around five days, the waiting period can often extend to seven days! Add to this the credit card ban in specific countries, and some players might be better off looking for a faster cash-out alternative.

Advantages and Disadvantages

ACH and MasterCard are two incredibly popular payment methods that have made quite a name for themselves in the online gambling scene. After reading through this text, you’ve likely formed a few opinions on them and which one is better suited to your taste. Before you decide to go with one over the other, we’ll do a quick review of their pros and cons below.

With ACH, players get the best of both worlds. On one end, you get to enjoy the high-end security that comes with using a traditional bank account, enhanced by third-party protection channels. On the other end, you’re privy to a kind of convenience we pretty much only see with prepaid vouchers! Instead of creating accounts and filling out long forms, all you have to do is enter some basic info, and your transaction is on its way. The top-tier transaction limits don’t hurt either. Naturally, these are just a few perks the method relays, as there are many others just beneath the surface.

Of course, ACH has a few flaws too. First, the method is exclusively available to players in the US, killing any hope international users might have had about giving it a shot. Some of the other flaws associated with the service come from its processing times. These tend to be pretty long, taking at least a few business days for deposits and withdrawals.

We can see a somewhat similar pattern with MasterCard. The service offers top-notch security, is well-established, and allows players access to some of the top casinos on the scene. It has countless upsides, but its cons can be instant deal breakers for some. As with the former option, MasterCard suffers in the withdrawals department. Its processing times are long, availability is scarcer, and the method is outright banned in specific countries!

There’s plenty about each of these services that give them an edge over the competition, so even with their flaws, they’re easily some of the best options you have available. We’re sure that whatever your choice ends up being, you’ll be happy with the results!