Sofort Banking is a way for gamblers from several European countries to do direct banking by depositing money via an online bank account. It can be used at numerous online casinos and retailers as you only need your online banking account information. Then, your money is securely transferred from your bank account to online merchants or to the web-based casino you have chosen for your real-money bets. Sofort works in conjunction with directbanking.com which is certified by the TUV which is the largest German quality and security institute.
In 2014, the service provider was obtained by Klarna which led to the emergence of Klarna Group. Sofort Direct Banking facilitates online payments so that they could be carried out promptly and easily. The service will give you the chance to wrap up payments through a wire of banks within Europe. In essence, many European banks have integrated Sofort’s system which will give you the chance to transfer your funds over the Internet not solely quickly and easily, but also safely.
Apart from gamblers from Germany, players from numerous other European countries are also given the chance to make use of the payment service. You are allowed to take advantage of this particular payment solution also if you are a bank account holder in countries such as Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy. In fact, this method is offered by a wide array of casino operators that are targeting predominantly gamblers from Europe where the service enjoys an overwhelming popularity.
Best Sofort Casinos
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Country used in | Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, UK, the Netherlands, Hungary, France, Slovakia, the Czech Republic |
| Website | www.klarna.com/sofort |
| Accepted by | Over 50 Online Casinos |
| Casino Games with Sofort | Slots, Roulette, Blackjack, Video Poker |
| Available for deposit | Yes |
| Available for withdrawal | Yes |
| Create account / Sign up for account | N/A |
| Make a payment from online banking | FREE |
| Make a payment from your Sofort balance | N/A |
| Transfer funds from Sofort balance to bank account | N/A |
| Transfer funds from Merchant to bank account | FREE |
| Online Chat | No |
| service@sofort.com, service@klarna.co.uk | |
| Telephone | Germany: +49 89 – 2020 889-0 |
How the Method Works
The Sofort system creates a secure, direct connection to your bank when you enter your bank information. When shopping at participating online merchants or casinos, you have to option of using the secure, Sofort system. When you use the Sofort system, the merchant will receive an instant confirmation of the money transfer, allowing goods and services to be instantly delivered to you. The same goes for casinos, as your funds will appear instantly in your balance.
Unlike most of the other available payment solutions, you are not required to set up a virtual account and to top it up in order to make use of the service. As long as this is your payment method of choice, you will simply need to use your online banking details and go through a verification procedure as usual. No matter whether you have decided to purchase something over the Internet or you wish to load your casino account with cash, in both cases, the amount will be sent to your balance at the casino or to the merchant’s account from your online banking account within only a few minutes.
Unfortunately, you will not have the opportunity to employ the service if you do not have an online banking account due to the fact that it is a payment solution that can work solely with online-capable accounts. Still, you should not worry about this as you can always contact the bank you are using the services of and activate your online banking which in most cases, is not a time-consuming procedure.
When you have decided to make use of the payment service, you need to provide some data that include bank name or sort code, your account number as well as your online banking details. Occasionally, transactions are authorized using a confirmation code or a TAN code as it is also known. Players can get this code from their bank that will provide it via an SMS or in a paper form.
With that being said, you are ready to proceed to payments via the service. When it comes to topping up your casino account, in the first place, you need to enter your bank code as well as to select the bank you are working with from the drop-down menu. Then, you will need to provide your username as well as your password for your online banking account. The aim of this is to check whether your account covers the amount you wish to transfer and to confirm the transaction. The next step is to provide your authentication number or your TAN number you have already acquired. Payments via Sofort are executed in real-time, which means that you will get an almost instant access to your funds. In addition to this, the fact that Sofort Banking does not require an interim account further facilitates the procedure simply because your funds will be transferred directly from your bank account to your casino balance.
It is also worth noting that payments via this particular payment solution are secure thanks to the multi-level authentication each of the initiated transactions needs to go through. This promises that your personal and banking information is well protected from misuse and any fraudulent activities.
Depositing to Online Casinos
Once you have found a virtual casino that accepts deposits via Sofort Banking, you can proceed to top up your account. In fact, your task will not be that hard due to the fact that there is a large number of web-based casinos that have included this particular payment service in the list of the supported payment solutions.
Deposits via Sofort Banking are carried out extremely easy and most importantly quickly, which remains among gamblers’ main concerns. In order to load your casino account with cash, you need to head to the cashier page. There, you will find a list of the payment options you can go for when making a deposit. You simply need to select Sofort Banking as your preferred payment method. As it was already mentioned, you are not required to open any accounts or to fund them in order to make use of the payment service which undoubtedly works to your advantage.
After you have selected a country as well as a bank from the drop-down menu, you have wrapped up the transaction in your online banking account, you have typed the verification code, and the payment was submitted, your funds will be transferred from your bank account and will appear in the balance of your casino account. Perhaps, you will be happy to find out that you will get an almost immediate access to your funds due to the fact that deposits via Sofort Banking are instant. In addition to this, in most cases, you will not be burdened with any additional fees and charges for using this particular payment service. Still, it is advised to check this in advance due to the fact that the casino operator on its turn may charge certain fees.
In addition to this, you need to know that there may not be certain set limits to the amount you can transfer via this method, but the bank you are using the services of may impose its own limits to the transactions, so you should check this beforehand.
Withdrawing from Online Casinos
As a general rule, Sofort Banking can be used for both deposits and withdrawals which sets it apart from some of the other payment solutions you can make use of. It is worth noting that some interactive casinos may not allow you to cash out your winnings via this particular payment method, so it would be better to check this beforehand. In addition to this, you are also advised to check whether the payment solution is available in your country of residence at all due to the fact that the number of the countries in which players can make use of it is slightly limited.
Still, if you have registered at a web-based casino that allows both types of transactions via Sofort Banking, you should know that the withdrawal procedure overlaps with the depositing procedure to a large extent as you should follow roughly the same steps but in a reverse order.
Once again you will need to head to the cashier section and to type the amount you wish to cash out. Then, you simply need to select Sofort Banking as your preferred payment solution. The needed information will be stored from the time when you have loaded your account with cash via the same method so you will not need to waste your time with entering the same information again. The time frames within which your winnings will appear in your bank account vary greatly, but in most cases, you will get access to them at least 2 business days after you have initiated a withdrawal.
Costs and Fees
Many gamblers who wish to use Sofort to transfer their funds while wagering over the Internet will be delighted to find out that normally, they should not pay additional fees when using this payment service. Still, gambling enthusiasts should bear in mind that the casino operator may charge certain fees as well. That is why it is always a good idea to check this beforehand as at the end you may be unpleasantly surprised.
Security
As they put it, for them security is of major importance, especially when it comes to money transfers. In fact, Sofort Banking remains one of the safest ways to conduct transactions over the Internet due to the fact that, in practice, you utilize the online-banking we have all accustomed to. Perhaps, one of the best things about the payment service is that you are protected against any fraudulent activities thanks to the authentication code. You can use this code for a single transaction due to the fact that it is no longer valid after it has been used once.
Your online banking details are not stored as well, which means that third parties cannot get access to them. In fact, this information is transferred using SSL connections which promises that it is heavily protected. Additionally, the company undergoes tests by TUV Saarland which is an independent authority that observes the adherence to the regulations of the German Federal Data Protection Act. As you can see, Sofort Banking will provide you with the utmost levels of security that are unmatched, so you should not worry about any safety issues.
Advantages
Sofort Banking has several undeniable advantages that are worth considering if you are determined to use precisely this payment service when you wish to make a deposit or to initiate a withdrawal at the preferred web-based casino. The payment service is preferred by a large number of the gambling enthusiasts due to the fact that it delivers them with the desired security and convenience. Additionally, Sofort Banking is geared towards conducting transactions over the Internet in a prompt manner which is also a key concern for gamblers who want to top up their accounts quickly or to get access to their winnings as soon as possible.
In the first place, Sofort Banking ranks among the best options European gamblers are presented with due to the fact that players should not pay any additional fees for using its services. This sets Sofort Banking apart from many of the other available payment methods that come with numerous fees and charges.
While using this method you can be sure that your security is guaranteed. In essence, this is also a major concern for most of the gamblers which is normal as it comes to their funds as well as to their personal information. If you have chosen Sofort Banking for your transactions, you should know that, in practice, the payments will be processed using the systems of the bank in which you have opened an account. This, on the other hand, promises that your funds are protected as banks utilize state-of-art security systems in order to ensure that no third parties will get access to their customers’ sensitive information.
In this relation, it is also worth noting that when you are loading cash into your casino account or when you are retrieving your winnings, you are not required to disclose your sensitive information to the casino operator which works toward guaranteeing your security too. Third parties are also highly unlikely to get access to any of your information thanks to the multi-level security measures.
What makes Sofort Banking so well-liked is also the fact that transactions via this payment solution are instantaneous. As it turns out, for gamblers, this is one of the most important criteria when picking up a payment service for their transactions to and from the casino. In practice, there are no delays when you are topping up your casino account which means that your funds will appear in the balance of your account shortly after you have made the deposit. Withdrawals are fast as well, which makes the payment service even more appealing to gambling enthusiasts who just cannot wait to lay their hands on their winnings.
What is more, you are not required to open and to maintain additional accounts in order to make use of the service which also works towards gamblers’ convenience. In fact, some of the other payment services will require you to set up an account and to fund it prior to making a deposit at the preferred virtual casino which dramatically prolongs the whole process.
One of the biggest advantages of the service is that it works with a really large number of banks. In fact, if you go through the list of the banks the company works with, you will notice that all major financial institutions are included there. This, on the other hand, means that you are highly unlikely to be kept out of the action.
- Pay without a credit card
- Fast and Secure
- No need to register
- No credit card required
Disadvantages
As you will notice, Sofort Banking’s disadvantages are few and far between. Perhaps, the biggest downside is that you need to possess an account at one of the banks that are part of Sofort Banking’s network in order to take advantage of the service. If you are not given the opportunity to use the payment service, you will need to look for alternatives which can also lead to certain inconvenience.
One more drawback is that some casino operators will not allow you to cash out your winnings via Sofort Banking even when you have used the method to load your casino account with cash.
Conclusion
Sofort Banking has managed to gain the reputation of one of the safest payment solutions that are available out there thanks to the multi-level authentication. The payment service facilitates transfers of funds directly from your bank account to your balance at the preferred interactive casino in no time, which explains why the method is used by such a large number of gambling enthusiasts.
What is even better about Sofort Banking is that you do not need to create an account in order to make use of the service as you will use solely your online banking details. What further adds to Sofort Banking’s merits is that, occasionally, you should not pay any additional fees which distinguishes it from most of the other payment services. Perhaps, the biggest drawback remains that it is available to users from a limited number of countries.