I have never thought it a good to use plastic to shop online or make money transfers. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer to pay by cash. And believe me, I take it very seriously when the Federal Trade Commission tells me that identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the US. I shred my mail, delete mail pertaining to my bank accounts and never write down confidential information like PIN codes. I'm ready to take the war to the enemy.

This stance took a pleasant beating when I was surfing the internet the other day. While I am curious about online casinos, by habit, I have never played at any of them. This is not because I believe gambling to be evil; just my paranoia about online fund transfers. A general Google search the other day threw up a few site listings. Out of curiosity I went on to check out what these sites were about. By the time I was through with the payments sections of a couple of them, I realized the big bad world on the Internet was not so bad, after all.

Technological advancements have ensured online transactions today are secure and iron-clad. Hackers belong in history, now, right up there with the bogey-man and all your old wives tales. Imagine my surprise when I found that in addition to having over a 100 games to choose from at the various sites, I had an equally astounding number of choices when it came to making online transactions.

Online transactions at these sites are as safe as the gold in Fort Knox, thanks to the latest in encryption technology. Most sites accept orders from browsers that communicate using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), ensuring your private information remains just that - strictly private. The Security and Privacy policy link on the sites gives you comprehensive information on how your security is safeguarded.

To make deposits at the casinos, you can use you credit/debit cards, bank draft/personal checks, wire transfer or a number of alternative payment methods. These methods include, Neteller, Central Coin Banking, Eco Card, FirePay(Surefire), MoneyBookers, Ewallet Xpress/900Pay, Click2Pay.

While the casinos have a limit on the least amount you can deposit, the number of payment options is mind-boggling - MasterCard, Visa, Delta, and Visa Electron cards. Credit card payments take 2-5 minutes to process. The service time is fast as well in the case of electronic transactions - two to five minutes for a credit card transaction. In the case of wire transfers, the time period is slightly longer - around two days. Checks take the longest, at 10-20 days.

Not only do you have secure transaction means, the casinos are committed to a policy of detecting and preventing fraud in all aspects of its business. Customer satisfaction is the magic watchword these days, and at most online casinos, that certainly seems to be the case.