Online Payments
Paying online nowadays is easy thanks to the continuous improvement over the last three decades. You can send money with prepaid vouchers, e-wallets, cards and online banking – all of which allow you to pay and receive money in Canadian dollars.
Generally, online payments are safe and they all come at some cost – privacy, security or money.
Types of online payment transactions
CashtoCode eVoucher is a very flexible payment method, but most important it's discreet. Here are the type of transactions you can complete with our eVoucher. Learn what defines each of the types and how CashtoCode eVoucher fits.
CashtoCode eVoucher compared
The CashtoCode eVoucher is somewhat late to the scene. There are more popular names on the market, some of which you've heard before. We've compared all of them individually with our eVoucher. The articles will help you better understand the core advantages CashtoCode has and how you should use it when paying online.
How do online payments work?
You can make online payments with four broad types of payment methods. Each of them comes with different steps you need to take before you can pay online.
| Prepaid vouchers | E-wallets | Online banking | Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase a pin | Open an account | Connect your bank account | Register for a card |
| Find a merchant that accepts your voucher | Verify your e-wallet account | Verify your online banking account | Pay for card issuance |
| Provide voucher code | Fund your account | Ensure you have enough funds | Wait for card delivery |
| Transaction complete | Find a merchant that accepts your e-wallet | Find a merchant integration of your online banking | Ensure you have enough funds |
| Provide personal and payment details to merchant | Provide personal and payment details to merchant | Find a merchant that accepts your card | |
| Transaction complete | Transaction complete | Provide personal and card details to merchant | |
| Transaction complete |
Cards offer the most convenient payment process and are by far the most flexible, but they are the most exposed to fraud and identity theft. Online banking, once fully setup offers the highest security, but at the cost of your privacy. E-wallets are flexible but they bear the highest cost.
Prepaid vouchers, like CashtoCode eVoucher come with no security threats and don't require an account. Physical prepaid cards are a mix of vouchers and cards, in a sense that you pay as with a regular bank card, but you can’t lose more money than the balance of the card.
The only fully anonymous payment method is payment by cash in person.
Online payment data and information
Payment providers need a lot of information and personal details from their customers. This is the case mostly because of regulation and local law. Authorities can demand all details to be disclosed if they deem it’s required.
| Information | Prepaid vouchers | E-wallets | Online banking | Cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| First and last name | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Address | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank details | No | On demand | Yes | Yes |
| Phone verification | No | Optional | Yes | Optional |
Prepaid vouchers offer an easy way of making online payments without revealing any personal or bank details, besides your email. If you are looking for a payment option to make payments discreetly, go for prepaid vouchers.
E-wallets are designed for convenient online payments, but they bear the highest costs associated with transactions and maintenance. As far as privacy goes, they are better than cards and online banking, but lag prepaid vouchers.
Online banking and cards are closely related. The latter offers convenience, but they both deeply invade your privacy.
Overall, there’s no one type of payment method that can tick all the boxes. It’s impossible as to have high security and a lot of features at your disposal, you must trade your privacy or your convenience.
Sending money
There are more options available for sending money, or making payments online compared to receiving money. Here’s what the payment methods offer in terms of security, privacy and convenience.
| Method | Security | Privacy | Convenience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepaid vouchers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| E-wallets | Yes | No | Yes |
| Online banking | Yes | No | No |
| Cards | No | No | Yes |
If the only criterion is security, you should go for online banking, with payment methods like Interac or INSTADEBIT. If you are looking for convenience, but you don’t value your privacy, e-wallets are your top pick.
Cards are your best option if you are not visiting any suspicious website and/or making card payments at unreliable retail shops. Otherwise, you’re putting yourself at risk of card fraud.
Lastly, if you are making relatively smaller payments up to $1,500, consider prepaid vouchers the likes of eVoucher. Whether it’s paying for a subscription and you want to avoid any recurring charges, or you simply don’t this specific transaction on your bank statement, eVoucher PIN is all you need.
Receiving money
Receiving money and anonymity don’t go hand in hand. You simply have to provide a lot of information when receiving money. The tax authorities want to know the source of the money and they should tax it.
| Method | Security | Privacy | Convenience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepaid vouchers | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| E-wallets | Yes | No | Yes |
| Online banking | Yes | No | Yes |
| Cards | No | No | No |
Online banking ticks all the boxes in this instance. It’s convenient and safe. As the payment networks grow, online banking becomes faster and more affordable. Compared to e-wallets, online banking is more favorable due to cost-efficiency only.
Recommended payment options based on personal criteria
Ultimately, different customers have different requirements. Here’s another perspective at online payments and payment methods.
| Type of method | Frequent payments | Rare payments | Maximum privacy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepaid vouchers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| E-wallets | Yes | Yes | No |
| Online banking | No | Yes | No |
| Cards | Yes | Yes | No |
Nowadays, prepaid vouchers are widely and easily available. This means you can use them regardless of how frequently you need to pay online. In addition, your privacy and bank details are always kept private.
People who are paying frequently but don’t care about privacy can opt for e-wallets and cards.
FAQ
The safest payment method is one which gets your money safely to the recipient without exposing too much private and payment details. Depending on the level of privacy you want, from highest to lowest you should choose prepaid vouchers, e-wallets, online banking or cards. In practice, all of them are safe but they share different level of details.
Yes, you can send money without revealing any personal information if you pay with prepaid vouchers or prepaid cards. Payment methods like the CashtoCode eVoucher enable you to pay online without revealing any personal information.
You can pay online without an account with a prepaid vouchers. CashtoCode eVoucher doesn’t require an account or any other type of registration. In addition, all you need to have is an email address to purchase a PIN voucher. This email is not shared with the merchant due to the closed loop system, only the 20-character PIN code is.
Unfortunately, receiving money without registering an account is not possible. Whether it’s an e-wallet payment solution or online banking, you must register an account before being able to receive money from any source.
You need a payment method that allows you to receive money. You either use e-wallets like Skrill, iDebit and Neteller, or you can take advantage of online banking such as Interac and INSTADEBIT. All of these require registering an account.
