Laser Card Casino

Credit cards and debit cards are the most popular way of funding your online casino entertainment and although virtually every online casino will accept Visa and MasterCard the Irish owned Laser Debit card is a little less widely accepted. The Laser Debit card is a comparative newcomer to the card scene having only been around since 1996. Laser Card Services Ltd as it is correctly known was created to serve the Irish market specifically and it is owned by a consortium of seven of the largest financial institutions in Ireland including Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Allied Irish Bank, National Irish Bank, Permanent TSB and EBS Building Society. The progress and expansion since the start has been nothing short of spectacular going from 185000 cardholders in the first year to a little under 3 million in 2009 processing 195 million transactions (that is about 16 million per month) with a value of over €11 Billion. On a world scale that might not be large but for Ireland that is a very significant share of the market.

A Laser card is a very convenient way of paying for goods and services without carrying cash or a cheque book and as it is not a Credit card you cannot run up debts and do not pay exorbitant interest rates on outstanding amounts. It is in some ways a cash substitute as if the money is not in your bank account you cannot spend it just like cash. The Laser card is accepted in over 70,000 retail outlets in Ireland and for added security all cards are chip and pin although it should be said there are retail outlets not yet equipped to handle pin numbers who still rely on signatures. Instead of handing over cash, you put your card in a hand held device, check the amount of the purchase that has been put in by the retailer and enter your personal pin number and that’s it. The money will be deducted from your bank account almost immediately but in any event within a few days; no paperwork for you or the retailer although a printed receipt of the transaction is of course available.

An additional advantage of the Laser card, unlike cash, is that it can easily be used for online transactions and that includes funding your online casino with Laser. Not all online casinos available to the Irish public will accept Laser but those very active in the market such as Paddy Power and Ladbrokes readily accept Laser casino transactions.
Unfortunately not all retailers will accept Laser so visits to the bank or the ATM to get cash are still a necessity but the frequency of the visits can be far less. The use of Laser is increasing in Ireland and that trend is not about to slow down