Betting in the Era of Open Banking APIs: Is the Card Dying

Cards have been dominating the financial market for decades, thanks to their simple payment services. People use it for all kinds of purchases and online transactions. This, of course, includes funding online betting accounts and withdrawing winnings.

However, in recent years, a new form of payment method has shown an increased use for the same purposes. The payment system in question is an open banking API. Its popularity goes higher and higher by the day, and some believe it will slowly overtake bank cards.

Open Banking’s Increased Use at Betting Sites

Open banking is a financial service that allows banks to share customers’ data with third-party providers. They use application programming interfaces (APIs) to establish an electronically secure connection. But the customers must first give permission for the data sharing.

Third-party financial service providers act as a middleman between banks and merchants. You can use one of them to connect to your existing bank account and conduct seamless payments.

In terms of online betting, you can use open banking APIs for depositing and withdrawing funds in a simpler and quicker way. Most of these payment providers won’t even require setting up an account on their platforms. Also, they don’t share any financial details with online sportsbooks.

Now, the withdrawals are a bit slower when compared to bookmakers accepting PayPal. But the open banking payouts are still quicker than traditional bank or debit card withdrawals. Plus, you won't have to pay any extra fees for using open banking services.

We should also note that open banking providers utilise the latest encryption services. Also, most of them require completing a 2FA in order to approve a payment.

All of these benefits drive the increased use of open banking APIs for online betting. Compared to debit cards, they are simpler, faster, and cheaper. Also, cards have an expiration period, while open banking APIs don’t.

Does Open Banking Lower the Use of Cards?

Almost every adult has a credit or debit card that he/she uses regularly. This, of course, includes punters who use debit cards for depositing and withdrawing funds at sportsbooks.

A 2024 survey showed that 38% of bettors preferred debit cards when it comes to online betting. 37% of them stated that they prefer the use of digital wallets like PayPal, Skrill, and others.

In terms of open banking, 42% of global bettors are familiar with this payment method. However, only two-thirds of them have actually used them for online betting. Also, 55% of surveyed punters said that they expect open banking APIs to become more widely accepted in 2025 and 2026.

At the moment, almost every online betting platform accepts debit cards as deposit and withdrawal methods. We can't say the same about open banking providers, as they are still not available at most bookmakers. This has to do with the lower usage of these payment systems among bettors.

Most punters still prefer using debit cards instead of open banking providers due to payment habits. But there are still many who aren’t familiar with this fairly new form of online banking. Others know the featured payment system, but they aren’t aware of its benefits.

Popular Online Banking Providers at Betting Platforms

There are currently numerous open banking providers operating all around the world. But only a couple of them managed to go on top and attract millions of customers, including online bettors.

Among the most used open banking APIs for online betting are Trustly, Zimpler, TrueLayer, Plaid, and Yapily. Some punters may also use Volt and Brankas. Now, their availability depends on the online bookmaker. Most of them are usually available only at reputable sportsbooks.

At the moment, none of these open banking providers is nearly as popular as well-known card payment providers like Visa and MasterCard. But things might change in the near future as open banking is slowly increasing its presence in the betting industry.

More and more punters will learn about their advantages and will make the switch from cards to open banking APIs. But this transition won't entirely eliminate cards as they are still an important part of the financial industry. Let's wait and see what the future holds for both types of payment methods.