E-wallets, also called digital wallets, have been around for quite a while. It’s easier to think of them as a virtual place where you can store your money and access it at a moment’s notice. E-wallets are easy to use and even easier to set up. They offer lots of flexibility and can let you perform international, P2P, and B2B transactions in a very short time. In this post, we will be discussing some of the benefits of e-wallets, as well as which are the best ones available. We will also look at the cons that you should look out for when signing up to use an e-wallet or deciding whether to use one or stick to “normal” payment methods.
Advantages of e-wallets
The most significant advantage of using e-wallets is the convenience that they provide. Since most of them let you use your phone to access your funds, you always have access, as your phone is always with you. That said, this can also be said about bank accounts and ATM cards, with modern mobile apps provided by most banks. However, besides convenience, e-wallets have additional advantages.
They can provide additional layer of safety
If you only have a bank account and credit or debit cards, you need to use these payment methods every time you want to pay for something online. However, some websites might seem less secure and reliable, so you might not want to use your bank account or cards on them. This is where e-wallets can come in handy, as the money in your bank account will stay safe even if you pay on less-trusted websites. It’s also advisable to use websites like Scamadviser.com to check website trustworthiness before buying anything online.
They can help you spend on a budget
You can decide to use your e-wallets as a budget aid by only funding them with the amount you want to spend. So, for example, if you want to use your PayPal for monthly online shopping, you know you’ve blown through your budget for that month when your account is empty. Some other wallets even let you set spending limits. That way, you’ll be notified when you exhaust your budget, even if your account is still funded.
You can use them while staying connected
Since you can access your e-wallets from your devices, it’s very easy for you to switch from other tasks to managing your money. Even though cards have some advantages when it comes to portability and ease of access, it still doesn’t come close to e-wallets. You can be reading a review one minute and switch to paying for something online, without setting down your phone. Of course, mobile banking applications and other modern online payment methods offer similar levels of freedom, but e-wallets are even better in this regard, at least in some cases.
Cons
Unfortunately, like everything else, e-wallets also have their cons. In some situations, E-wallets can actually prevent you from spending when you want to; or they might cause you to overspend all together.
They are not as widely accepted as other forms of payment
E-wallets aren’t accepted by all service providers. If you use a widely known e-wallet like PayPal, you may be able to pay for most services and products. However, even PayPal has limitations—you can’t use it everywhere. It’s even worse if you’re using a less popular e-wallet.
A breach in security can cost you everything
With traditional means like cards, if your bank observes suspicious activity, they can contact you and even temporarily freeze the card. However, with e-wallets, all your funds could be gone before you even know your password has been hacked. In this way, traditional means like cards and cheques are much better than e-wallets. That said, some e-wallets offer bank-like services that can manage to get your money back in some cases, and you can always mitigate this risk by not leaving a lot of money in your e-wallet accounts. Either way, if you stick to widely-used e-wallets and secure your account properly, you should be fine.
There might be fees for processing payments
We got used to having online transactions processed for free. However, many e-wallets require users to pay fees for using their services. These may be charged when topping up your e-wallet balance, sending a payment, receiving a payment, or withdrawing money back to your bank account. Each e-wallet is different in this, so keep your eyes open and do the research before starting to use any of them.
Top five E-wallets
Now that we’ve been over what E-wallets are and what they can do for you let’s review some of the best ones out there. They are not arranged in any particular order since they all have their unique advantages.
PayPal
PayPal is the most popular E-wallet around. It has been in existence for almost 20 years, and it is reliable, efficient, and available globally. People love PayPal because it is very easy to set up. You can choose to link it to your bank account, but you don’t have to. With PayPal, you can pay for transactions online, transfer money to people, write “e-checks”, as well as charge your PayPal purchases to your credit card. Most online platforms accept PayPal, which makes it one of the best E-wallets available.
Skrill
Skrill, formerly known as Moneybookers, is another fantastic E-wallet service. Just like PayPal, Skrill allows up to 40 different currencies. The limitation with this multiple currency policy is that after you make the first transaction in a currency, you cannot change the account to another currency. One of the unique offers that Skrill has is that it works seamlessly with online casinos. It is widely accepted as a mode of payment to online casinos all over the world, including countries in Europe, and the United States.
Payoneer
With Payoneer E-wallet, you can send money to your bank account, pay for goods and services, and even interface with freelancing platforms. Payoneer specializes in B2B transactions, which means that it mainly focuses on sending and receiving money between two businesses.
Freelancers love Payoneer because they can use it to withdraw payment from their accounts on Upwork, Fiverr and other platforms. As usual, you will have to complete a verification process to confirm it’s really you before you can begin using it. But once you do that, you’re good to go.
Leopay
Leopay is like a financial ecosystem since it has all the services you could ever require, from operating several currencies to getting prepaid cards. It has a web-based system, as well as a mobile application. Leopay also lets you create multiple user accounts, which is a little like having several accounts with the same bank.
The benefit of Leopay cards is that you can withdraw with physical cards without even owning a bank account. However, one of its downsides is that because it is not as reputable and as established as PayPal and Skrill, you may have a longer wait time when trying to settle disputes on your account.
Ecopayz
Ecopayz offers financial services to both individuals and businesses. It has everything you’d expect from an E-wallet, including getting a prepaid card to withdraw cash and make purchases online.
Unfortunately, Ecopayz can only support three currencies—Euro, US Dollar, and Pound Sterling. Just like with Skrill, Ecopayz can also be used on online betting websites, which means that you can fund your casino accounts, as well as withdraw money from them. However, unlike Skrill, Ecopayz only interfaces with a few online casinos.
So what does all this mean for you as a blogger?
E-wallets are good news for bloggers. With their services, you can do everything you need to do right from your computer and phone. It used to be just shopping in online stores like Amazon. But now, you can pay for virtually any service online within and outside your country. Also, you can send money to your fellow bloggers and receive money. Even though you can already do this with cards, it’s even more unique withe-wallets because you can do all of this without ever putting down your phone.
There are also E-wallets supported by Banks, which makes it easier for you to access some banking services that other e-wallets may not get you. You could access a loan, for example. And let’s not forget the fact that you can get paid for your services online. If you do freelance writing on Fiverr for example, your payment is literally a link away.
