Skrill — leading payment solutions or suspicious e-money company?
What is Skrill?
Skrill ltd belongs to Paysafe Holdings UK Limited and provides payment solutions for the needs of individuals and businesses worldwide, mostly focused on the e-commerce and the gambling industry. With Skrill you can make simple, secure and quick online global payments – from international and local money transfers to betting, trading, shopping and gaming. The company also offers such services as cryptocurrency trading, prepaid cards and a loyalty program. You may also withdraw money from your Skrill e-wallet directly to your bank account.
Is Skrill safe?
Skrill is operating under FCA licence and fully responds to all security standards.
For example, not so long ago, in September 2019 Skrill implemented Strong Customer Authentication according to a requirement of the EU directive for payment service providers within the European Economic Area. This means a 2-step authentication procedure and also a new verification procedure — through online selfies. It significantly increased account safety and reduced fraud activities.
What can I use Skrill for?
Skrill provides payment solutions for both individuals and businesses. Skrill's customer base includes around 25 million customers. Business solutions are mostly focused on affiliate networks and e-commerce companies.
More than 120,000 merchant accounts have integrated payment gateway. Some of them are global online brands such as Facebook, Skype and eBay. Skrill is usually considered a low-cost alternative to PayPal.
With almost similar merchant fees for both services, Skrill is available in more countries/currencies and provides local payment methods options, for example in Germany (Giropay), Netherlands (iDeal), or Poland.
Share your experience in using the Skrill Business account here, we appreciate every review.
You may also use Skrill for your gambling activity, this e-Wallet provides free direct deposits to all popular gaming merchants. But if you’re working online, it’s not the best way to receive payments because of deposit fees, currency conversion fees and p2p commissions.
Find detailed information about fees, limits, deposit and withdrawal methods here and compare Skrill with other electronic money institutions.
Stay active fee
Before creating an account you should keep in mind that Skrill charges an additional fee which is called Stay Active Fee. If you don’t login into your account and don’t make at least one transaction for 6 months, a €5 (or equivalent) fee will be charged monthly until you start using your account again.
Bonus features
Free money transfers to bank accounts
- Skrill provides free international transfers to bank accounts worldwide, which is a good option for those who travel, have business or friends and family abroad.
VIP program
There’s an option to upgrade your account by getting a VIP status. The Skrill VIP program is based on the rule: “The more you use your Skrill wallet, the less you pay”.
VIP users have such privileges as lower fees, higher transaction limits and 24/7 support.
Skrill provides personal account managers for Gold and Diamond status holders.
Skrill Knekt loyalty program
All Skrill customers may join the Skrill Knekt loyalty program, which allows them to collect and spend reward points. You will receive points for every transaction, 1 point for each €1 (or equivalent). It is supposed to be a great feature, but for today Skrill provides a symbolic cashback — about 10 EUR for 10 000 points (10 000 EUR transactions equivalent). Full list of rewards you may find in your personal account.
Pros
- Paying a merchant directly from your Skrill wallet
- Receiving money to your Skrill account
- Sending money to an international bank account with Skrill Money Transfer
- Wide list of popular gaming merchants
- Fast and secure transfer services
- iOS and Android mobile app
Cons
- Fees for P2P transfers
- High currency conversion fee of 3.99%
- No live chat support
- "Stay active" fee
Conclusion
It’s a fact that Skrill is a popular e-Wallet in e-commerce and gambling industry, ensured by FCA licence. But when it comes to real user’s reviews you may see a lot of negative reviews, and it’s mostly about sudden account blocking or “freezing” account balance. High fees, no support and strict FCA rules, which lead to more complicated verification process makes Skrill inconvenient and questionable e-money solution.
It’s still widely used by gamblers and traders, integrated in thousands of merchants, but other market players such as EcoPayz, MuchBetter, NETELLER and other e-Wallets could be more convenient and money saving solutions.
FAQ
To register a new Skrill account, visit this link.
- Fill in the required fields.
- Read the terms for the Skrill wallet. If you agree, click “Register.”
- You will receive an email that will validate your Skrill digital wallet registration.
- Click on the “Get Started” or the Skrill login link.
- Finish the process by filling in the required fields.
Now login to your account after Skrill verification to add your payment method. To know more about how to add money to your account, contact Skrill support.
First, log in to your account, go to your account settings
- Choose “Upload Photos” from the verification options menu.
- Choose your country of residence and account currency.
- Upload an ID document.
- Upload your selfie (taken through your webcam or the Skrill App)
- Upload address verification document.
For additional queries, you can check this link, or use this link to contact via Skrill phone number, chat, support ticket, or Skrill support email.
Skrill allows you to withdraw funds from your Skrill money app.
All you need to do:
- Log in to your account.
- Under the “Account Overview” tab, click the “Withdraw” button located just under your balance.
- Select any of the above options for withdrawing money, and follow instructions.
I recommend checking every link to know about the Skrill fees and limits for every option. You may also contact Skrill customer service for more information.
To make a transaction:
- Log in and click on the “Send” button located under your balance on the “Account Overview” tab.
- Select any of the options of sending funds available to you.
- Choose your currency and country.
- Enter the sending amount.
- Enter the details of the recipient.
- Confirm and send the amount. If you are sending to a bank account, you need to complete an additional step of entering and submitting your payment details.
You can also visit this link for more information.
If you wish to delete or close your Skrill account, please ensure that your balance is zero or very close to this amount. Follow these steps to close your wallet anytime:
- Go to your “Account settings” from the setting menu after logging in.
- Click on the “Close Account” options just next to your account status which will be set as active.
- A pop-up window will appear asking you to confirm your decision. Click on ‘Close my account”.