For those living in the United States, getting money on and off of poker sites has become an increasingly difficult chore. With cash-out times measured by weeks and months, and deposit methods that often involve wiring money to a stranger in the Philippines, many online poker players are at their wits’ end. Enter RollSavers.com, attempting to make that part of our lives a little bit easier.
The brainchild of a lawyer, a retired Fortune 100 VP, and a poker player, RollSavers is an independent financial services company that helps Americans open offshore bank accounts. Their fee is $350.
In an exclusive interview with pokerfuse, co-founder of RollSavers Eric Gruenwald said his company can help US poker players by providing “two major benefits.” One of which is the ability to deposit and withdraw to a non-US bank account. By eliminating the “need for the sites to seek out payment processors that will work within the United States, you’ll be able to cash out and deposit at the same speed that Europeans enjoy.”
Additionally, RollSavers believes its “service helps protect your bankroll” by reducing the time it takes to move funds in and out of your poker accounts. Reducing your need to have a “significant portion” of your bankroll on deposit at poker sites allows you to realize a reduced exposure to risk.
Having less money tied up on poker sites sounds great, but how safe is your money in a foreign bank? “Although there is no FDIC insurance on deposits, our banks have been around for between 25 and 100 years with assets over a billion dollars. I don’t believe it is any riskier than having a brokerage account,” Gruenwald contends.
What about having your information pass through RollSavers? “Clients fund their accounts directly, and because these are foreign accounts we don’t need any information such as social security numbers that could compromise your identity. One of our founders is a former VP of a Fortune 100 company and another is an attorney. I can assure you we take the security of our clients’ funds and information very seriously.”
Assuming that the service is trustworthy and provides value, is it worth $350? That depends on what you are going to do with it and what your alternatives are. If you are a motivated, financially-savvy individual, you might do better trying to open an offshore account on your own. Maybe you live close to Canada and can drive right across the border to set up an account in person. But for those that are unfamiliar with the details of international banking and are unsure where to start, RollSavers may be a more efficient use of your resources. Time spent learning about banking could be time spent playing (or learning) poker.
RollSavers is not a magic tonic that will cure all post-Black-Friday woes. But if you are serious about playing online poker in the United States and the service performs as advertised, it may make life a little easier. Time will tell.
