As with the majority of 3rd party payment services, the main reason to use them is security – or at least the perception of extra security. Many people do not want to give their own credit card or bank details to online poker sites. While many of those sites have solid reputations going back 15 years or more, the extra security of a 3rd party service still appeals to many new players.
With MyCitadel, you are taking complete control of how much money you spend. Instead of inserting your card number and waiting for your poker site to take the money, you send the money by logging onto your own internet bank and sending it yourself. Since you are sending the money to Citadel, via a tracking number, you will not see any gambling transactions on your bank statement this way.
Citadel can be managed from your desktop or from your mobile smartphone.
The final benefit is that Citadel allows bank transfers in places where these might otherwise be restricted.
What Are the Disadvantages of Choosing Citadel for Poker Payments?
Not all banks will support Citadel, and you’ll only really be able to find out whether yours is on the list when you try to use this. Since you do not have a separate account, this process uses a routing number and list of banks via the merchant (poker sites) cashier. It can pay to have an alternative deposit option up your sleeve!
Citadel can’t be used for withdrawals at poker sites taking Citadel payments. There are plenty of alternative options, including paper checks, electronic wallets or local bank transfers. Which you choose will again depend largely on your location.
Practical Guide to Citadel Instant Banking Poker Site Payments
You access Citadel from the poker site’s cashier. This means that your first task is to find a poker site with easy games, a big choice, solid bonus and promotion offers… that also welcomes Citadel Instant Banking. For me, 888 Poker is an easy pick for a site which fulfils all of these criteria. If it does turn out that your bank does not work with Citadel, you’ll find plenty of alternative deposit options there too, including electronic wallets, prepaid cards and credit card options.
Once you have a player account, you need to head to the cashier. Here you choose Citadel, and you will find a screen with a list of approved banks for your location. You will need to have an internet banking account already set up. Choose your bank and you will be given an international routing number and payment code. Make sure you take a note of these, in case you lose connection while processing the transaction.
Click to bring up a new browser window for your bank’s website. Add the numbers you were given as a new Citadel payment and click the submit button. Your bank might ask for additional verification via your phone (a pin) if you have this set up.
That is all there is to it, the money will be sent without the delays caused by bank wires, and you’ll be ready to enjoy those real money poker games and tournaments.
How Does Citadel Instant Banking Compare to Electronic Wallet Systems?
There are a lot of choices when it comes to 3rd party services that facilitate secure poker payments. While Citadel is quick and easy (no extra passwords to remember), it does miss the flexibility of some other options.
Electronic wallets are the main alternative category. This includes poker sites accepting PayPal, iDebit and Skrill. The big difference with these is that you have somewhere to store your money online which is separate from your bank account. You upload funds from your bank, and then pay with the balance in your virtual wallet. Many people store part of their poker bankroll in these wallets, making it available to use at whichever site is offering a good promotion! The downside compared to Citadel is that you have one more account to manage.
Prepaid vouchers and prepaid Visa cards are the other main category for players that do not like to link their own bank account with poker sites. Here you have to head out and buy a card (for example CitadelCard) from a local outlet. While this does give you a lot of control, the extra effort compared to purely electronic poker payments is off putting for many people.
Citadel will allow you to use your bank account for payments where these might otherwise be blocked. Whether you prefer the greater flexibility of an eWallet, the control of a prepaid card or the speed and ease of Citadel Instant Banking is down to you!
