The ‘Interac’ Edge: Why Canadian Casinos Have the Fastest Payouts in North America
Speak to a fan of online gambling who plays in the US, and you’ll be shocked to learn that they have to wait days between requesting a withdrawal of funds from their casino platform of choice and actually having the cash land in their bank account.
This reflects a broader issue in America: the banking system operates in a fragmented, frankly anachronistic way for the average consumer. There’s a reason that services like Venmo and PayPal were able to thrive there, and it all comes down to transaction speed. Sending cash between two bank accounts is seriously slow, which makes using third-party payment platforms that offer instant transfers the only solution.
Thankfully, the same isn’t true in Canada, and it all comes down to Interac. So what exactly is this, and how does it help accelerate payouts from online casinos in this part of the continent?
Introducing Interac
Interac has been around since the mid-80s, and it’s a network that connects a variety of Canada’s banks and other financial organisations so that transactions can take place electronically, rather than via physical currency or other old-school, tangible methods.
As well as forming the foundation of the nation’s debit card payments system, Interac also enables transfers of funds between businesses and individuals through its e-Transfer framework.
So, when you visit a casino site and choose to take out funds, so long as it is using Interac to underpin its payout methods, then this process should occur virtually instantly. Interac itself says that transfer times should be swift in most cases, but a delay of up to 30 minutes may occur in rare circumstances and comes down to the recipient’s banking service, rather than the sender. Compared with the 3 to 5 working days of waiting time that’s common in the US, a half-hour hold-up sounds like an excellent deal.
Another upside of this service is that it takes security seriously. In the past five years, it has introduced various technologies to help verify digital payments, prevent fraud and misuse, and keep the process as streamlined as possible for legitimate customers. That means it’s not only a quick way to initiate a casino site payout but also very trustworthy.
Exploring Alternatives
Canada indeed has the fastest casino payouts in North America, but only for direct bank transfers. There are options for players in both this country and the US to receive funds almost instantly after requesting them, without relying on traditional financial solutions.
If you’ve not already guessed, we’re referring to cryptocurrencies, which have quickly become a popular alternative for deposits and withdrawals in the online gambling scene. Transaction speed is a clear motivator for this move. Still, there are other advantages, such as the promise of complete anonymity and the ability to avoid providing payment card details to third-party sites based in different parts of the world where local regulators might not reach.
While it’s a pity that US-based online gamblers who aren’t up to speed with crypto still have to use treacle-slow banking services to access their winnings, at least they know that their cousins to the north aren’t so restricted.
Final Thoughts
With the Interac edge set to remain a selling point for gambling in Canada for the foreseeable future, it could have a significant impact on growing the country’s casino market.
All players have to do is pick reputable sites and check that Interac is supported by their banking provider. They’ll soon be spinning and betting without the possibility of withdrawal delays hanging over the experience.