You can use it in the US at ATMs and retail outlets. No restrictions as far as we know. Less strict than Neteller in this sense; no need to email Skrill to ask permission or to give travel dates for US travel.

Thanks, I did use it once with no problems but wasn't sure if was a good idea.

Got a question about this. So when you have funds in skrill and you do have the skrill atm card, do u need to transfer funds from your skrill acct to that account before u withdraw funds in the usa with your skrill card? Or basically whatever funds you have in your skrill card, once u use the atm card at an atm in the usa, it will withdraw directly from the skrill card?


I had heard ppl use both skrill and neteller card to withdraw from ATMs in the us. But now u are saying you shouldn't use the neteller card to withdraw USD from atms in the us? Or u can but its not recommended. Because if so, then isn't the neteller card not that good then if players are using it tto withdraw their neteller funds when they visit the us every now and then?

I think I understand your question but please clarify otherwise. The Skrill card is linked to your Skrill account, so whatever funds you have available in your Skrill account will be accessible by the debit card. The card is pre-paid so you are limited to the physical balance on your account. So basically the Skrill account and the Skrill card are one and the same.

If you are trying to access funds from a US or offshore bank account, you would have to use a debit card linked to that account (unrelated to your funds held on Skrill).

It's useful to point out that daily withdrawal and purchase limits vary by customer, verification and VIP level, so it's a good idea to check your online profile or contact Skrill support if you have questions about your personal account limits.

Neteller cards are also allowed for use in the US, but sometimes the card is blocked for security or fraud measures if a player with a non-US registered address uses it in the US. For this reason, it can be helpful to notify them of your US travel dates and plans to avoid this. Just like how we used to have to call credit card companies before traveling to avoid cards getting blocked.

Both Skrill & Neteller are useful tools and each one has certain advantages over the other. We have always helped our clients open accounts with both so they have maximum financial flexibility and you have nothing to lose.

Okay. Example let say i have 5k in my skrill account and i went back to the usa. I have the skrill atm card. Would i be able to withdraw that 5k with my skrill card in the us in usa atms? I do knkow that limits per day are around 3k or so if you are highest vip?


Im a bit confused what you mean access funds from a us or offshore account.

You can withdraw funds from Skrill via your Skrill debit card. It can be used at ATMs worldwide including the US.

Here is more about it:

Use worldwide, online and offline
Accepted at 35 million outlets and 1.9 million ATMs
Simple application process, no commitment and no credit check
Spend only what you load, top up instantly 24/7

The limits by VIP level are on the Skrill website here: https://www.skrill.com/en/vip/benefits/

Neteller limits by VIP level are here: http://www.netelleraccount.com/neteller-vip/

Is the Skrill MasterCard available to all account holders? or are there restrictions on based on Country where you live/resident if you can get a Skrill masterCard. Is money as safe on there as a regulated US/UK Euro etc Bank - ie if you were to use it as a Bank account while travelling and drawing off the account with a decent balance or do people keep a minimum in there and top it up from their linked Bank accounts?

Skrill is regulated and was founded in 2001 and are authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK. They are a registered electronic money issuer Register No. 900001. For more info on regulation and compliance, on Skrill's website they have a lot under About Us and at the bottom there are links to:

• Gaming
• Security
• Money Laundering Compliance
• State Licensing (US)
• ECommerce and Consumer Protection
• Fraud
• FCA Regulation
• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• and more

They probably process tens of billions in transactions annually. Many poker players use it as a primary source of funds and it's pretty generally accepted as a safe and legit company.

I think Skrill is available in over 200 countries. When you sign up there is a drop down list. There is also a list on their site somewhere. However, the US is a separate market from rest of world when it comes to gaming transactions.

Skrill MasterCard used to only be available to account holders in some European countries but that list expanded in the past year. It's now also available in countries like Mexico, Costa Rica etc.

Does anyone know what happens if they do go with the bill? So basically once they announce it, then we would have 6 months left?


Also does that mean every gambling site here in mexico would be banned? Thus every poker site and every sportsbetting site as well?

not sure if this is the right thread for this but I plan on moving to Puerto Vallarta for the cheap rent and hopefully better payout options. I still plan on playing on American sites but I just want to have access to Skrill for bigger payouts faster. Can anyone inform me of everything I need to know about making this move. Any info is appreciated. I plan to go for 3-6 months just to feel it out. What will I need to have skrill access on Merge and do i need anything else besides a passport to make the move? Any input is appreciated.
Thank you

Sorry if the answers are already here but it is a 42 page thread and i will start reading asap but i would appreciate any help

Also, I'm not set on Puerto Vallarta, it just popped up on the top of the places to live in Mexico. All I know, is I want to be out of the country, have skrill access, and pay cheap rent. I'm open to all suggestions.

to access skrill you'll have to have a non-US/non-Canadian residence. i needed passport, mexican bank account, and apartment lease in mexico to accomplish this.

to access skrill with merge, these same documents will allow them to change your address to mexico, letting you deposit/cashout with skrill, but potentially cutting off your ability to receive paper checks (mexican mail is untrustworthy, unless using FedEx, etc)

what is the best bank in mexico for sending a bank transfer to skrill?
I read in one of the posts that skrill has an account at a mexican bank and they recieve the bank transfer very fast and credit your skrill account but I dont remember which mexican bank

The process is the same with all banks in the world. There is not a difference between which are faster or slower. It's all either local or international transfers. There is very minimal variation between banks. It's all basically automated these days.

If you are depositing to Skrill's account from your Mex bank, there are options on the online banking system for you to decide how fast you want to send it out and the associated fee. Same day, next day or 3 days as examples.

If you are withdrawing from Skrill to a bank account, worldwide it usually only takes 1-3 days and rarely more than 5. Sometimes it's even credited same day.

I have a Bancomer account and withdrew $100 from my usd skrill account to my usd bancomer account as a test, and bancomer took a $35 fee. Is there like a standard flat fee here or something?

Most banks charge a flat incoming wire fee of $25-35. In some cases, banks even charge additional fees on top of that which are a % of the amount transferred. It's best to check with banks before opening accounts so you know their fee structure.

Once your account is opened, it's most efficient to send in larger chunks so the fee as a % is lower compared to the overall amount.

It's worth mentioning that international transfers of $10,000 and above can be subject to additional paperwork as to the origin and source of the funds. Similar to if you travel with $10k USD or equivalent, it's required to declare it.

To avoid these fees altogether, it's optimal to use a debit card linked to your e-wallet as it skips a step and the fees associated with that step. Of course, receiving the debit card in the mail is easier said than done if you're in a place like Mexico, but it is possible. Note that e-wallets also have fees but they are much lower than average banking and wire fees. You can also use the debit cards for free at POS and retail outlets.

This is not true at all, at least when we're talking about a decent amount of money.

It is frequently true, but it depends on the player's individual situation, goals for use of the funds and the amount of money in question. "A decent amount" is certainly subjective. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. I'll try to give some constructive examples as to how this could potentially play out and we'll do the math. 



As a simple scenario, if a player is withdrawing $100 to the US, the estimated fees would be:

• $3-4 on Skrill or more on Neteller if you are converting from USD to pesos or even back to USD
• $35 Bancomer incoming wire fee (in some countries, if it's a domestic wire, this fee will be lower)
• Then he would have to go in person to the bank to make another international wire, this costs time and money
• The wire fee to the US would be $25-50
• The incoming wire fee in the US would be another $35+ depending on the bank


In the end, it would cost well over $100 to get that $100 to the US.



Let's consider the possible goals the player could have for use of the money if he's using the funds for cost of living in Mexico while he's living there and playing poker:

• Paying rent
• Grocery shopping
• Buying something in a retail outlet
• Paying a prop bet
• Cab fare
• Etc


He could withdraw that same $100 from the ATM for a low fee. With the Skrill card, that's going to run you €1.80 fixed fee, plus any local ATM fee. With the Net+ card, it was $3.95 last time I checked.



Or, he can use his debit card for free at (a few basic examples):

• Any point-of-sale outlet
• Walmart
• Office Depot
• Restaurants
• Etc


In that case, there are no transaction fees, unless there is a forex conversion which would be standard with any debit or credit card.



If the player's main goal is to regularly withdraw 5-6 figures at a time from poker sites and eventually get it sent to the US, in many cases it could make more sense to send wires, especially if your ATM limits are $200/day. Then there is a gray area of some overlapping amounts where the fees would be about equal either way. 



My players and I have $3-4k/day ATM limits on Skrill and Neteller - worldwide, so if there are no forex fees involved (or even if there are), it's usually cheaper to withdraw from an ATM (~$4) versus send a wire to Mexico or another foreign country. 



My personal opinion is that if you need to cash out more than that on a daily basis, then that's a good problem to have either way And if you are in the top % of poker players making 7 figures per year, then there is a lot more to that discussion, and there exists a more optimal time and place to discuss it.

Lmao $100, you consider that a constructive example? Re-run the numbers for someone making more than a third-world panhandler and get back to me please.

The costs are the same regardless of the amount you want to plug in. At some given amount in the tens of thousands it becomes more profitable to send a wire.

I originally suggested ways that poker players might want to spend money for free, without any fees, by using their debit cards to buy things. This would make more sense than withdrawing to a foreign bank account then spending on a foreign debit card linked to said account, because it's adding an unnecessary and costly step to accomplish the same thing: spend money.

For the sole purpose of exclusively withdrawing large amounts of money to your savings account and not ever using your poker winnings for living expenses or ever buying anything in the real world, let’s substitute $10,000 for $100. I would imagine that <$10k is a common amount to want to transfer at a time; seems pretty standard. Professional poker players are probably better at math than me, but the way I calculate it, to withdraw this amount, it could cost:

• Using a debit card at an ATM: $4 per withdrawal*3 transactions=$12 + local ATM fees (usually ~$2 per withdrawal)=$18
• Wiring to an offshore bank account: $25-40 (incoming wire fee and possible withdrawal fees)
• Wiring to American bank via offshore bank account: $75-100 depending on total wire fees (incoming-outgoing-incoming)

ATM still seems like the least expensive choice unless your card limits are unusually low, but fully verified or VIP players who need to withdraw larger amounts in theory should have the highest limits available.

Hope this helps

Why are you ignoring the forex fee Skrill charges? Where are these ATM's with over $3,000 limit per withdrawal? Why don't you just admit you're making up numbers instead of wasting everyone's time?

Forex fees aren't applicable unless you are converting to a different currency, of course. Most Americans I know prefer to play poker in USD, hold e-wallet accounts in USD and wire to USD bank accounts or withdraw dollars from ATMs. Comparably, our European players conduct all their play and banking in Euro. Common sense says it's optimal to keep everything in 1 currency, but if that's not realistic for you and you do have to convert at some point, there will be fairly consistent forex fees regardless of if you use a debit card or wire to a bank account so I think that would be a moot point.

These numbers are easily found on Skrill & Neteller's websites as far as fees and limits. They are listed on the VIP pages and Fees pages and can also be found by using Google.

My players and I use e-wallets on a daily basis and have made $3,300 per day withdrawals regularly over the years when desired, without hassle. You are correct that it can depend on the limits of the ATM owner or bank and ATM itself, but there are certainly high enough limits in ATMs worldwide, if that's what your debit card allows.

This topic is an indisputably profitable use of people's time, because very few players have this system set up correctly or exploit the possibilities for maximizing use of e-wallets. This is apparent by the high volume of posts in swap chats and transfer threads.

If you yourself don't have a VIP Skrill or Neteller account and you personally have higher fees and lower limits than other players, it's possible that the numbers don't work out as well for you. However, they do for anyone who has VIP status and is withdrawing such large amounts of money on a regular basis. This is a veritable fact because it's just math. If you want help upgrading your own situation, I'd be happy to help.

Common sense says a lot of people in the "Banking in Mexico" thread would probably want to spend some pesos at some point. And we are in the travel forum after all - it's pretty lazy and dishonest to assume people will only be cashing out in one currency.

LOL. Skrill tacks on an additional 1.75% fee, Neteller charges 1.25% or more (depending on VIP level) above and beyond the interbank market rate. So right there you're already $125 in the hole on a $10,000 wire.

Worldwide? Really? I've never seen an ATM that allows $3,300 in a single transaction, and I've probably been more places than you have. Google says that most ATMs in Mexico have a per-withdrawal limit of 8 to 10 thousand pesos. So to take out $10,000 in your example, you would get charged 13 ATM withdrawal fees, not 3. So that's another $78 you've lost vs the $10k wire. Even in the U.S. I've never heard of an ATM that gives out more than $1,000 per transaction.

You're also ignoring the fact that by using Skrill/Neteller debit card you're missing out on potential cashback from using a credit card, which can be upwards of 2%. No matter how you manipulate the numbers, there are very few scenarios where Skrill/Neteller card is the most cost-effective.

You have repeatedly given poor and misleading advice in this thread, either due to simple lack of knowledge or some sneaky financial incentives via Skrill/Neteller commissions I'm not sure which. Either way it certainly calls into question the competency and integrity of the Poker Refugees team.

n00b590: It's pretty clear that you disagree with me but that's okay! We can agree to disagree. It's a public forum and these are my personal views, not those of any company. There are probably hundreds of thousands of registered users here and all of us are entitled to different opinions. On the same token, readers are entitled to digest the information and use it in ways they see fit or not at all.

To get back on topic, the original post was asking about bank fees. I answered it and offered a simple alternative to incoming wire fees. I agree and have stated that in some cases, sending a wire can be the optimal route. However, I have simply offered some alternative suggestions, all which are practical and used in real life by myself and many other people. Managing an individual bank roll is a very personal thing and there is no one way that will work for thousands of online poker players. This is not a situation where there is an ultimatum; players may decide to send wires sometimes and use their debit cards other times. Both are correct.

I understand that this is a Mexico forum but I also recognize that many here are Americans. Most relocated poker players are traveling frequently to the US and many other countries for infinite reasons, one of them being visa restrictions. We all know this is a transient community. We have even seen players such as former Stars pro, Shaniac, who would commute to Mexico from California on the weekends. It stands to reason that players will have access to use their debit cards anywhere in the world and are not confined to 1 ATM or 1 set of ATM limits. Many players enjoy being able to withdraw money with little to no fees at ATMs and this is a fact. I have personally witnessed friends and other poker players withdrawing $3,300 with a Neteller card in one transaction at an ATM as recently as 2 days ago. Players I know withdraw $2,500 in 1 transaction with a Skrill card on a regular basis. I have done the same with my own Skrill & Neteller cards. You don’t have to believe me, but it’s absolutely true. To state with authority that this is not possible is misleading to readers, especially if you yourself don’t have a personal history of utilizing the cards.

Regarding currency and forex fees, we have covered this topic as well. American players, especially in border towns like Rosarito, can have bank accounts in USD in addition to being in the US multiple times per year where they can also use their e-wallet debit cards and withdraw dollars. Many players in Mexico or this thread may also have bank accounts in USD from other countries like Costa Rica or within the EU where they could have resided before traveling to Mexico. Again, everyone is in a slightly different situation. Practically speaking, it makes sense that American players will want to transact in their home currency as much as possible. It’s even more important for players with Pesos accounts who don’t want to convert from poker sites to Pesos and back to USD. If you can skip sending to a bank account avoid that double conversion, it could very well save you money on many occasions.

My goal is to provide constructive advice to all readers on the thread, including the poster whose original question I answered. If people ask questions I can answer for them, I will. I don’t have any sort of personal hidden motives or incentives for providing any advice on this or any topic. Anyone in any non-restricted country can open a Skrill or Neteller account or any other e-wallet (Ecopayz, etc). The VIP levels are clearly labeled on both the Skrill & Neteller websites and anyone can attain them by meeting the objective benchmarks, publicly available. Players can sign up for e-wallets on their own or through one of the countless affiliates out there or by Googling e-wallets. I've provided publicly available information directly off the websites. Everything I've offered here is research-able and objectively verifiable.

2+2 is a place where everyone can come together and share information and opinions with each other. Together, we have both provided more than enough potential scenarios that should help people in our online community make more informed decisions surrounding this particular topic and that's great. By everyone chipping in, we can help each other stay up-to-date and on top of happenings in the global poker economy or even just play devil’s advocate. While it’s inevitable that some may be here to troll, argue or plant misinformation, I would expect that the majority of posters on 2+2 are probably genuinely trying to help each other whether it’s for poker hands, travel or any other topic. I’m just one of many who are happy to participate and contribute where I can.