VISA Online Casinos

Worldwide, VISA is perhaps the most widely accepted online casino payment processing method. Visa Inc., is the second largest multinational financial services corporation in the world, having lost the first position to China UnionPay in 2015.

Visa-branded credit cards, gift cards, and debit cards are not actually issued by Visa, rather, financial institutions worldwide use the branded products to issue cards, set rates and fees, extend credit and debit facilities, as well as provide cash-access and prepaid card programs.

The company has data processing centers on every continent except Antarctica. More than 100 billion transactions are processed each year with a total volume of around $7 trillion USD.

Fraud prevention is at the heart of each transaction with over 500 checkpoints per transaction, including 100 fraud detection variables. These include the spending habits of consumers, their locations, as well as merchant locations.

Fraud detection is often the reason the first attempt to use Visa for an international offshore casino transaction can be unsuccessful. A quick chat with casino customer service or a phone call with your financial institution's fraud prevention department will usually clear things up right away.

Verified by Visa offers another layer of protection. Known as "3-D Secure" it provides real-time authentication and security and usually eliminates any need for personal contact. The 3-D Secure authentication solution has now been adopted globally, and each financial institution must have advanced risk technology to evaluate transactions. This means it's no longer necessary to register your card with the program or keep separate passwords for different financial instruments.

Visa History

Bank of America launched the first credit card program for middle-income consumers and small businesses in 1958. It was called BankAmericard at the time and the brainchild of a company think tank. The project was two years in the making. The launch consisted of a mass mailing of 60,000 unsolicited credit cards.

Many retailers already provided customers with revolving credit lines and the new card, soon arriving in millions of mailboxes, easily captured consumers' attention.

Visa went international in 1974 and the next year introduced the Visa debit card. Visa now operates in over 200 countries with products and services that can be used as cards, and on laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

How Visa Credit Cards Work

Visa credit cards are just like any other credit card. Consumers now have t apply for a card, as unsolicited "mail dumps" are no longer used. Once an application has been submitted and approved a credit limit will be established by the bank or other financial institution that is taking the risk. Consumers can use the cards at local retailers and for online transactions.

Logging into a casino cashier the consumer will enter the name on the card and card number, expiry date, and CVV code at a minimum. The card verification value (CVV) code is a 3-digit number found on the back of Visa credit and debit cards.

Once the deposit amount is entered and the transaction is submitted, another screen may pop-up asking for a personal piece of information from the user. This can be a zip code where the card is registered or last four digits of Social Security number for US consumers, or other "known to you" information.

If behind the scenes fraud prevention is successful and the transaction would not make you exceed your credit limit, the money is made immediately available in your casino account just as if you had purchased a retail item online or paid for other kinds of services.

How Visa Debit Cards Work

Visa debit cards function in much the same way as credit cards. The difference is that rather than creating new debt the transaction will deduct funds directly from your bank or another financial account. The purchase amount will be debited from your cash account as long as the amount doesn't exceed either your balance or any overdraft facility you may have activated on the account if available. Spending over your limit will cause the transaction to be declined.

Authentication can be accomplished in the same way as with a credit card or may require a Personal ID Number (PIN) as well.

Visa Conclusion

While a Visa credit or debit card is an excellent way to fund an online casino account, like any other financial instrument it can fail. This is usually due to restrictions placed on certain transactions or overzealous fraud detection and prevention.

When this occurs, you can either authorize such transactions directly with your financial institution or use the card to purchase a voucher, gift card, Bitcoins, or another method that will go through without any hindrances or encumbrances.