We see technological changes at every step. Just 20 years ago, few people had a mobile phone, and today smartphones dominate our lives. Changes can also be seen in payment systems. In the past, we used practically only cash. Today, we prefer payment cards and mobile applications. In our article, we would like to see how to choose the right payment method for a particular purchase.
Related Posts
Table of Contents
Many changes
As we have already mentioned, the last 20 years have been characterized by rapid technological development. Smartphones and digitization have totally changed our everyday life and work. This is especially noticeable in the case of payments. People who were born and raised in the 20th century know perfectly well that in Poland, the only payment option was cash. Over time, the first debit and credit cards began to appear. Over time, more and more people began to give up cash in favour of cards. Cards dominated practically until 2020 when further changes took place.
Poland is a perfect example of this because today, in this country, more transactions are carried out via BLIK than with cards. And this is just the beginning of the changes. Today, many people use electronic wallets such as PayPal, Revolut, Skrill, and mobile solutions – contactless payments, Google Wallet or Apple Pay. Some countries are already introducing solutions to withdraw cash from the market in the future. This can be a problem for older people who are not necessarily familiar with smartphones, card handling, and ATMs. Differences in individual payment methods can be seen, for example, in the online casinos that offer darmowe spiny za rejestracje bez depozytu.
What you should know?
There are certain payment methods that can be used in different places. In particular, payment cards and e-wallets seem to be extremely versatile. What is worth paying attention to?
-
Payment speed – check the payment processing time. It happens that some methods may be booked with a delay, which in the case of quick purchases, can be a problem.
-
Additional fees – be sure to pay attention to whether commissions or additional fees are added to the selected payment method. It happens that it may even be a few percent of the transaction value.
-
Currency conversion – if you deposit money to the casino in EUR, or USD or buy in a foreign store, check what the currency conversion process looks like. Some wallets like Revolut provide very good odds. In turn, banks can impose a very bad rate, so instead of paying USD 100 = PLN 440, you can pay PLN 470, 480, or more.
-
Buyer protection – more and more e-wallets, banks introduce buyer protection. If something goes wrong with our transaction, we will have a chance to get your money back. So check if the method you choose includes protection.
-
International restrictions – make sure that you can use the method. Online casinos are a great example here because in Poland, there is a ban on using bank accounts in illegal casinos. It may happen that in a given country or store, you simply cannot use the selected payment method.
As you can see, when choosing a method, it is very important to check whether it is possible to use it at all in a given place, whether it ensures fast and safe shopping and transactions if there are no additional fees, and what is the currency conversion.
What method and where to use it?
There are places where shopping with a specific method is much faster and more pleasant than other payment methods. We will try to list the places where we buy things most often and what methods are the best there.
-
Online shops – we do shopping in clothing, electronics, and food stores, with books, music, and games. In such places, it is best to pay with a card that is assigned to our bank account or e-wallet. We can also decide to pay directly from a bank account using the application, BLIK, an online transfer system – in Poland, it is PayU or Przelewy24.
-
Shops, restaurants, service points – it has also been very convenient here for years to pay with a card, via an application, or an e-wallet. Contactless payments via phone applications are very popular today.
-
Online casinos – today, many people use online casinos or bookmakers. Such sites offer a lot of deposit options – cards, e-wallets, cryptocurrencies, and online vouchers. Using e-wallets is often the best opportunity to save on currency conversion.
-
Local markets – still in many countries, you can find small markets where people sell fruit and vegetables and their own products. In such places, you can often pay only in cash or with the help of cards and banking applications.
Let’s pay attention to the advantages and disadvantages of the selected payment methods.
|
Method |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
|
Cards
|
are available almost everywhere, fast and secure transactions, easy to use. |
Several cards take up space in the wallet, they have limits, and you often need to enter a PIN. Bank cards are often associated with worse exchange rates. |
|
Mobile banking
|
is fast and secure, all in one place and easy to use.
|
You can’t pay by phone everywhere. Addicted to the smartphone: when it does not work, discharged – you will not pay. |
|
E-wallets
|
Multi-currency accounts, favourable exchange rates, plastic and virtual cards, safe, fast, and easy to use. |
They are not available everywhere. If we use them only on the phone, they have the same disadvantages as mobile banking. |
|
Cash
|
You can pay anywhere, accessible, government protected, multiple denominations. |
Not very hygienic – from hand to hand, takes up space in the wallet (especially coins), some countries strive to remove it. |
There are certainly plenty of payment methods, especially if we divide the individual categories into specific companies. We also have plenty of places that accept multiple and select-only payment methods. It is not so easy to indicate the right payment method for a particular purchase. The best solution is always to use at least 2 or 3 different methods so that you have an alternative in case one of them is unavailable.