Credit cards are probably the best way to fund your online poker account. Unfortunately, due to the large number of charge backs from online poker players, most credit card companies no longer accept charges from online poker rooms.

If your credit card company refuses to accept online poker charges, the following article will help you identify several safe and secure alternatives.

Online Payment Services are fast and covenient

A good alternative to credit cards are online payment services (a.k.a. "e-wallets") such as Neteller, Epassporte, or Firepay.

These services are essentially PayPal clones, and they offer similar benefits. Even if your credit card did work, there are a lot of reasons why an "e-wallet" service is a better choice for funding your online poker account.

Take Neteller for example. After a ten minute signup process, you can instantly fund your account by credit card or electronic check (EFT). These funds are immediately available for use. Neteller charges a nominal fee for this convenience. A free EFT is also available, but takes 5-7 days to process.

Once you deposit the money, you can start using your Neteller account like a virtual debit card. You can use it to buy books, pay online bills, and fund your online poker accounts.

Neteller will give you three sets of information to verify your identity: an ID number, a security number, and a password. When you want to transfer money into a poker room, just give the room your Neteller account information and the amount you want to transfer. This transfer is free and nearly instantaneous.

When you are ready to cash out your winnings, simply reverse the process. Provide the online room with your Neteller account information and the amount you want to withdraw. The money will be transferred back into your Neteller account. Again, there is no fee for this transfer.

One advantage of Neteller is that room hopping becomes very easy. Online poker rooms are always offering competitive deposit bonuses (also known as "reload" bonuses). To take full advantage of these bonuses, you don't want your money tied down in one particular room. Using Neteller, you can quickly transfer money between two or more poker rooms.

Another thing I like about Neteller is that it saves me the trouble of having to enter my financial information at each poker room.

With Neteller, I set up one account and can use it for every room. This is better than having to enter my credit card information or setting up an EFT at all the rooms where I play.

Epassporte and Firepay offer similar services as Neteller. However, Neteller is the only one accepted at all online rooms. In fact, Neteller accounts for 90% of all online poker transactions.

Alternative Funding Options

In addition to Neteller, you can directly fund poker rooms through electronic fund transfer (EFT), wire transfer or personal check.

Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT)

An EFT is basically an electronic check. To set up an EFT, you give the merchant (whether it's an online poker room or online payment service like Neteller) your bank account and routing numbers. The first transaction may take a few days as the poker room verifies you are the owner of the bank account. The verification process only happens once. All subsequent transfers are instant.

The EFT is a quick and free funding solution. However, giving people access to your bank account and routing numbers can be dangerous. You should only use EFTs with the most trusted poker rooms.

Wire Transfer

A wire transfer is similar to an EFT, except you have to physically go down to the bank to authorize the transaction. Each wire transfer may cost up to $40. There is no reason to use this option if an EFT is available.

Paper Checks

A paper check has the same privacy issues as an EFT, but none of the conveniences. Online poker rooms are based all over the world. Sending a paper check full of personal information through unreliable international mail is not a good idea.

Credit Cards, Neteller and EFTs are your best bets

Online poker rooms offer a dizzying array of funding options because they want to attract as many players as possible. However, only a few of the funding services are worth your consideration.

If your credit card company doesn't block gambling transactions, then credit cards are the way to go. Unfortunately for many players, credit cards are not a viable option. If you plan to play at the most trusted rooms, then the quick and free EFT transfer is another good choice.

However, for the best combination of price, flexibilty and convenience, Neteller can't be beat. It offers the ease and convenience of credit cards and EFT transfers, while offering a flexibility not available with the other services. That is why Neteller is the favorite funding option of our editors and many online poker players.