What is a cheque?
A cheque (check in the USA and Canada) is a piece of paper filled in like a form by a banking cheque account holder, granting one's bank to honour payment to the stipulated payee for the stipulated funds. Over the 20th Century, it proved to be one of the most popular forms of payment.
In the new millennium (21 Century), certain countries have done away with cheque payments already, while others are phasing it out due to the introduction of far more secure and efficient digital forms of payment.
In the past, without the internet, cheques performed the task of transferring funds from a payer to a payee without carrying huge sums of cash around. The crudest forms of this type of payment date to as far back as the 17th Century, although it was not until 1811 that the "Bank of England introduced the first form of pre-printed cheques".
The process involved in buying by cheque
You will need a letter to accompany your cheque when depositing online so that the casino knows who to credit with the payment. This will match up to your request to make payment via cheque on the cashier page at the casino. You can also request your cash out via cheque through the cashier page, as well.
- The payer/drawer fills out a cheque in their cheque book, stipulating the payee's name, the amount to be paid, in both digits and words, and verifies the approval with their signature.
- The payer will then either post or courier the cheque to the recipient of the funds, which can take a few days.
- The recipient will then have to physically take the cheque to their bank and deposit it into their account.
- After several days, the cheque will clear into their account, and the funds can be retrieved.
- Only once the funds clear into the account will a cheque online casino load the paid for credits onto your casino account.
Advantages of paying by cheque
Although paying by cheque in this day and age has more negatives than positives, we can still muster a few ups involved:
1. Simplicity of Transaction
Making a cheque payment is far less confusing for 'technologically challenged' people. This method of payment is quite straightforward and straightforward.
2. Familiar to the masses
Paying by cheque is still quite familiar to many adults today, and as such, it provides peace of mind that this age-old payment method will work.
Disadvantages of using cheques
1. A slow rate of transfer
The rate of payment when compared to modern e-wallets and instant transfer services is archaic and extremely snail-paced. The time it takes to fill out a form is all you need to complete the entire transaction via a digital payment method today.
Then the postage time must be factored in, and the clearance time of around 5 to 7 days once the cheque has been deposited. This means that when depositing at a casino, it may take up to 10 days before you receive your gambling credits and when withdrawing via cheque, it may take the same amount of time before you can spend your winnings.
2. Greater Risks
There is a higher risk involved in cheque payment to online casinos on two primary levels:
- Postage: Although registered mail is generally quite safe, nothing is full-proof, and payment can get lost in the mail, which could open you up to more significant risks.
- Cheque fraud: This is a lot more common than you might think. Signatures can be forged, and payments can be made fraudulently from your account.
3. Costly
Because of the extra administration involved in cheque payments and clearances, the costs incurred can be quite costly, especially compared to the minimal fees charged by digital services (even the third-party ones).
4. Mistakes can delay payments
When making out a cheque, it is often easy to overlook a mistake made on the form. This may delay times even more once it gets to the recipient and the bank has picked up on the error. All cheques have to be 100% error-free to be processed.
Handy information for casinos accepting cheques
Limits
The limit to the size of the cheque you make out is only restricted by the amount of money you have in your bank account. Make sure that cash is available to honour the cheque once it clears, as failure to remove it will result in much heavier costs involved, and a re-submission of payment will have to be made all over again.
Fees
The fees charges for cheque withdrawals and payments differ from bank to bank but can be pretty costly. It would be good to find out from your bank how much payment will cost you before settling on this form of payment.
Availability
To 'make out' cheques, you need to have a transactional chequing account with your bank. You will only qualify for one of these if you are over the age of 21 and currently employed.
Conclusion
If you are set on paying by cheque to fund your online gaming entertainment, look no further than playing at a cheque casino on our CasinoWow list, as each of these options is adept at processing this form of payment.