Neteller vs. FirePay

[richrf]

I initiated an EFT using Neteller on the 10th and Neteller had it on the 11th. As of today, they have still not released the money into my account. I realize that they do this in order to get the additional float on the money as well as incentify people to use their InstaCash, since InstaCash really isn't necessary because they actually receive the money in one day).

I have a FirePay account and I was wondering if anyone has had better EFT experiences with FirePay. If not, I can live with Neteller - but they'll never get InstaCash from me, because I hate shams. On the other hand, I do use credit cards so who am I to beef. /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[emonrad87]

Try here. (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/search.php?Cat=)

[richrf]

I already did a search and none seemed to address specifically the speed of deposits of Neteller vs. Firepay. If someone recalls a specific thread, I would appreciate the link. I guess if I have to, I'll just try a deposit using FirePay. That is one way to find out for sure.

[csuf_gambler]

firepay > neteller

i have used firepay ever since i started online poker.i have never had a single problem with them. they have never did me wrong. firepay is the best.

[StacysMom]

i havent used firepay since they charge u to add money to ur account, i have only used neteller and been rather pleased

[richrf]

Thanks. Have you ever tried an EFT transfer from a bank to the FirePay account. If so, how long did it take? I know that both Neteller and FirePay get the money in one day, so I am hoping that FirePay has a more customer-friendly release schedule. But I also seem to recollect that FirePay charges for the service while Neterll does not. But right now, I am most interested in the turn-around time. Thanks for any info.

[AngryCola]

Watch as I actually try to help you.

I'm confused. Where is the deposit headed? Your bank account?

[richrf]

lol. Let's see if you can.

No, I am moving money from my bank account to Neteller via an EFT. I know that it takes only a day, but to verify I chacked when the transfer was made on my online accounts, and indeed Neteller had it on the 11th (the transaction was initiated on the 10th).

Now I realize that Neteller has to make money, so if they want to hold onto the money for 7 days (they keep it over the weekend), that is the cost of the transaction. I could short-circuit thie by paying the InstaCash fee, but I think the fee is way to high at a whopping 9%(credit card companies usually charge somewhere around 1 to 1.5 % by way of comparison for a cash transaction), so this fee would border on the amount that someone would pay to a loanshark.

Given this, it would seem that FirePay's rates are far more competive at $2/transaction (if I read the terms correctly), which would mean that on a $100 transfer the fee is only 2% and on a $500 transaction .04%. This is much cheaper than Neteller.

So the question is, how fast are the FirePay's transactions and of course how secure.

Thanks for any additional information.

[AngryCola]

You can't go wrong with Firepay, but as you've noticed, they do charge you where neteller doesn't.

I'm still a little confused, but I think I get the picture.

You deposited money into neteller.

Now you have checked (through your bank or whatever) to see if Neteller has taken your money.

They have.

But when you log in to Neteller you don't see the money.

Am I following you right?
I hope so.

A couple of things...
Has the bank account you used to deposit the money been verified by neteller? I can't remember if you have to be verified to make simple deposits. But that's something to think about if you haven't verified the account.

Usually Neteller is faster than what you are describing.
Without a doubt you need to call them to see whats up.
You shouldn't let this worry you though. Often times the first few Neteller transactions can be a little bumpy.
Their support is always very helpful and I've never heard of any unresolved issues with them.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that your current situation isn't the norm. EFT deposits usually only take a couple days (3 at most) to show up in your Neteller account. Btw, some poker sites pay the insta-cash fee for you, and some don't.

But I never feel the need to use insta-cash because of how fast Neteller usually is for me.

Bottom line -
Call them, and they should take care of you quickly.

If you have any problems with them again, go with Firepay. They are reputable and some people do prefer their service.

[csuf_gambler]

transfers from your bank to firepay account are instantouious. they charge a flat $3.99 fee for this. however, transers from your firepay account to your bank are FREE. this takes about 2 days.

[richrf]

Hi guys,

Yep, you guys pretty much got it right.

I initiated the transfer from my bank to Neteller (it has been verified and there has been previous transactions) on the 10th. My bank sent the EFT on the 11th. Neteller still continues to list the transaction as "pending" even though they have the money. I am sure it is because:

a) they want the float (that is they do not want me to transfer the money to an online casino just yet) and

b) the 5 business day delay (really 7 days in total) creates an artificial incentive for people to use InstaCash which is a super-ripoff by all stretches of the imagination. There is no legal entity in the U.S. that would be permitted to charge 9% of the total amount for an instaneous EFT transfer, though wire transfers can cost upwards of $15 per transaction. But this is a fixed amount and not necessary if EFT is being utilized.

So given that Neteller is taking advantage of their position - which is entirely within their rights - I was thinking about using FirePay. A fixed $4 amount doesn't seem that bad , especially if the transfers are large and the transfer is instanteous. Much better than either wire transfers or Netellers InstaCash, based upon the information that you guys are giving me.

Correct me if I am wrong, and any additional info or comments would be appreciated.

[absou1ut]

neteller generally takes 5 business days and they don't start the clock till the day after your transaction went through...so if you did it on the 10th during the business day then the 11th will be the first day but if you did it after the close of the business day on the 10th then the 14th will be the first business day

edit: if you are putting the money onto pp or ub or something, they provide a service to take the money directly from your bank account right away instead of having to use neteller

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]

neteller generally takes 5 business days

[/ QUOTE ]

They have never taken that long for me.
Not even on my first deposit.

[AngryCola]

Theres absolutely nothing wrong with your view here.
(I know, I can't believe I said it either)

Just make sure you get things straightened out with Neteller as soon as you can.

[StacysMom]

is it ur first deposit to neteller? if so i had to call them and verify my identitity buy ahving them call me at the provided phone number... this took all of 10 mins after the call

[richrf]

Hi absolut,

Yep, it is taking that long. It looks like they want to keep the money for at least 7 days which is a pretty good float for them. If I really need the money fast from now on, I would probably use FirePay, since no way am I going to pay 9%. At least FirePay seems to be more uniformally consistent. I wonder how Neteller can continue with their policies given competition from FirePay? It would seem that Neteller really has no advantages, unless someone doesn't really care about the 5 business day lag - which I guess would be possible.

[richrf]

Thanks for the confirmation.

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]
is it ur first deposit to neteller? if so i had to call them and verify my identitity buy ahving them call me at the provided phone number... this took all of 10 mins after the call

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I wanted to make sure he had gone through this, too.
Neteller does almost nothing for you until you talk to them on the phone at least once. Honestly, it's a decent security measure. I'm sure it cuts down on a lot of the crap some people would try to pull.

[richrf]

Hi stacysmom,

No, I've deposited with them before - but you are right about the need to confirm. I was a bit confused at first about that requirement.

If anyone has had an EFT deposit go into Neteller from a bank more quickly, it would be interesting to know. On their site they say 4-5 business days (which normally translates into 7 days) and they have had the money since the 11th. So it seems like they are "dragging their feet", but I can understand why, since having the float for 7 days is huge in the world of big money. However, what I don't understand is how can they compete against FirePay which seems to have an overall better fee structure.

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]
It would seem that Neteller really has no advantages

[/ QUOTE ]

I think their only advantage is that they handle regular deposits and withdrawls for no fee.

Btw, 5 days could be right, but as I've said, it's never taken that long for me.
I'm curious to know if I'm the exception here, or if the other poster is. If anybody else reads this and can shed some light on how long it ususally takes their deposits, please do.

[LazyRobot]

Nope. It has teken 5 business days for EFTs to get to my account (IIRC they all passed through a weekend). My sample size is small though. (3 transfer from a checking to Neteller.)

They compete as there are no fees from moving my money to and from sites or back into my checking account. I agree with Rich as they really want to encourage me to pay the fatty 8.9% to get it there quicker but I was never in a big rush so it was no biggie. I am not sure what fees Neteller had because I was really put off by a little ad they had on their site at the time. Something akin to steroids/fat burner or something. It really seemed odd to me at the time.

/shrug

[AngryCola]

Hmm.

I guess I'm either the exception or am suffering from a case of bad memory. That could be true, because the more I think about it, the more I realize that I haven't recently made many deposits to Neteller from my bank account.

My apologies if I've been incorrect about the avergage time Netller takes to credit your account using a standard EFT deposit.

[ebranig]

Just for clarification, have you used neteller?

[csuf_gambler]

[ QUOTE ]
Just for clarification, have you used neteller?

[/ QUOTE ]

no and one of the main reasons i didn't sign up with them in the first place is because i think its absurd that they would need your social security number.

[Mobed]

I am not so happy with firepay....

The bad-
No phone support (e-mail only, to be fair they are quick)
Party skins do not allow you to cash out to a firepay account. Only deposit.

The Good-
They don't hate me becuse I'm from MD.
They are quick

My new plan is to use IMGPAY and Epassport only. Cash in with IMGPAY (to avoid fee's) use it at party skins, then if needed cash out to Epassport for use on non partyskins. Then back the way it came when I need to cash it out.

[LaW]

I made my first EFT into my confirmed NETeller account on 2/9 and it just cleared last night, 2/15. So I guess that is within the 4-5 business days but it sure seems like a long time.

I'm just hoping that this one took a little bit extra time because it was my first. But reading this thread it seems like NETeller always take their time.

[gila]

OK, Its very simple. You subscribe to firepay, you subscribe to neteller. If you need your money in a hurry, you go through firepay, get it instantly, and pay 3.99. If you are not in a hurry, you go through neteller and wait 4-5 days and pay nothing. It really depends on how badly you need the money.

[richrf]

Yep, that seems to be the way to go. It seems that FirePay provides equivalent expedited service at a more affordable price.

[Insp. Clue!So?]

Neteller is not actually a bank, and so it must go to third parties to do bank-like functions. Thus if it says a transaction will take 5 business days or whatever in my experience they actually does take the full time. For all other transactions they are very fast, but dependant upon the individual poker site for expediency naturally. I have no experience with firepay but have read a good number of complaints about it over the past couple of years, such that I don't feel the need to test its waters.

[bpb]

Re: Instacash.

If you initiate an instacash transaction through the Neteller website, you are charged 8.9%. If you initiate the instacash transaction through the poker room / casino, virtually all of them cover the instacash fee.

Party poker does not allow instacash transactions through their cashier. Paradise, UB, Pokerstars, Absolute, and Prima skins all do.

[richrf]

My bank account shows a direct transfer to Neteller, through the EFT system. It is similar to PayPal, and PayPal does the transfer within a day. I am pretty sure that Neteller sits on the money for the reasons given. It makes sense - only their charges are totally off-the-wall. But as long as there are alternatives, such as FirePay, then I will just use the two services as suggested in prior posts. Neteller if I have a week or so, and FirePay if I need a quick transfer. Seems that this is a reasonable approach.

[joedot]

I can't speak to the speed of deposits since I avoid anything that charges me money, and since I started winning, I only have to make withdrawels. But I will say that Firepay withdrawels hit my bank account the next day, 2 days being the max. Excellent service there. On the downside, Firepay customer service sucks (no telephone service), and they have lower restrictions on amounts that can be deposited per day at a lot of sites. As well as not even being accepted at a few sites. Not sure why, but I spoke to the operator of a YPN site that is obviously no longer around, and he said that he hated firepay. I guess they aren't as vendor friendly as Neteller is.