Paysafecard
More info
- Owner
- Paysafe Group
- Released
- 2000
- Type
- Prepaid voucher
A sixteen-digit code bought with cash at a newsagent and spent online, no card or bank account required.
Founded in Vienna in 2000, Paysafecard addressed something e-commerce long pretended wasn't an issue: not everyone has a card, and not everyone wants to hand one over. The code is printed on a till receipt and typed in at checkout like a password. It caught on early in gaming, both with teenagers who had no card and with adults who preferred to keep their gambling off the bank statement. Skrill bought the company in 2013 and became part of Paysafe Group in 2015.
The same properties attracted the wrong kind of customer. Around 2012 the Reveton "police" ransomware demanded that victims pay their "fine" in Paysafecard, and phone scammers still ask for codes. EU anti-money-laundering rules have steadily lowered how much can be spent anonymously as a result.