Skrill
Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) is an e-commerce business that allows payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet, with a focus on low-cost international money transfers. It is owned and operated by Skrill Limited, a UK-based company registered as a Money Service Business with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and licensed to operate within the European Union.
Contents
History
On 27 July 2001, Moneybookers Limited was incorporated in the United Kingdom. In March 2007, Moneybookers was bought by Investcorp for 105 millions of Euro and as of 9 March 2009, it was put up for sale by its owners for an estimated £365 million[1].
In February 2010, The Sunday Times ranked Moneybookers as the fastest growing private equity backed firm in the United Kingdom based on profits. In 2011, the company’s customer base reached 25 million, including 120,000 merchant accounts, its payment gateway being integrated by a number of global online brands such as Facebook, Skype and eBay.
In September 2011, Moneybookers announced that they would rebrand their service as Skrill. The rebranding of the product was completed in 2013.
In August 2013, CVC Capital Partners acquired Skrill for €600 million. As of 2014, Skrill has been approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) as the only sanctioned digital wallet for New Jersey internet gambling[2].
In March 2015, Optimal Payments, the parent company of the Skrill’s rival Neteller, announced its official proposal for acquisition of Skrill Group for €1.1 billion. The deal is to be finalized in the third quarter of 2015 according to the parties. In April 2015, Skrill Group announced that it had completed acquisition of Ukash, its UK-based competitor[3].
Description
Users can send money from a credit or debit card and transfer money from a Bank account in most member countries of the Organisation for economic co — operation and development. Skrill is almost free for participants with personal accounts (transfer between participants costs a maximum of 20 euros). Business accounts are available to qualified applicants and accepted payments are subject to a fee. Withdrawals can be made via Bank cheque, VISA debit or credit card or by international SWIFT transfer to many countries.
As a default security measure, Skrill limits the maximum amount transferred from the user’s account. Unlike many competing systems of services (transfer of funds online), Skrill requires identity verification before using The service; this minimizes fraud and prevents money laundering. Additional verification steps gradually raise the total amount of transfers from the user’s account to the equivalent of 50,000 euros in the period of 90 days, and in the future, after additional verification, limits can be completely canceled at the request of the system user. Incoming and outgoing Bank transfers, transfer of passport copy, copies of utility bills with address and full name, test payment from the card are used as verification methods. Skrill is not usually involved in financial disputes, and the use of card chargers may be restricted.
Service
Skrill accounts can be held in any of major currencies but once the first transaction is made it is not possible to change the account’s currency. Customers can purchase a Skrill-branded prepaid card, linked to the account, in one of the four currencies: USD, EUR, PLN, and GBP. High-turnover customers are offered premium membership called “Skrill VIP” that includes additional features, such as a security token, multi-currency accounts and the ability to earn loyalty points.
The Skrill fees
Opening an account in the payment system is absolutely free. Transfer money from sites to your account — in different ways depending on the sites (usually$ 1), from the Skrill to the Bank card costs 7%. The Commission seems high, but if we consider alternatives — withdrawal in hryvnia and purchase of currency at the exchange rate, it turns out it is still more profitable to use Skrill.
If in your particular case, 7% of the amount out more than$ 25, I advise you to use a Bank transfer using SWIFT. If Bank transfer you pay a fixed Commission Skrill in the amount of EUR 5.5 + perhaps I shall Commission the Bank intermediary.
An interesting point with SWIFT transfer is that it is not known whether the Commission will be charged the Bank in your particular case (the Bank intermediary is always different), in my own experience and experience of friends I will say that it turns out an average of 50/50. But even if the Commission is removed, it will be no more than$25.
You need to find out Swift details of your card (you can do online banking), and connect it in your Skrill panel. The procedure of connection and withdrawal to a Bank account is identical to the withdrawal to the card.
Criticism
The non-profit Better Business Bureau currently has Skrill USA with a “D-” rating as of April 2016, the result of 66 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years. As of August 2016, CardPaymentOptions has rated Skrill with 1.8 out 5 based on numerous customer complaints, where in many instances the company withheld funds from customers and merchants.
WikiLeaks Blockage
In August 2010, Skrill blocked the account operated by WikiLeaks as a donation collection account, citing the organisation’s addition to Australian blacklists and American watchlists.
External links
- Skrill Official website
- Wikipedia.org – Skrill
- PayPal vs Skrill (and why you probably need both) – Ecommerce-Platforms
- Skrill (Moneybookers) – Crunchbase