Payments
Alternative Payment Method (APM)
Definition
An alternative payment method (APM) is any way of paying that is not cash or a debit or credit card, such as an e-wallet, an account-to-account bank transfer, an instant payment scheme, a prepaid voucher, a buy now pay later plan or, in some markets, cryptocurrency. Familiar examples include Pix in Brazil, iDEAL in the Netherlands, UPI in India and ACH bank transfers in the US.
For gambling operators, APMs matter because card acceptance for gambling is restricted or costly in many markets and local players often prefer a domestic scheme. In some jurisdictions the regulator sets the menu: Brazil's Portaria Normativa SPA/MF 615 of April 2024 limits licensed betting deposits to Pix, TED transfers, debit and prepaid cards and book transfers, and bans credit cards, cash, boletos and crypto-assets. The word alternative is relative; in many markets these are the mainstream methods.
Key takeaways
- An alternative payment method is any non-card, non-cash way to pay, from e-wallets and bank transfers to local instant payment schemes.
- Which APMs matter depends on the market: Pix in Brazil, iDEAL in the Netherlands and ACH in the US are examples.
- Regulators sometimes dictate the payment mix, as Brazil did in 2024 by limiting betting deposits to Pix, TED, debit and prepaid cards.
- APMs bring their own fees, refund and dispute rules and fraud patterns, so they change risk rather than remove it.
Why it matters
Payment choice is one of the biggest drivers of deposit conversion, and the methods players trust vary sharply by country. An operator that launches with cards alone in a market where players pay by bank transfer or Pix will lose sign-ups at the cashier. Local APMs can also be the only practical option where issuers decline gambling card transactions or where the law restricts cards.
APMs change the risk profile as well as the user experience. Many account-to-account methods, including open banking payments, are push payments authorised in the player's own banking app, which lowers stolen-card fraud and removes the card chargeback process, but brings authorised push payment scams and mule accounts into scope. E-wallets add a layer of their own KYC but can obscure the source of funds, so AML teams treat them differently from bank-verified methods. Same-name payment rules, such as Brazil's requirement that deposits come from an account registered by the bettor, also make APMs part of the compliance design, not just the commercial one.
Each new method means another integration, settlement flow and reconciliation stream, which is why operators often add APMs through a PSP or orchestration layer. The Payment Operations course covers method selection by market.
Alternative Payment Method (APM) vs Open banking
| Alternative Payment Method (APM) | Open banking |
|---|---|
| An umbrella category covering every non-card, non-cash method: e-wallets, vouchers, buy now pay later, local transfer schemes and more. | A specific technology in which a regulated provider initiates a bank payment or reads account data through the bank's API, with the customer's consent. |
Open banking payments are one type of APM. Treating them as interchangeable hides big differences in fraud exposure, dispute rights and the data available for affordability and KYC checks.
The bottom line
An alternative payment method is any non-card, non-cash way to pay. For gambling operators, the right local APMs often decide whether a market converts at all, and each one carries its own costs, fraud patterns and regulatory conditions.
Sources
- Alternative payment methods: What businesses need to know - Stripe
- Ministerio da Fazenda regulamenta meios de pagamento para apostas esportivas - TozziniFreire Advogados
Frequently asked questions
What are alternative payment methods?
Alternative payment methods are ways of paying that do not use cash or a debit or credit card. They include digital wallets, bank transfers and account-to-account payments, instant payment schemes run by central banks or banking networks, prepaid vouchers, buy now pay later services and cryptocurrency. Many are domestic schemes that dominate payments in a single country.
What are examples of alternative payment methods?
Widely cited examples include Pix in Brazil, iDEAL in the Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium, Swish in Sweden, UPI in India, Alipay and WeChat Pay in China, ACH transfers in the US and global e-wallets such as PayPal. Which ones matter to an operator depends entirely on the markets it serves and on what each regulator allows for gambling.
Why do gambling operators offer alternative payment methods?
Because players in many markets prefer them, and because card acceptance for gambling is often restricted, expensive or prone to declines. Offering the methods players already use improves deposit conversion and retention. In some regulated markets the choice is made for operators: Brazil, for example, limits licensed betting deposits to Pix, TED, debit and prepaid cards.
Are alternative payment methods safer than cards for operators?
They are different rather than simply safer. Account-to-account payments authorised in a banking app reduce stolen-card fraud and avoid card chargebacks, but expose operators to scams, mule accounts and bank returns. E-wallets add their own checks but can hide the underlying funding source. Each method needs its own fraud rules and AML treatment.