PokerStars deposit help, from Canada

[Odysseus101]

Hello CardsChat, my first post!
I'm in canada and play on pokerstars regularly. I'm getting annoyed at the deposit options. paypal is useless of course, and I've been using my credit card. Which is fast and instant, but the conversion rates are brutal and then there's a $5 service charge on the card because it's considered a cash advance. These wipe out the value of nearly any reload bonus.
So you other Canucks, how do you deposit to PokerStars? I'm not too concerned about "delay", I can wait a couple of days on a deposit or withdrawal. When I'm in a rush to play I probably shouldn't be playing anyway, right? Which option do you use and is it economical?
If I have a US$ account, can I move money in it directly to PokerStars via eCheque or whatever? Anyone do this? Fees?

 

[Pokerguy6666]

First off, why are you depositing in US dollars? you can deposit in canadian dollars on Pokerstars and avoid any conversion fees.

Btw I would suggest depositing and withdrawing directly from/to your bank account. The other option which is also very good for Canadians is instadebit (which is linked directly to your bank account). One thing that is cool about Instadebit is that you can have a Canadian dollar balance and a US dollar balance on your account.

 

[moots]

Using a credit card to deposit is a cash advance because it is a cash advance. To avoid it, just pay your credit card bill early.

So if you have balance of $200 on your credit card and you want to deposit $50 on PokerStars, pay off your credit card bill in the amount of $255 ($200+$50+$5 cash advance). Then deposit $50 on PS. At the end of the month you should be credited $5.

Like pokerguy said, switch to the Canadian tab first to deposit in Canadian funds. If you don't have that currency tab, you can click on the + to add it.

 

[Odysseus101]

Thanks for those suggestions. I've added the CAN$ currency as an option. Does this mean that I play in CAN$? I doubt that PokerStars' conversion rates are any better than the bank's.

 

[wildyetty]

PS conversion rates are better because you dont get the bank fee added to it... You can also look at the vanilla prepaid master cards but the rates are similar

 

[moots]

PokerStars' exchange rates are way better than the banks. You get the exact amount without any fees.

Just convert to US funds in the cashier.

 

[Odysseus101]

That's certainly helpful, thanks for all your replies. Any other tips out there? I'd still like to hear them.
For instance, I have US$ in a paypal account and rather than convert them at PayPal's rate in order to move them to my Canadian bank account, I'd rather find a way to transfer it right to PokerStars. PayPal doesn't transfer to gambling sites of course, but is anyone aware of any ewallet I can use as an intermediary?

 

[wildyetty]

That's certainly helpful, thanks for all your replies. Any other tips out there? I'd still like to hear them.
For instance, I have US$ in a paypal account and rather than convert them at PayPal's rate in order to move them to my Canadian bank account, I'd rather find a way to transfer it right to PokerStars. PayPal doesn't transfer to gambling sites of course, but is anyone aware of any ewallet I can use as an intermediary?

You can do etransfer straight from your bank account to your US$ account on PS. exchange rates from the bank do not apply

 

[MattRyder]

Thanks for those suggestions. I've added the CAN$ currency as an option. Does this mean that I play in CAN$? I doubt that PokerStars' conversion rates are any better than the bank's.

No, you can't play in Cdn dollars. You have to convert to USD at some point before playing. If you don't have sufficient funds already in your USD account, Stars will offer to convert the exact amount that you need to enter the game/tournament that you want to play.

Also, here's some info that I got directly from Stars:

In your particular case both options are good, as our software allows you to have bankrolls in both currency, CAD and USD, so you can deposit in both currencies without being applied any exchange margin rate.

In order to explain you this in better way , i will explain by topics:

- Our software allows you to have bankrolls in USD, EUR,CAD and GBP.
- The exchange rate margin will only be charged if the bankroll currency is different to the processing currency.
- That leaving a table, tournament deregistration, real money transfers, intra-accounts transfers (between bankrolls) or any other game related conversion, you will not be charged the margin fee.

In your specific case both of the currencies you expect to use, are also used on our bankrolls, so you can deposit or cashout using USD or CAD as you prefer.The only detail you need to pay attention is to initiate the deposit or the cashout always on the right tab. Per example, if you want to deposit in CAD, you need to select on our software the CAD Tab and initiate you deposit from there. This way the deposit will not be converted as the currency is the same.

If on the other hand you want to deposit or cashout in USD, then you need to have the USD tab selected on our software.

We hope this information helps you to understand better how conversions work, but please do feel free to ask if anything is not entirely clear.

Regards,

Paulo
PokerStars Payment Services​

 

[Odysseus101]

Wow, also very good information. I guess I'll check to see if there are limits to what I can deposit and withdraw in short order. I suspect that PS watches this closely, as they don't want to be used for money laundering or simply for cheap currency conversion. Anyone have any experience on those issues?
I'm working on a way to get my paypal USD into a Canadian USD account, from which I can do the transfers or echeques to PS, that seems like the cheapest way to get money back and forth with the minimum of fees, charges, and conversions.

 

[Odysseus101]

Yeesh, getting USD into Canada without converting it seems to be a real hassle, and nothing is guaranteed to work.
http://travelblogbreakthrough.com/canadian-paypal-users-transfer-usd-bank/
Any Canadians out there successful in setting up a mechanism to get USD from PayPal into a Canadian USD account?

 

[Odysseus101]

Hey there CardsChat gang, I think I've got a way to get $US from PayPal into a Canadian $US account. It takes some hoops through which need jumping. But by doing so, one can get that income from eBay or whatever into a Canadian $USD account and from there into PokerStars by echeque or whatever. I'm still completing the process but making good progress and I have tips is this is an issue.

 

[Odysseus101]

Using a credit card to deposit to PokerStars in Canadian dollars avoids the card's conversion fees, but it's still a cash advance and the card charges a $5 service fee for that, plus the interest starts to run from day one rather than from the due date of the next monthly statement.
I'm linking up my $USD account to pokerstars, we'll see how the echeque thing goes.

 

[Pokerguy6666]

...I'm linking up my $USD account to pokerstars, we'll see how the echeque thing goes.

I am also a Canadian that tried to use a USD bank account (opened thru Royal Bank of Canada) and everything I tried to do got screwed up. I finally just gave up and closed the account. Now I only have a CAD bank account linked to Instadebit (for CAD and US transactions) and Ecopayz (for all other currencies except CAD).

 

[Odysseus101]

I am also a Canadian that tried to use a USD bank account (opened thru Royal Bank of Canada) and everything I tried to do got screwed up. I finally just gave up and closed the account. Now I only have a CAD bank account linked to Instadebit (for CAD and US transactions) and Ecopayz (for all other currencies except CAD).

Hmm...I'm puzzled too now.
I have a $US account in Canada with money in it. In my PS account I have USD as my preferred currency, and the USD tab open when I hit the Cashier button. I click on the eCheque option, and the default deposit currency is $CAN. I don't see any way to change that.

Any Chatters from Canada got any insight on depositing to PS in $US?

 

[wildyetty]

Hmm...I'm puzzled too now.
I have a $US account in Canada with money in it. In my PS account I have USD as my preferred currency, and the USD tab open when I hit the Cashier button. I click on the eCheque option, and the default deposit currency is $CAN. I don't see any way to change that.

Any Chatters from Canada got any insight on depositing to PS in $US?

Its because you are in Canada... If your PS account default is USD when you make a CDN deposit, it will auto convert.... I would contact PS support If your echeck is coming from a USD account, I am sure they can make the nessasary adjustment to your account if its possible. Remember Americans cannot deposit to stars

 

[Odysseus101]

Its because you are in Canada... If your PS account default is USD when you make a CDN deposit, it will auto convert.... I would contact PS support If your echeck is coming from a USD account, I am sure they can make the nessasary adjustment to your account if its possible. Remember Americans cannot deposit to stars

Thanks for the input, I considered that.
But depositing in USD from Canada shouldn't be the problem. I can deposit to PS in USD from a credit card, and the conversion fees are applied to the card. So I don't think that it's the USD currency which is the problem.

If I tried to eCheque money from a USD account based in the United States, I'd expect that to fail. I haven't tried that but I wouldn't expect it to work.

 

[moots]

Hmm...I'm puzzled too now.
I have a $US account in Canada with money in it. In my PS account I have USD as my preferred currency, and the USD tab open when I hit the Cashier button. I click on the eCheque option, and the default deposit currency is $CAN. I don't see any way to change that.

Any Chatters from Canada got any insight on depositing to PS in $US?

Why not contact PS support? They will they you if it's possible or not.

 

[Odysseus101]

Why not contact PS support? They will they you if it's possible or not.

I've done that, and posted on CC in the PS Support thread. I'm hoping for a quick answer because I want to take advantage of today's Christmas Calendar deposit bonus from PS. I've got a feeling that I'll win more than $1 this time!

 

[wildyetty]

I've done that, and posted on CC in the PS Support thread. I'm hoping for a quick answer because I want to take advantage of today's Christmas Calendar deposit bonus from PS. I've got a feeling that I'll win more than $1 this time!

a dollar!!!!! lol every 1 i completed i got 50 cents lol i would love a dollar

 

[Odysseus101]

a dollar!!!!! lol every 1 i completed i got 50 cents lol i would love a dollar

Then get depositing! Today's "mega bonus" instant cash prize upon deposit starts at $1! You can double your best showing yet!

Not that I'm flogging PS or anything. I'm just trying to find a way to get my $US into PS without any conversions, fees, charges for cash advances, or ewallet skimming.

 

[moots]

I've done that, and posted on CC in the PS Support thread. I'm hoping for a quick answer because I want to take advantage of today's Christmas Calendar deposit bonus from PS. I've got a feeling that I'll win more than $1 this time!

You won't get a response in that thread, you need to email them.

 

[Danc1u]

makea option to your credit card to use us $,i`m from Romania and had kindah same problem,paypall sux as u sayed,but try to change u re credit card to recide and deposit US $ and u`l be ok worked for me

 

[Odysseus101]

makea option to your credit card to use us $,i`m from Romania and had kindah same problem,paypall sux as u sayed,but try to change u re credit card to recide and deposit US $ and u`l be ok worked for me

I could see if I can get a credit card in US$, but then I still get the "cash advance" fee and interest on the card which starts from day one rather than from the end of the statement. And PS doesn't accept PayPal deposits in Canada, which annoys me greatly.

I have options here, but I'm looking for the one that costs nothing. I still haven't heard back from PS yet. They usually take 2-3 business days when I have a customer support question.

But I'm glad you found a system that works for you, thanks for the comment. It's a good idea. I'll check with my bank if PS tells me that they don't accept eCheques in USD from Canada.

 

[Odysseus101]

OK, so I got an answer from PS on the issue of making deposits to PS in USD from my $US account in Canada. Naturally, I'm assuming that I can't deposit to PS from a US based account (If I'm wrong, someone here will tell me, right?).

"Thank you for your email and for allowing us to be of assistance.

We regret to inform you that eChecks deposits are only available in CAD. Please be aware that even though we offer a feature where you can create bankrolls in different currencies so you can play at our multi-currency tables, your transactions (both deposits or withdrawals) are still limited to those currencies available to your country based on our cashier system settings, regardless of the bankroll you chose at the time of your request.

For example, if you request a transaction to debited or credited to any of your non-CAD bankrolls but the only currency available in your country for money transactions is CAD, the funds will still be credited to or debited from your financial institution in CAD only.

[FONT=wf_segoe-ui_normal]We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you."

So, I guess I'm SOL on that avenue. Too bad. I was hoping to avoid depositing in $CAN, converting it to play with, then having to convert it back before withdrawing.

The obvious solution is "don't lose!". Maybe I should try that. Too bad I stink at poker, I was hoping to cut my losses by the conversion fee amounts. Thanks to everyone who replied in this thread, and if there are any other ideas out there please let me know or PM me through the site.
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