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The world of online transactions is expanding at the speed of light. In the old days it was simple – a huge marketplace in the downtown with sellers, buyers and one way of payment. Today our roles as consumers and sellers have changed, and often we perform both roles. And as for the means of payment, modern technology has diversified it in ways unimaginable even a decade or two ago.
All this is beneficial to all of us – shoppers, sellers, and mediators. But how to choose the best solution for paying and receiving money online? In this article, we briefly describe how e-wallets and marketplaces work and how to withdraw funds from them to your WestStein account.
What is an e-wallet?
An e-wallet or a digital wallet is a service for processing payments online in a more convenient way. First, the e-wallet needs to be funded, and there are various ways of doing it: credit or debit card, prepaid card, bank transfer, store-purchased vouchers, and others. Once the wallet is funded, it can be used for buying goods and services online.
In fact, many of us use PayPal which is also an e-wallet. If you are one of them, you have probably experienced the main benefits that an e-wallet brings: simple registration; fast and convenient payments online; security and anonymity.
Where are e-wallets used?
- Shopping for goods and services online
- Online gaming, like Steam, EA origin
- Online gambling – poker, online casinos and betting
- Holding and trading cryptocurrency funds
What is an online marketplace?
Online marketplaces are e-commerce sites or apps that facilitate shopping for goods or services from many different parties. The marketplace itself doesn’t have any inventory; instead they present products owned by other people and facilitate the transaction process. eBay is the most obvious example of an online marketplace that sells goods owned by millions of people worldwide.
There are also numerous marketplaces for buying services or outsourcing professionals. For example, Booking.com and Airbnb present a choice of accommodation online, while Fiverr and PeoplePerHour help to find outsourced freelance services.
One of the major appeals of a marketplace is a significantly greater choice than any single retailer could offer. Most of the marketplaces also present some added value to the consumer- like money-back guarantee, real-time information about the products, or selling only authentic goods, e.g. jewellery or expensive brands.
E-wallets are very handy for sellers on marketplaces like eBay, as they help to receive the payment very quickly and withdraw the funds easily. eBay specifically recommends using PayPal and gives detailed instructions on how to receive your payments for goods.
Most popular e-wallets & online marketplaces
How to know if an e-wallet is any good? There are multiple factors that you should consider:
- Reviews about their customer support
- Is the e-wallet widely used? If not, there’s no point of using it
- What are they charging you?
Everyone knows Paypal, and it is no surprise why. You can pay with this e-wallet in almost every e-commerce store. PayPal has 169 million active users, and that number is steadily growing year by year. However, there are many different e-wallets out there, and one of them may be more suitable to the way you manage your digital finances.
Other popular e-wallets are:
If you are traveling to China, you must download Alipay. With 520 million users, it is the most popular cashless payment method in China, and almost every corner store and hotdog stand has adapted it. On the other hand, if you are in search of a cryptocurrency e-wallet, find the best one on this list or check out this guide from Cloudwards on how to keep your Bitcoin wallet safe.
Some popular marketplaces:
Withdrawing money from e-wallets and marketplaces to your WestStein account
Withdrawing funds from e-wallets and online marketplaces onto your WestStein account is quick and simple!
All you have to do is select a “direct bank transfer out” option and fill in the details of your WestStein account. These are WestStein card bank details:
- IBAN: IE**PFSR***********************
- Bank: Prepaid Financial Services
- SWIFT: PFSRIE21
Depending on the withdrawal method, it may take from 3 to 12 business days to have your money transferred. PayPal transfer, on the other hand, takes only 30 minutes and costs $0.25. Most other e-wallets can have less friendly fees, starting from 1-2% of the transaction amount.
Please note that you cannot perform funds withdrawal by linking your WestStein card with a 16-digit card number to any of the online e-wallets or marketplaces. At the moment you will only be able to receive funds from your e-wallets and online marketplaces with a “direct bank transfer out” option.
Get ready for a cashless economy
It’s obvious that we are moving in the direction of cashless economy. While a large portion of consumers and businesses are ready to celebrate it, many authoritative sources warn about the disadvantages and even dangers of an entirely cashless society. In any case, it is best to keep up with those FinTech innovations that are facilitating your daily transactions as a consumer or entrepreneur.
By using an e-wallet and your WestStein Mastercard together, you can keep your independence from your local bank and perform discrete transactions online. This enables you to separate your sources of income and always control the flow of your funds via the desktop or mobile app. If you have a WestStein business account, you can transfer funds easily to your employees or associates, assign multiple users and Mastercards to your account and let all of your partners benefit from the money withdrawn from your e-wallet.
Don’t have a WestStein account yet? Set it up in two minutes.
