Neteller vs Skrill in the UK: which one to pick?

Looking for an online payments provider or a new virtual wallet? Two options you’re likely to come across in the UK are Neteller and Skrill.

In this guide, we’ll be comparing Neteller and Skrill on everything from fees and features to security and limits. This should help you decide which is the right provider for you.

To add another contender into the mix, also check out the Wise account from the money services provider Wise. You can send money to 160+ countries and use the Wise card to spend in 40+ currencies worldwide.

What are Neteller and Skrill?

Neteller is a global online payments provider, used primarily for payments when online shopping. However, it also has other features such as money transfers, a prepaid debit card and even cryptocurrency trading.

Skrill, meanwhile, is a virtual wallet and money transfer app. You can use it to send money, pay online and manage cryptocurrency. Skrill also has a prepaid debit card.

They’re actually both owned by the same parent company, Paysafe.

Comparing Neteller vs Skrill

Now, let’s take a look at how Neteller and Skrill stack up side-by-side.

We’ll compare the two on a few key points - features, fees, limits, deposit/withdrawal methods and safety.

Features

Skrill and Neteller actually work in very similar ways, and share many of the same features.

Neteller offers features such as:

• Online payments on websites, especially online gaming
• Money transfers to other Neteller users
• International transfers to bank accounts
• Net+ Prepaid Mastercard and virtual card
• Buy and sell cryptocurrency
• Earn loyalty points
• Neteller mobile app.

And here’s the list of Skrill’s main features:

• Online payments
• Money transfers to bank accounts and other Skrill customers, including international transfers
• Skrill Prepaid Mastercard and virtual card
• Buy and sell cryptocurrency
• Skrill Knect loyalty rewards program
• Skrill mobile app.

📚 Read more: 12 alternatives to Skrill in the UK

Fees

Now we come to the important part - how much does it cost to use both Neteller and Skrill?

Here are the main fees you need to know about for each:

	Neteller¹	Skrill²
Depositing money	1% for bank transfers 2.5% for all other methods	0% for bank transfers 1% for rapid transfers 1% for card transfers
Withdrawing money	$10 USD for bank transfers 0-7.5% for card transfers 0% for merchant sites	1.75% for bank transfers 1.99% for card transfers
Money transfers (domestic)	2.99%	2.99% for Skrill-to-Skrill 2% for other domestic transfers
International transfers	Up to 4.99% + up to 4.99% exchange rate markup	0-4.99% depending on method + 4.99% exchange rate markup
Prepaid debit card	$10 USD for a new card $10 USD annual fee 3.99% FX fee	€10 EUR for a new card €10 EUR annual fee 3.99% FX fee
ATM withdrawals	1.75%	1.75%
Cryptocurrency trading fees	1.30-1.50% depending on membership level	1.50%
Inactive account fees	$5 USD a month, after 6 months of inactivity	€5 EUR a month, after 6 months of inactivity

If you’re transacting in foreign currency, you might want to also check out the Wise account. With Wise, you can send, spend and convert 40+ currencies for low, transparent fees and great mid-market exchange rates.

On top of this, you can get the Wise card for a one-time fee of £7 to spend like a local in 150+ countries. It automatically converts your pounds to the local currency using the mid-market rate, only adding a tiny, upfront currency conversion fee. Or it’s free if you already have the currency in your Wise account.

Limits

Another thing to check out before choosing between Neteller and Skrill is limits. This means restrictions on how much you can deposit, withdraw and spend.

Both providers have limits on how you use your account and card, but these are personal to each user. This means you’ll need to check your own limits in your Skrill or Neteller account profile.

Deposit and withdrawal methods

Here’s a rundown of the deposit and withdrawal methods available at both Neteller and Skrill.

Neteller - deposit methods:

• Bank transfer
• Credit or debit card
• Rapid Transfer
• Paysafecash
• Paysafe card.

Neteller - withdrawal methods:

• Bank transfer
• Debit or credit card
• Net+ Prepaid Mastercard
• Skrill
• Crypto wallet
• Merchant sites
• Money transfer.

Skrill - deposit methods

• Bank transfer
• Debit or credit card
• Rapid Transfer
• Paysafecard.

Skrill - withdrawal methods:

• Bank transfer
• Debit or credit card
• Skrill crypto withdrawals
• Neteller
• SWIFT for global payments.

📚 Read more: How to close an account with Skrill?

Safety

Lastly, but just as importantly, it’s time to think about safety. When using any online money service, you need to know that your account, details and money are safe.

The first thing to know is that both providers use something called safeguarding to protect your money. This is where customer money is held in a separate trusted bank account, which means that it’s held apart from the company’s operating funds. It can also mean that the funds are covered by a guarantee or insurance policy.

This is different to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) cover that banks offer.

Both Skrill and Neteller also use sophisticated security measures to keep your money safe.

This includes:³

• Anti-fraud monitoring and blocking suspicious transactions
• Two-factor authentication protecting accounts
• Logins and transactions secured using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology with high-security 128-bit encryption, certified by VeriSign.

Final verdict: Neteller vs Skrill

So all things considered, which should you choose - Neteller or Skrill? In all honesty, the two services are extremely similar. They have nearly all the same features, and charge pretty much the same fees.

If you’re a regular user of gaming or betting websites, you may find that Neteller is more widely accepted than Skrill as a payment method. But if you want a flexible virtual wallet for shopping, spending and transfers, then Skrill could be more suitable.

Both are free to sign up (although there are fees to get a card), so you could always road test each provider to see which you like best.

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And there you have it - our comparison of Neteller vs. Skrill, covering everything from features to fees. We’ve looked at limits, security and the available deposit and withdrawal providers for each.

So after reading this, you should know exactly what to expect from both providers. And this should help you choose the right one for your needs, whether you want to make an overseas transfer, buy cryptocurrency or simply do a spot of online shopping.

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Sources used:

1. Neteller - Fees
2. Skrill - Fees
3. Skrill - Fraud awareness

Sources last checked on date: 10-May-2024