Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) is an electronic system for making international payments. Initially, the platform was mainly used for payments in gambling and although this area still uses Skrill, the system has evolved, adding a number of new services and products.As a rule, deals here are a bit more expensive than at alternative sites.
For example, Skrill provides money transfer services, and at the same time acts as an online service for storing currencies. To date, the system supports more than 100 fiat currencies and 9 cryptocurrencies.
As for cryptocurrencies, here you can not only pay for them, but also trade. The company is constantly working to simplify access to cryptocurrencies on its platform.
In this article, we will take a closer look at what Skrill is and how it works.
- What is Skrill?
- Skrill Registration
- Log in to Your Skrill Account
- Does Skrill Need Verification
- Skrill Card
- Skrill Deposit
- Withdraw Money from Skrill
- Skrill and Cryptocurrencies
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Skrill
- Skrill Competitors
- Skrill Reviews
What is Skrill?
Skrill is a processing service that provides a fast, efficient and secure way to transfer funds. Skrill was founded in 2001 under the name Moneybookers. The payment system rebranded only 12 years later, in 2013.
Today, the company is among the world leaders operating in the field of payments. Regardless of the purpose of using the service, Skrill will be able to satisfy almost any customer needs.
Settlements in this payment system are highly competitive with the analogues of TransferWise and PayPal, in terms of functionality and geography of service and the size of fees. Skrill offers free online payments in online stores, as well as payments within the system. In addition, the company provides “special” conditions for VIP-clients.
At the same time, the main product offered by the company is an electronic wallet.
Customers can purchase a Skrill prepaid card linked to their personal account. However, this option does not apply to customers registering a product outside the Eurozone.
Skrill also recently introduced a new service that allows you to directly buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Among the available on the platform: BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC, LTC, XRP, EOS, XML and ZRX.
Skrill also meets the needs of enterprises by helping them build a global customer base and drive development. Skrill is truly a global company with headquarters in London and more than fifty representative offices located in Europe and the USA.
It is also worth paying attention to the availability of verification of personal data by the service.
In addition, the transaction limit set by the system depends on whether the verification has been passed.
Skrill official website
Skrill Registration
How to register at Skrill:
- Enter the service.
- Click "Register";
- Enter the data requested by the system;
- Click "Register Now."
The process of opening an account with Skrill is very simple. The service supports more than a dozen languages. As you create an account in Skrill, the client gets the opportunity to conduct financial transactions both to pay for goods in online stores, forex trading, and to send and receive funds to a bank account. The service supports two types of accounts: for personal purposes, Personal, and for business purposes with the identical name Business.
Below we consider in more detail the process of registering an account both for personal needs and for conducting business activities.
Personal Account Registration
In order to join the service, you first need to go to the official page and create an account by clicking on the “Register” button in the upper right part of the interface.
Next, the user will be redirected to the registration page, where the system will prompt you to enter personal data in English, including first name, last name, country, currency, email and password. Be sure to use a strong password, since the level of potential threat of funds on your account depends on its complexity.
As all the lines are filled in correctly, the "Register Now" button will become active at the bottom of the form.
Next, go through the captcha, and get to the welcome page. Here, in principle, is the entire registration, which will take no more than 2 minutes of time.
Business Account Registration
If you need to integrate the service for conducting business transactions, go to the business button located in the upper left corner of the interface. The user will be redirected to a page on which he will be asked to contact the sales department. Here we click on "Submit Application" in the central part or "Start", which is located a little lower.
The essence of the process will not change, and in the first and second case, the user will be in the same place.
Next, on the page in the "Email address" field, enter the email address by which an employee of the company will contact you within a couple of hours to clarify the details.
Log in to Your Skrill Account
To enter the Skrill payment system you will need:
- Step 1. Go to the official website of the financial services provider.
- Step 2. Click on the "Login" button located in the upper right corner.
- Step 3. Enter the requested data (email and password).
- Step 4. Click "Login."
- Step 5. We get into your personal account.
See below for detailed instructions on how to enter Skrill's personal account.
First you need to fill in the fields with the email address and password that you specified during registration.
In case the password has been lost, the system provides the ability to recover the password. To do this, in the “Login” window, click “Forgot password”, and in the window that appears, enter the email address associated with the account.
After the service will send instructions to reset the existing password with the ability to set a new one.
As for the Skrill interface itself, everything is simple and clear.
On the right side are tabs that include a list of services offered by the service.
What is in Skrill's personal account:
To use all the features of Skrill, you need to fund your account.
Does Skrill Need Verification
As you can see, there is not a word about identity verification in Skrill's personal account. But this is only until the appearance of funds in the account.
In any case, even if the turnover on the accounts is small, everyone can pass verification.
The process itself takes only a few minutes. To do this, the system recommends the following:
- We enter Skrill's personal account.
- If funds have not been credited to the account before, we replenish it.
- We enter the “Parameters” section.
- Click on the “Verification” tab.
- Follow the instructions below.
So, let's dwell on this section in more detail.
As you enter the "Test" tab, click "Check Now." Immediately before the user appears a list of steps that must be followed when passing through the verification process.
- Checking your account through the social network Facebook. Upon satisfying Skrill requirements, the system will gain access to data stored on the social network platform.
You can opt out of confirmation if you wish. This field is optional.
- Verification of identity. Verification is carried out in one of the ways: through a mobile application or by sending a passport or any other document confirming the identity of the client, as well as photos with hand-written code generated by the system through a computer.
- Verification of the address. It’s possible as opening access to geodata, which is much faster than adding data from a passport or from another document confirming the location of the client.
- At the end, a summary of the data will be carried out, according to the results of which the documents will be sent for verification to the Skrill security service.
Also, the status of the Skrill account for verification can be seen in the "Settings" section of the "Limits and Verification" section.
According to the FAQ of the service, it also happens that the system asks for re-confirmation of personal data after some time. Please note that Skrill is trying to take into account all the parameters necessary for compliance. And since regulators often make changes and new provisions of the legislative framework, this affects the requirements of a payment service to customers.
Such measures are necessary in order to increase the limit or remove it completely from certain operations in the account.
As you can see, the client receives a greater share of trust from the service, in addition, the service, for its part, provides a wider range of services.
Note that before users did not have the need to pass this check, but now that the company is trying to meet the stated requirements of the regulators, the system does everything possible to satisfy the FCA regulation points. Recall that the client agrees to the rules by accepting the terms of the user agreement at the stage of registration for Skrill.
Skrill Card
Skrill cards are issued in collaboration with payment giant Mastercard.
Two types of cards are offered for use: plastic and virtual.
Virtual Skrill Card
It is interesting for users who are constantly involved in online shopping.
So, you can apply for a Skrill virtual card by following these steps:
- Click on the option “Skrill Prepared Mastercard”, located at the bottom left of the account.
- In the Skrill section of Virtual Cards, click "Add Card".
- We fill out the form, indicating the currency for transactions, so as to avoid additional fees for currency exchange. We recommend choosing the currency of the account, that is, that which was indicated at registration.
- As soon as the system generates a virtual Skrill card, a 16-digit card number, as well as a security code (CVV) and an expiration date will appear on the screen. The cardholder can use this data to make purchases on the Mastercard network.
Skrill Plastic Debit Card
If a card is required for cash withdrawals, then the Skrill plastic card (Skrill Prepaid Mastercard) will be the best choice. Therefore, we briefly describe the main points of creating a card for those who register a service within the European Economic Area.
The process of obtaining a plastic card is identical to the process of issuing a virtual.
After registration, we activate it by entering the last 4 digits of the card and its validity. Upon successful activation, the cardholder will receive a PIN code.
The service will need from 7 to 10 days to make a card. The commission for the order is 10 euros.
For any problems that occurred during the creation or activation of cards, it is recommended to contact the payment system support service.
Skrill Deposit
How to fund your Skrill payment system:
- Step 1. Enter your personal account.
- Step 2. Go to the "Deposit".
- Step 3. Choose the appropriate payment method.
- Step 4. Enter the data requested by the system, including the direction of payment and the amount;
- Step 5. Confirm the action.
- Step 6. We are waiting for receipt of an account.
Skrill can be deposited in the following ways:
Next, we will consider the process of depositing with Skrill in two ways: using cryptocurrencies and using a credit card.
Account Deposit by Cryptocurrency
In the first case, in the "Deposit" section, select the "Bitcoin & Bitcoin Cash" tab, where click "Deposit".
In the window that appears, enter the amount to be replenished in US dollars or in any other currency and click “Next”.
Note that it is necessary to take into account the limits set for one direction or another, which may differ from each other.
In the window that appears, familiarize ourselves with the information specified earlier, and then click "Go to Bitcoin & Bitcoin Cash."
In addition to Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, at the moment the service supports Ethereum cryptocurrency. Thus, on the new page we select the necessary cryptocurrency.
After which the system will provide the amount in the selected cryptocurrency (in this case, BTC), a QR code for payment and will offer to make a payment. So, we scan the QR code and confirm the action by clicking on the "Deposit wallet" button.i
The invoice should be paid within 15 minutes or request a new one. As a result of the transaction, we are waiting for a change in the balance in the account in the Skrill account.
Account Deposit by Credit Card
So, in the "Deposit" section, select the "Credit and debit card" tab, where we click "Deposit account".
Note that at the first request for funds, the service will require you to enter data, including address, city, zip code, date of birth and mobile number.
Click “Next” and proceed to confirm the mobile phone by entering the verification code sent to the specified number.
The system provides 15 minutes to enter the code. Typically, the code arrives instantly, but if during this time the message has not been received. You can use the function to send a new code or request confirmation by email.
So, enter the code and click on the "Check" button. In the next window, the system will notify the client of the completion of the check and ask you to create a PIN code, which will be further requested upon sending and receiving funds and for entering the payment system.
Thus, the service is trying to protect the client from the theft of funds by third parties who deliberately took possession of the user's personal data.
After the verification is completed, we proceed directly to the credit card account deposit by driving into the new form data on the card number, validity period and CVV (three digits located on the back of the card).
As all points are filled, click "Add card and continue."
As a continuation, the system will prompt you to enter the amount, the upper limit of which is at the level of $ 830.62 for "unverified" users; the minimum is $ 1.11.
the upper limit of which is at the level of $ 830.62 for "unverified" users; the minimum is $ 1.11.
In the lower part of the window, check the directions for using the card (fantasy sports, gambling, lotteries, etc.). In the case of ticking opposite “No”, the use of funds in such areas will be prohibited. Click "Next" and go to the page of the bank that issued the card.
We enter the password sent to the phone on behalf of the bank and confirm by clicking on the “Submit” button.
Despite the fact that Skrill promises to deposit funds within 20 minutes, they usually arrive on the account within a few minutes.
Withdraw Money from Skrill
In order to make a withdrawal of funds from the Skrill account, you need to do the following:
- Step 1. Enter your Skrill account.
- Step 2. Select the “Withdraw funds” section on the left.
- Step 3. Click on one of the proposed options.
- Step 4. Enter all the data requested by the system.
- Step 5. Enter the amount.
- Step 6. Confirm the withdrawal of funds
- Step 7. We are waiting for receipt on the account of a third-party resource.
Note that the choice of directions for withdrawing funds from the service is rather meager. Sending can be done to a bank account or bank card.
Next, consider the process of withdrawing funds from a Skrill account to a credit card.
Accordingly, in the “Withdrawal of funds” section, we select the direction “Credit and Debit Card”. The system will redirect to a page on which information about possible output directions will be provided.
After reviewing the information, click "Add Card" and get to the page requesting information about the card holder. In the form that appears, we drive in the data on the card number, validity period and CVV (three digits located on the back of the card).
With regular outputs to the same card, it is recommended to save data. This will facilitate the withdrawal process in the future, and save the time of the account holder.
Next, click "Add card and continue."
Detailed instructions for withdrawing Skrill to a bank card are in the video below:
If the user makes a withdrawal to the Visa card, the system will ask him to authorize the card for payment of $ 2.22. To do this, you need to enter the CVV code.
After confirming receipt of payment, the user will be able to finalize the withdrawal.
Skrill and Cryptocurrencies
To begin with, at the end of November, the payment system announced a tool for the direct conversion of cryptocurrencies among themselves.
Thus, users no longer need to take a series of steps to exchange some cryptocurrencies for others, spending not only personal time on additional actions, but also funds to pay commissions.
Typically, cryptocurrencies are especially interesting to those customers who wish to remain anonymous on the network. So, if, when replenishing funds with a credit card, the service asks for data on the phone number and location, then there are no such conditions when using cryptocurrencies.
In order to take advantage of the crypto advantages of Skrill, you need to enter the "Cryptocurrency" section in the interface of your personal account.
First of all, the service will inform the client about the existing risks of trading with this type of asset.
After reviewing and agreeing to the provisions of the "Cryptocurrency Terms of Use", click on the "Accept Risks and Terms of Use" button.
Next, a window opens, including:
- Information about cryptocurrencies supported by the service;
- Trading with the possibility of buying and selling cryptocurrencies;
- Reserves — the ability to save capital in cryptocurrency.
At the time of writing, Skrill offers users 9 cryptocurrencies:
Skrill does everything possible for the convenience of using cryptocurrencies by users of the service, up to the establishment of notifications and other functions to facilitate interaction with the digital asset market.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Skrill
Using the Skrill service has many advantages:
But there are also enough disadvantages:
Skrill drives international transactions, and therefore, sometimes a business in a more “risky" country may have no choice but to become a client of this payment system.
Skrill Competitors
In the field of online payments, providers are in a constant struggle for market leadership. Below we consider the main competitors of the popular Skrill payment system.
Neteller
Neteller is a payment system that Skrill supports to replenish the balance in the account. Both payment systems are very similar in functionality and directions of use - the sphere of gambling. So, Skrill is more suitable for players who work with small amounts, and for those who work with large amounts, Neteller is best suited.
The owner of both payment systems is PaySafe Group. Although Neteller has been operating on the market since 1999, the payment service has been under the leadership of the new owner since 2015.
PayPal
PayPal is a company developing in the field of e-commerce, aimed at simplifying the interaction of the parties through online payments. PayPal was created in 1998 and is among the most popular payment systems.
Unlike Skrill, an account is tied to a user's credit card or bank account.For the full use of the service, it is also necessary to verify.
TransferWise
TransferWise is an Estonian company established in 2015. The service positions itself as a peer-to-peer money transfer platform and offers services on all continents. Unlike Skrill, the service uses average market rates and does not charge additional fees, which contributes to the transparency of the commission structure. Customers can register as a private person or on behalf of the company.
TransferWise is one of the leaders in the field of international online money transfers. Like Skrill, the company is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Payoneer
Payoneer is a popular alternative to Skrill, created in 2005. Unlike its competitor, the main direction of using the Payoneer system is to pay for freelance services. Also, the payment system supports transfers within the system, and to cards and a bank account. Like Skrill, the service issues its own prepaid Payoneer Debit Mastercard. Service fees are much higher than Skrill — up to 2% for the transfer.
Skrill Reviews
Recently, the Internet is filled with negative reviews from customers. Basically, users complain about the delay in transfers and unjustified closure of accounts. Thus, users are left without money frozen by the service on their previously owned accounts.
Note that the information that the service may request re-verification at any time is registered on the official website of the company, therefore, you must be prepared in advance for such a development of events.
Perhaps the system is more appealing to poker players than to businessmen
In any case, people continue to use this service at your own risk. Apparently, those who are satisfied with his services simply do not have the time or desire to write about it on the net.
One can only hope that Skrill's management will nevertheless take note of customer complaints and begin to meet them.
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