Online Payment: the Best Alternatives to the Credit Card
The credit card is popular, but it is far from a universally satisfactory solution. In Canada, the Canadian Banks Association estimated that there were more than 75 million credit cards in circulation (Visa and MasterCard) in 2019. Credit Card fraud is so common that 86% of Canadians are aware of it and 39% of them avoid using their cards on certain sites.
5 Best Credit Card Alternatives for Online Payments
1. Electronic wallets
In such a context, it is quite normal to turn to more reassuring alternative solutions. Over the past few years, Transfers via an electronic wallet have become the most practical and secure alternative solution. Different solutions are possible, but here we have selected the 3 best.
PayPal
PayPal is both a payment portal and an electronic wallet. The platform allows you to store funds there or at least use your credit card without providing banking information. By doing this, you can ensure the security of your transactions and speed up their processing when funds are stored in the virtual wallet. That said, this solution remains almost completely credit card backed. Some of the same obstacles and drawbacks are therefore transferred to PayPal.
2. Interac
Interac is an extremely convenient solution that continues to grow in popularity. It is a payment platform that integrates seamlessly with existing banking services. In other words, Interac processes transfer by creating a secure channel between the customer’s bank and the seller’s site. Payment authorizations are therefore punctual, highly secure and processed in a very short period of time. What’s more, this deep integration allows Interac e-Transfer to be less expensive than other alternatives to the credit card!
This solution is widely used in particular in the world of gambling and online casinos. For this industry which must find harmony between speed of transactions, simplicity, reliability, and security, the Interac e-Transfer manages to tick all the boxes. However, this is not the only alternative solution offered to the credit card.
3. Paysafecard: the temporary blue card
While confidential credit card information grants the merchant indefinite access, Paysafecard does not deliver any sensitive information. Indeed, this alternative solution adopts the same model as the scratch cards to make payments. You simply buy a card of a determined value and then use it to make payments to online services and compatible e-commerce sites. It can be a Paysafecard of 10, 25, 50, or even 100 €. The implementation of this solution becomes painful for recurring or multiple transactions.
4. The electronic check (E-check)
As the name suggests, the e-check electronic check is a digital version of the check. It is therefore a payment authorization issued by the buyer for the benefit of the merchant. For a transaction carried out online, it is therefore the respective banks that are put in touch. The security and reliability of the payment are therefore guaranteed. The only big downside is the relatively long processing time for each electronic check.
5. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are among the most revolutionary payment solutions of recent decades. Unfortunately, they are plagued by too many problems to be adopted as a one-size-fits-all solution. First, the value of these virtual currencies sometimes fluctuates too much to interest some traders. Then, despite its secure nature, fraud is not so rare and the means of redress are almost non-existent. It is therefore a means of payment reserved for the most seasoned users and who wish to preserve absolute secrecy about their activities.
Also Read: Best International Money Transfer Apps
