The future is Prepaid

Prepaid cards are already sparking a revolution in how transactions are performed today. The future for prepaid cards looks rather promising. Prepaid credit cards are already used widely in America and people from other countries have started to consider them seriously as well. The UK Market is one of the more mature markets.

Prepaid cards allow those without credit or debit cards to enjoy the same benefits that would be available to them with electronic cash. People having low credit worthiness can depend on these credit cards to perform various types of transactions such as making reservations for car rentals, hotels and purchasing items online.

A prepaid card works in exactly the same way as a pay as you go phone; you can top it up with cash at 1000’s of top up locations across the UK such as Payzone, PayPoint, the Post Office, etc using your credit or debit card, using your mobile phone, have your wages paid directly from your employer or transfer money from a bank account to your prepaid card. Some cards can even be topped up directly by paying cash at a bank which is part of the network.

Prepaid credit cards are now being used for Money Transfer, Travel, Gaming, Online Shopping, Payroll and Expense management, Privacy and Gifting.

Prepaid Cards in the Gambling Arena

Despite the fact that consumers are extremely wary of sharing their credit/debit card details online, over 6 million people indulge in online gambling every month. The main reason for their anxiety around credit or debit cards is that their card is linked to their bank account which means fraudsters have potential access to all their funds. Prepaid cards can be an excellent alternative in these circumstances.

As a prepaid credit card, it is not linked to any bank account and a scheme branded (MasterCard or Visa) prepaid card can be used for making purchases on gaming and gambling sites. The usual age and ID checks apply and prepaid cards provide the added advantage that you can only spend up to the value of money loaded onto the card which is excellent in terms of exercising social responsibility too.

This means better control and no overspending even if you want to whilst gambling online. All in all prepaid cards represent an excellent alternative form of payment and control for gamblers online.

Casinos and gambling have emerged as common source of entertainment in recent times. Baccarat is a very popular gambling card game and the traces of its origin can be seen in the 15 th century in Italy and from there it traveled to France where it became extremely popular during the reign of Charles the Eighth. It is a game of cards and there are several variants of the game. These include the baccarat banque, punto baccarat and baccarat chemin de fer. In case of the games like baccarat chemin de fer and the baccarat banque, there is enough opportunity for the players to make choices and therefore display and employ their gaming tricks and skills to ensure winning. However, much to the contrary the punto baccarat is based on chance as the cards determine the performance of the player and no exercising of skill is necessary. The game offers three different betting options to the player. These are known as the ‘banker’, ‘player’ and ‘tie’.

It is interesting to note that in the casino gambling game baccarat, each card has a separate set of values attached to it. For example, the face cards like Joker, Queen and King are valued at zero points as are 10s. The cards from 2 to 9 have the same values as denoted by their figures. The sum of the cards of a player are added up together and in case the added value exceeds 10, the tens digit is abandoned. The maximum points a player can obtain in this game is 9. An added value of 10 is equivalent to 0.

In the baccarat chemin de fer, the game begins with the croupier’s shuffling of the cards which then pass hands of each player. At the conclusion of shuffling, the player to the left of the croupier is offered a set of cards. The one to the right of the croupier is also given a set of cards and this individual is the ‘banker’ while the rest of the players are punters. The stakes are declared by the ‘banker’ followed by those of the punters. In the banque, the banker is in a more consolidated position and contrary to the baccarat chemin de fer, the loss of the banker means that it passes on to another player instead of concluding the game. Here three packs of cards are used while six packs of cards are used in baccarat chemin de fer. In punto baccarat, the hand with maximum points between the player and banker emerges winner.