Pay-by-Phone at Online Casinos in 2019: How Does it Work

By Jamie Hill - 7 January 2019

Clubs & Activities

Payforit was a popular pay-by-phone service used for making deposits at online casinos throughout 2018. It’s thought that even more online casinos will be accepting pay-by-phone services in 2019 due to their simplicity and convenience.

However, many people question the validity of these methods and others still aren’t sure how they work, so our friends over at Smartphone Casinos have decided to explain how Payforit and other similar services work.

First, the thing you need to understand is that pay-by-phone services allow you to deposit at online casinos and pay for it through your phone, whether you’re on a pay-as-you-go contract or a monthly one. Depending on the pay-by-phone service you choose to use, the money will either be deducted from your mobile credit (If you’re on a pay-as-you-go contract) or it will be added to your bill at the end of every month.

One of the most popular services is Payforit which is owned jointly by 3, EE, O2 and Vodafone; four of the biggest mobile phone networks in the UK. Using the service is incredibly easy as all you need to do is find an online casino that accepts pay-by-phone payments, register, deposit using the pay-by-phone service and confirm the payment.

Confirming the payment is just as easy, as you’ll receive an SMS directly to your phone and will be asked to authorise the transaction by clicking a link in the message or entering a code mentioned in the message. Once you’ve done that, the money is added to your monthly bill or deducted from your mobile credit; that’s it. We told you it was simple!

Popular Pay-by-Phone Services

There are several other popular pay-by-phone services available and each service works with different phone networks. Boku, which launched in 2009, is one of the most popular services and can be used with networks such as Vodafone, O2 and T-Mobile. It works similarly to Payforit and is available on both mobile and desktop websites. PayViaPhone, which is supported by Payforit, is a similar service that is accepted at various casinos and works just like Boku and Payforit.

O2’s Charge2Mobile is another popular pay-by-phone service that launched recently. It works in the same way and can be used across various online stores. The main differences between Charge2Mobile and other pay-by-phone services are that it can only be used by O2 users and that it doesn’t have a daily spend limit.

If you’re thinking about safety or security, we can tell you there’s nothing to worry about. Pay-by-phone services are actually much safer than other payments as casinos or online shops don’t require any of your personal or financial information, just your mobile number. Since it’s primarily done on mobile devices, you’ll probably be paying on a mobile 3G or 4G connection which is actually harder to hack than Wi-Fi connections.

One thing you should understand is while most pay-by-phone services are free to use, you may get charged for receiving or sending the SMS confirmation message depending on your contact. Unlike the other pay-by-phone services mentioned here, PayViaPhone actually deducts a 15% processing fee from deposits and payments made through it which can be frustrating for many users. In addition to that, some pay-by-phone services restrict you from depositing over a specified amount, like Boku.

Other than that, pay-by-phone services are incredibly easy to use, so it’s no wonder more people have begun using them and more online casinos are looking to accept them. If you want more information on pay-by-phone services, head on over to Smartphone Casinos.

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