Skrill Moneybookers

The company now known as Skrill launched in 2001.  Skrill was known as Moneybookers for most of its existence.  Moneybookers rebranded as Skrill in September 2011 after making the announcement that the brand would change in November 2010.  This rebranding was due to Moneybookers branching out into non gaming payment processing.  They wanted to drop the brand name that implied it was a gambling only company.

Skrill offers some of the lowest fees in the online gambling ewallet industry.  Players may deposit by credit card for just 1.9%.  Skrill accepts Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diner’s Club and American Express.  Players may withdraw by bank transfer for free.  A check has a fee of just $3.50.  Players that wish to make a currency exchange will have to pay a 2.49% premium over the daily prevailing currency exchange rate that day.

Skrill accepts online gambling players from virtually all countries.  One notable exception is the United States.  U.S. residents may open a Skrill account but will not be able to use it to deposit to online gambling sites.  They will also not be allowed to exchange funds with accounts that have a history of making deposits or withdrawals from gaming merchants.  The account will only be useful for people that wish to exchange funds with people overseas for non gaming purposes.

The company now known as Skrill launched in 2001.  Skrill was known as Moneybookers for most of its existence.  Moneybookers rebranded as Skrill in September 2011 after making the announcement that the brand would change in November 2010.  This rebranding was due to Moneybookers branching out into non gaming payment processing.  They wanted to drop the brand name that implied it was a gambling only company.

Skrill/Moneybookers Deposit and Withdrawal Methods

Skrill offers some of the lowest fees in the online gambling ewallet industry.  Players may deposit by credit card for just 1.9%.  Skrill accepts Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diner’s Club and American Express.  Players may withdraw by bank transfer for free.  A check has a fee of just $3.50.  Players that wish to make a currency exchange will have to pay a 2.49% premium over the daily prevailing currency exchange rate that day.

Skrill accepts online gambling players from virtually all countries.  One notable exception is the United States.  U.S. residents may open a Skrill account but will not be able to use it to deposit to online gambling sites.  They will also not be allowed to exchange funds with accounts that have a history of making deposits or withdrawals from gaming merchants.  The account will only be useful for people that wish to exchange funds with people overseas for non gaming purposes.

Skrill also offers an additional withdrawal method that is not found with other ewallets.  Players in over 20 countries can withdraw directly to their Visa card.  This transfer carries a fee of just $1.80.

Skrill is accepted by virtually every online gambling website.  Skrill is open with all of their fees and they are low compared to their competitors in the gaming ewallet industry.

Skrill/Moneybookers during Full Tilt Poker Debacle

Skrill is also receptive to player complaints about merchants.  When Full Tilt was failing in June 2011, Skrill demanded that Full Tilt remove the Moneybookers logo from their website.  This was due to the fact that players were complaining to Moneybookers about long waits on withdrawals.  Eventually Full Tilt Poker stopped allowing Moneybookers withdrawals and only accepted it for deposits.

The lack of liquidity at Full Tilt was unknown at the time but the long wait times for Moneybookers withdrawals was a red flag to many players.  This red flag turned out to be a correct signal that things were not well at Full Tilt Poker.  They were also in the process of closing down Full Tilt’s access to the Skrill/Moneybookers payment processing system.  Full Tilt Poker was closed down before this process could be completed.

Moneybookers and Skrill are well known and respected brands in the online gambling industries.  Deposits are instant and withdrawals are competitive.  Combine this with the company’s ability to listen to their customers and it is no secret why this company is one of the best ewallets for online poker players.