Skrill Brokers 2020 - Which Brokers Accept Skrill?
Skrill is a digital wallet accepted by many online forex brokers. The number of Skrill brokers is increasing because of its speed and security. Other advantages for brokers that accept Skrill are its acceptance of all major currencies and its ability to handle large deposits.
Trading with Skrill brokers also benefits forex traders thanks to its ease of use and lower fees when trading large amounts of currency. For their part, Skrill actively encourage day trading through their platform with a range of bonuses and promotions.
Here, we’re going to look in more detail at trading platforms and brokers that accept Skrill, as well as the pros and cons of trading with Skrill.
Skrill Brokers
Overview
Skrill is a serious eWallet alternative to Paypal, having over 40 million users worldwide. Founded in 2001 as Moneybookers, Skrill is now part of the Paysafe Group which also owns Skrill’s former rival Neteller.
Available on desktop and as a mobile app, Skrill has traditionally been used by online casino players for depositing funds and withdrawing winnings (when depositing funds, users are asked if they want to use the deposit for gambling).
However, trading with Skrill is becoming more prominent due to its numerous offers, promotions and VIP benefits. Although not as useful or ubiquitous as Paypal for everyday transactions, the number of brokers accepting Skrill makes it worth serious consideration when using online brokerages.
Advantages
- Trading with Skrill has plenty of advantages:
- Easy to use and free to register
- Actively encourages use for forex trading
- Offers lots of promotions from brokerages – including major names
- Free to receive money
- Quick transactions (unless involving bank transfer)
- Link up to ten debit/credit cards to Skrill account
- Skrill Money Transfer allows FX transfers at zero mark-up – including to non-Skrill customers
- Strong security (card or bank details are not revealed, data is encrypted)
- Increasingly common payment method for brokers
- The more money you transact, the lower the fees
- For forex traders, Skrill supports 38 currencies (including GBP, Euros, US Dollar and Yen)
Drawbacks
As a potential digital wallet for traders, Skrill does have its drawbacks:
- Fees to withdraw funds
- High currency conversion fees, plus handling fee
- Fees for unused account
- Website unclear on specific deposit and withdrawal limits
- Verification needed to increase deposit and withdrawal limits
Speed of Skrill Payments
Paying with Skrill is generally very quick. Funds uploaded into your account with debit or credit cards are instant; for bank transfers, you should allow up to five working days. All cards and accounts used for deposits and withdrawals with Skrill have to be in your name. You can also make instant deposits into your Skrill account with the following:
Bitcoin
Boku
Fast Bank Transfer
Klarna
Neteller
Paysafe Cash
Rapid Transfer
Trustly
Security
Skrill take plenty of security measures to ensure that its users are protected. All sensitive transaction information is secured with 128-bit encryption and protected to the highest standard according to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.
The Skrill mobile app also has a two-tier login. This means that as well entering their email address and password, users have to enter a code sent to their mobile device.
Deposits and Withdrawals
All Skrill customers can deposit and withdraw funds from their accounts. When it comes to depositing and withdrawing money, Skrill is the opposite of Paypal in that it never charges to receive money, but charges a fee to withdraw money to your bank account or credit card.
The only way for traders to avoid this fee is to transact enough money with Skrill is to qualify as a Silver, Gold or Diamond VIP member, at which point withdrawals are free.
For all users, regardless of status, there is a 1% fee to upload funds into your Skrill account, whichever payment method you use (up to €20,000 – see below).
Skrill Fees or Costs
Skrill accounts are free and easy to set up – although you will need to verify your ID if you want to increase your deposit and withdrawal limits.
Beyond that, as noted above, trading with Skrill can potentially become costly. The main sting is the withdrawal fee which currently works out at £4.76 per transaction (€5.50), or 7.5% if you withdraw from Skrill to a credit card. As traders who transact €15,000 or more per quarter don’t have to pay these fees, it mostly affects traders who want to make a number of smaller withdrawals.
Money Transfer
Skrill offer a service called Skrill Money Transfer which offers traders the ability to send money to anyone (including themselves), converting it into any of its supported currencies in the process, at “zero mark-up” and using Reuters exchange rate.
However, it’s important to note that this is a separate service to a Skrill account. Transfers and payments from your Skrill wallet that require a currency conversion are subject to a 3.99% fee. The VIP programme offers lower fees. For traders who transact €6000 per quarter, the fee reduces to 3.79% and can go as low as 1.99%.
The Skrill website also notes that sending money incurs a 1.45% fee (with a minimum charge of £0.43 or €0.50). However, this only applies if you’re sending funds to another digital wallet service or similar. Sending money to a bank account, in any of the countries Skrill supports, is free. Again, this fee disappears above a certain level of funding.
Inactivity Fee
If your Skrill account is inactive for a period of 12 months, Skrill also begin applying a monthly charge of €5 (or equivalent) per month. The good news for Skrill traders is that closing your account is free and easy; alternatively, simply logging in to your Skrill account counts as activity.
Is Skrill a good choice for Traders?
Skrill is a common payment method for traders; whether it’s right for you depends on how much money you trade with your account. If you’re trading in large amounts at a time, then it’s a strong contender to be your digital wallet for forex trading.
There are four VIP levels that you can attain for each quarter if you hit a certain threshold within the preceding quarter. They are:
- Bronze: Transact over €6000 per quarter
- Silver: Transact over €15000 per quarter
- Gold: Transact over €45000 per quarter
- Diamond: Transact over €90000 per quarter
Once you’re a Silver VIP member or above, trading with Skrill becomes beneficial in terms of removing or reducing fees. You can also begin opening other accounts in different currencies, helping you to avoid FX fees.
The one remaining problem with using Skrill for trading is the 1% upload fee. This fee only disappears on individual upload transactions of €20,000 or above (or equivalent). It’s worth pointing out that this is the net amount after any FX fees have been applied to the upload.
FAQ
Are there any Skrill bonuses?
Skrill encourage forex traders to use them as do Skrill brokers. Their website reveals a raft of exclusive forex promotions from big name brokers, offering Skrill traders cashback, free demo accounts and zero commissions.
Skrill also offer potential financial rewards for recommending friends.
What countries can use Skrill?
Skrill is available in the majority of countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, EU member states and the United States. The only notable exception where Skrill is not available is Japan (although it does support Yen transactions).
Any GEO specific information?
The only GEO specific restrictions with Skrill are in the United States or related to US dollars:
You cannot deposit in US dollars; these are automatically converted to Euros and the 3.99% conversion rate is applied
You cannot withdraw US dollars to your bank account
Skrill Money Transfer transactions cannot be funded with US-issued debit or credit cards