Invariably, online transactions are handled by specialised intermediaries who handle all aspects of an online transaction on behalf of the seller, the purchaser and the service provider. The software used in performing these transactions is stored on secure servers, often offshore, and is heavily protected by military grade encryption and advanced firewall technology.

Click2Pay falls into the class of online payment solutions known as e-Wallets. The e-Wallet allows its user to make deposits and withdrawals and is particularly effective in the secure transfer funds to or from an online casino account. E-Wallets are simplicity itself, requiring the minimum of effort to perform a transaction. Clients may fund a Click2Pay account quickly and simply from a variety of Debit and Credit Cards as well as by Bank Wire and a variety of other convenient facilities. It is not, however, a requirement to pre-fund the Click2Pay account. Should it emerge, at any stage,

Diners Club International was the world's first charge card and has been in business for more than 50 years. According to popular belief, sometime in 1949, an American businessman was dining out with friends and, when confronted with the bill, found he had left his wallet at home. As he was well known to the restaurateur, he was allowed to leave his business card as an IOU. A year later, the man returned to the same restaurant and, on receiving the bill, presented a cardboard card and signed for the meal. In the credit card industry, this landmark event became known as "The First Supper".

EcoCard has been operating for more than eight years but, only recently, does it appear to have grown to become one of the internet's more popular payment solutions. Its has been growing its network of Internet traders and, having turned its attention to online gambling activities, has added numerous online gambling services providers to its merchant base. Perhaps more significantly, EcoCard option has extended its reach worldwide to include the lucrative online gambling market within the United States.

eWalletXpress is a relatively new online payment solution developed from an earlier model known as 900Pay. The new product comprises many upgrades that have greatly improved both its flexibility and efficiency. It has been targeted at citizens of the United States and Canada and it offers them a particularly flexible electronic wallet option with which they may conduct a wide variety of online payments. Naturally, these include payments to online casinos and other internet gambling venues. The new product has gained rapid acceptance due to the long history of success experienced by its

MoneyBookers is an online wallet payment solution with a first-class reputation. This already well-supported brand has continued to grow rapidly in popularity, especially among European purchasers. An account holder has the choice of funding his or her MoneyBookers either with a preferred credit card or by transferring cash directly into the card from a personal bank account. Typical of the electronic wallet facility, once the account has been funded, the cash becomes available immediately to use when making purchases from a growing range of online merchants and, more significantly, to fund

NETeller is a widely accepted digital wallet in most parts of the world. Many online casinos are prepared to offer large bonuses to players who choose to make deposits to their casino account using this popular online payment solution. NETeller is extremely user-friendly and it costs the new account holder nothing to register and open a NETeller account. The company was founded in 1999 at about the time that the online gambling industry entered a period of exponential growth. Not surprisingly then, its business today is primarily with online gambling sites such as online casinos, poker

The PaySafe card is the first of it kind in Europe to have been specifically developed to make purchases on the internet. Use of this handy online payment solution allows anyone to make purchases in cyberspace. The joint Austrian and German product is still in its early days, so the PaySafe card is currently only available in the United Kingdom and most of the other European Union countries. However, the PaySafe Company has been developing a campaign that will result in widespread international expansion and it is already underway.

Quick Tender is a relatively new casino deposit method that appears to be gaining quite rapidly in popularity. It is a virtual e-Wallet account that can be used both to make deposits of funds to a variety of online merchants that now include online casinos and other internet gambling operations. In the case of online casinos and the like, the method is also ideally suited for making withdrawals in the event of a win and the number of online casinos that support this payment solution is already beginning to grow.

There are no prizes for guessing the origins of UKash whose catchy title identify it immediately as a product of the United Kingdom. UKash is not an e-Wallet but a pre-paid voucher solution that is widely employed in Britain both for online gambling and to make other internet purchases while remaining totally safe from the steadily escalating risk of identity theft. Similar to the pre-paid airtime vouchers used by mobile phone owners, UKash is available from numerous pay points. The clever adaptation of existing technology to online payments has, among other things, opened a convenient door