FAO any irish-based users of betfair

I am looking to open a betfair a/c and am wondering about charges for withdrawals and deposits using an irish credit card - saw somewhere that there's a 2% charge (levied by the banks) for any transaction (seems v. saucy)..... could any current irish betfair user confirm/deny this and if it's true whether there are any tricks to avoid it.......

Any other pointers/recommendations would be appreciated for an exchange novice.....

I've a Mastercard (AIB) and paid nothing on the deposit I made to Betfair. Betfair withdraw 1.5% of the deposit though.

I've just been a user for about 4 weeks and am well happy with the general service and indeed the general slickness of the sevice.

You can't withdraw funds to a Mastercard with betfair and Paddy Power to name two, which is actually better as if you want to withdraw they'll send you a cheque which means you shouldn't have to pay a fortune in bank charges.

They won't let you withdraw however for about 4 weeks unless you fax them a copy of your credit card statement to "validate" your card which doesn't make much sense to me as they didn't seem to have any problem with whether it was my card or not when I made my deposit after opening my account.

I got this email from them recently:
-----------------------------------------------

Dear xxx ,


As you know, Betfair are committed to offering the best payment solutions possible, and we are delighted to announce that we are now able to accept deposits and withdrawals from Irish Laser cards. This service is free of charge to users. You can register your card in the usual way: when prompted for details that are not relevant - such as the security code - please leave the fields blank. If you have any problems registering your Laser card, please do not hesitate to call the Helpdesk on 1 800 944 000 or email info@betfair.com

We hope that this will make betting with Betfair more convenient for many of you and would like to wish you well in all your betting.


Best Regards,

Lee Cowles
Head of Client Operations
www.betfair.com
info@betfair.com

Cheers for that,

don't think i've laser with my bank card but presume that's only a phonecall to sort out....While highly unlikely i know, but is using a laser card riskier that using a credit card on the net, or is there any difference ???? Just if there's anyone who's looked into this before..... The more I see/read on betfair the better it seems....

Hitya Irish TW

When you say that you have to wait up to 4 weeks to get a cheque and have to fax a credit card statement are you referring to betfair or Powers. I've always had a fast withdrawl from powers but if Betfair takes up to 4 weeks I would not be impressed.

Assumeing I ever had any winnings to withdraw of course :o

I was referring to betfair - I meant 4 weeks from the time you open your account, unless you fax them a credit card statement, if you fax a statement you can withdraw immediately.

No prob withdrawing from PP, I just drop them an email and I get a cheque in a few days. (when I win of course)