PokerStars Launches Very Own Prepaid MasterCard

In cooperation with SafeCharge, one of the leaders in the field of advance payment technology, PokerStars has launched their very own prepaid master card. The card will allow players from the United Kingdom to make deposits and direct withdrawals to their bank accounts.

This novelty, branded StarsCard, could prove to be very popular with the players, as it is an extremely convenient way of managing your funds and should enable very fast access to your money. The card first rolled out in the UK on April 16 and the company plans to offer it in other markets in a near future as well.

Offering easy access to your account via web and mobile interfaces, players can fund their cards using prepaid vouchers available at variety of retail stores. Managing your funds, transferring to friends and family and even purchasing items and services have been made easy with StarsCard. The card is accepted as a payment method at all the places that normally accept MasterCard.

SafeCharge, the company handling all the technical and security details, has a very solid and longstanding reputation, having previously worked with the clients like Telefonica and Visa Europe.

Eliminating the need for the third party in card payments processing could prove very significant for the company's bottom line. Quoting an analyst with Numis Securities, Ed Scimia of cardschat.com explains that PokerStars will most likely be able to offer this service completely free of charge, without hurting company's income.

It will be interesting to see how things develop once the card is introduced to the new markets, where the need for such a product may be much greater. Customers in the UK already have abundance of cheap, easy-to-access options available to them for deposits and withdrawals.

There are numerous other countries, however, where this is not the case, and players from these countries would certainly welcome the simple way to deposit and withdraw offered by the StarsCard. In some countries, banks often refuse deposit requests to online gambling sites, even when there is no law restricting such deposits, so it would make things easier for those looking to play.

With this move, PokerStars once again reasserts its leading position in the world of e-gaming, proving that they have resources, willingness and capabilities to move things to the next level. Being able to offer a full fledged banking card to your customers is no small thing and certainly not something one would expect from a gaming operator. PokerStars, however, often leads a way in the industry, and this novelty should have a bright future ahead.