Taking your wallet out of your pocket and handing over the cash to the merchant is by far the cheapest way to pay today — and it has been ever since the invention of money.
Today, we have many other — more convenient — forms of payment at hand that allow us to walk around with no cash at hand, pay for stuff over the internet or even order the next revolutionary thing from a TV shop.
But all these cost us money — and, depending on the form of payment chosen, this cost can add up to a nice sum at the end of the year. Today, let us take a look at what payment solutions are the most common and how much they cost the payer — that’s you, my friend.
E-Wallet Services
E-Wallets have seen a rise in the last decade, becoming a widespread payment method online. No wonder — they are an instant and quite a convenient way to send and receive money to and from people all over the world.
One of the many reasons for their spread was the emergence of online casinos and services that were made possible by the introduction of secure online payment services.
Depending on the service you use, there might be no charge for you to send money to someone else (or a business) or there might be a small fee deducted on your side.
Besides, there may be currency exchange fees applied to your payment, too. So make sure to check them before committing to one or another.
Yet there is no maintenance fee applied to your account ever, which makes this method perhaps the cheapest way to pay online.
The World of PayPal, Payoneer, and Wise
In countries where PayPal isn’t available, you can send your payments easily through Payoneer or TransferWise. They help you send international payments with little-to-no extra costs.
Credit/Debit Card Payments Online
Another method that won’t cost you a thing — in short term. By using any payment gateway online, you will be able to pay for the products and services you order online with no further costs to you.
The costs of handling such payments fall on the payee, the merchant, or the service provider accepting your payment. Well, most of the time.
Debit Card
A debit card allows you to pay as much money as you have in your account. You just enter your card’s number, name, expiry date, and security code. But always be aware and NEVER enter your details online if you aren’t using a secure/trusted gateway. This scam method is called phishing and can steal all your funds!
Credit Card
When it comes to credit cards, though, going into credit can be pretty costly — that is if you don’t top up your card quickly and on time. It’s called credit card debt (or a markup fee) that keeps adding on until you’re just helpless.
In that case, you may have to take out quick loans to get you through. Usually, you have a varied amount of time at hand — anywhere from two weeks to two months — to return the cash you borrowed without paying any fees.
But after that, you’ll likely have to pay interest and various other fees on the amount, which makes this method a relatively expensive way to pay online.
Fast Money Transfer Methods
Western Union, Moneygram, and their likes — these money transfer services have the massive advantage of being fast, but at a cost. They do provide a service that allows you to put cash into the funnel on one side of the world and have it end up in the hands of another person half a world away, but they do have fees that can be prohibitive in some cases.
These services represent the fastest way to get money from your hand to another. But with great speed come great costs, too.