About Payment Cards

Payment cards are one of the most popular methods of payment in the UK. They allow you to pay for goods and services virtually anywhere in the world, easily and conveniently.

Payment cards are issued by a variety of organisations or card issuers such as banks, building societies, financial services companies and retailers. As a result, the cards may work differently between the issuers.

One key point is that there are three types of payment card:

  • Debit Cards - Works like a cheque, money is debited from your account within 3 days usually.
  • Credit Cards - You receive a statement during the month for all of your spending. You then have a period of time to make your payment against the statement.
  • Prepayment Cards - You take your money to a retailer who transfers the money onto a card for you. The biggest difference is that you can only spend what you have put on the card.

The major credit cards include:

  • American Express
  • Diners Club
  • JCB International
  • Maestro
  • MasterCard
  • Visa

If you do not already hold one of these types of payment cards, you can apply for one with your bank or alternately, using any of our links above.

One key point to note about debit and credit cards is that banks have started to apply charges for using them to pay on gambling sites (as well buying foreign currency as Rosie just found out). So do check with your bank before using the site.