What Is Siru Mobile?
Siru Mobile is a direct carrier bill payment method that facilitates quick and mostly anonymous (you have to give your phone number) transactions between you and UK mobile casinos online.
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Payment method type | Direct carrier billing |
Year founded | 2011 |
Company headquarters | Helsinki, Finland |
Founder | Timo Hakanpää |
No. of company employees | 15 |
Encryption technology | Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) |
Country availability | Finland, UK, Sweden |
If this is the first time you've heard of Siru Mobile, I don't blame you; it's not popular in the UK.
The sum you deposit to a UK Siru Mobile casino is added to your phone's subscription bill. This is where the term "pay-by-phone" comes from; you literally pay using your phone and nothing else.
To use Siru Mobile, you don't need to go through the hassle of dealing with an app, registering an account, or anything of the sort.
All you need to provide is a phone number and a phone subscription that allows charge to mobile services.
Please note
Your payments could fail if your phone number is hidden. Make sure that it is visible and not secret in any way.
Keep in mind
In the UK, Siru Mobile is limited to Virgin Mobile and operators belonging to its network.
Did you know
Since its launch, the company has teamed up with more than 30 mobile providers from Europe to this date, including Mastercard and Vodafone.
How to Use This Service in a UK Siru Mobile Casino?
Have you decided to try out UK Siru Mobile casinos? Check out the step-by-step guide below to learn how to do it.
- Choose a casino website from the list on this page.
- Register an account at that casino.
- Verify your casino account.
- Go to the "Payments" section.
- Select "Deposits".
- Choose Siru Mobile as a payment method.
- Write down the amount of funds you want to add to your account.
- Enter your phone number and follow the instructions on the screen.
- You will receive an SMS on your mobile phone to confirm the payment.
- If you wish to proceed, enter the code you received via SMS on the casino operator's page.
- Your funds should immediately appear in your account, and you will be able to play with them.
Keep in mind
You have 10 minutes at your disposal to input the code, and only three attempts to correctly write it down. If you use them up, you will have to restart the confirmation process.
Remember
You may receive a "Thank you for choosing Siru Mobile” SMS a day after using the service for the first time.
This is an official message from the company; there's no need to worry about it.
All About Siru Mobile & Its Features
1. Security & Privacy
The first thing to look at when researching tools to trust your funds with are security and privacy. Let's see what Siru Mobile cooked in this regard:
Encrypted data
It uses SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) technology to encrypt the payments that it processes.
Anonymity (for the most part)
You do not provide any personal information to Siru when using the service other than your mobile phone number.
The UK government approves it
The company adheres to the strict gambling regulations and standards set by UK authorities.
2. Card-Free Payments
The biggest feature, by far, is that Siru allows you to pay even if you don't want to input your credit card's details, or simply don't have one.
3. Using Siru Abroad Isn't Possible
Siru Mobile only functions using local mobile subscriptions and is unavailable to use abroad.
4. Transactions Fees Are A Thing
Here comes Siru Mobile's biggest downside, in my opinion: it imposes transaction fees. Bleh!
And, if that wasn't bad enough, it also does not make its fee information public in its terms and conditions.
You only find out the exact fees you will have to pay to UK Siru Mobile casinos online right before confirming the payment.
5. Withdrawals Are a No-Go
It is impossible to withdraw funds from the Siru wallet or transfer funds to your bank account or another wallet.
If you deposit with Siru Mobile, you will have to use a different service to withdraw any winnings you get.
6. There Are Deposit Limits
UK residents have a deposit limit of up to £500 per 30 days.
Important
The company specifies that certain subscription-specific limits may influence Siru Mobile's limits. In the UK, the most common subscription-specific limit is £240.
7. Controlling Your Spending Is Made Easier
As someone who writes about the importance of responsible gambling daily, I was thrilled to learn about what Siru Mobile offers in that regard:
- You cannot increase the deposit limit;
- You can lower the deposit limit;
- You can access your transaction history via MySiru;
- You can block your access to Siru Mobile.
Note
For temporary blocks, you can contact customer service to regain access to your account after at least 3 months have passed since the blocking.
Is Siru Mobile Worth It?
Pros | Cons |
Simple & fast transactions | Requires having a subscription that supports charge to mobile services |
No need to create an account | Does not work abroad |
Pay directly with your phone | Not well-known outside of Finland |
No need to share personal info | Transaction fees |
No credit card needed | Refunds are unlikely |
Can be used together with ecoPayz | Cannot make withdrawals |
Can control your spending | Monthly limit of £500 |
Customer Support: What Happens When You Need Help?
From my own experience, Siru Mobile has a comprehensive customer support system. I contacted them via email and got a response within an hour - the next thing I knew, I was back playing my favorite casino game.
Siru Mobile offers help in various forms that you can choose from on a whim:
- Email: [email protected];
- Contact form: available on the official website;
- Phone number: +44 20 8133 7693;
- Chatbot: available on the official website;
- FAQ: available on the official website.
Freak Tip
I recommend you check the FAQ section out before contacting Customer Support - it can save you valuable time.
Note
The phone numbers that Siru Mobile will call you from are either +46 8 599 24 683 or +44 20 8133 7693.
Remember
A common issue encountered by other users is that their browsers prevent starting a payment. If it happens to you, Siru recommends you check your browser's settings and plug-ins.
As a last resort, you could also simply use a different browser. Personally, I am an Opera GX fan.
Cancelling Payments & Refunds
After a payment goes through, there's no way to cancel it anymore. It's gone.
Basically, if you accidentally make a bigger purchase than you originally wanted to, there's no turning back.
How Fast Are Inquiries Solved?
Moving on, you might also wanna know how fast you get an answer to your inquiries. Well, the company promises that they'll get back to you within a maximum of 24 hours.
What Else Did the Company Come Up With?
I enjoy keeping my antennae up and knowing as much as possible about whatever I research. If that sounds good to you, check this out:
- Siru ID: customer authentication solution;
- Siru SMS: customised SMS solution;
- Siru QR: service providing QR codes;
- Siru Voucher Shop: service that allows you to purchase digital gift cards using your mobile phone subscription.
Example
Some popular brands you can purchase gift cards from via Siru Voucher Shop are: Zalando, Netflix, PlayStation Store, Xbox, Steam, and Google Play.
How Siru Mobile Came to Be
Siru Mobile was founded in 2011 in Helsinki, Finland.
Its founders were tech entrepreneurs who, in their own words: "saw that the current financial system leaves many people behind because it's not easy enough to use or accessible".
The company receives support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It is a fund from the European Union that helps underdeveloped areas in the EU.
Alternative Payment Methods - What Does Freak Recommend?
You can probably tell by now that Siru Mobile is not on my list of favourite payment methods. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate its features and what it brings to the payment services market.
That being said, let me tell you a bit about some UK casino banking payment options that you can use instead.
Payment service | Service type | Details & Features |
Boku | Digital wallet | - No fees;
- No app needed;
- Popular in the UK for online gambling.
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Zimpler | Direct carrier billing & digital wallet | - Charges fees for using a different currency than the one on your linked banked account (if you have one);
- No app needed;
- Roots in Sweden, yet common in the UK for online gambling;
- Built-in budgeting tool allows you to set spending limits;
- Can connect your bank account or credit/debit card to a Zimpler Account and use the service as a Digital Wallet.
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Apple Pay | Digital wallet | - No fees;
- Comes pre-installed on iOS devices;
- Popular in the UK for online gambling;
- Biometric authentication.
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Note
If you don't have an iPhone, worry not. Android users have their own version of Apple Pay: Google Pay.
Author Note
To sum it up, here's my two pennies on the matter:
- Boku and Zimpler are good picks for direct carrier billing payments that have a better reputation in the UK.
- UK Apple Pay casinos are a good pick for mobile payments that have the advantage of extra security measures. If you don't mind sharing your credit card details, and own an iPhone I'd say go for this one instead.
Freak Verdict: Would I Use It?
I get the appeal of Siru Mobile: it's an interesting service that can be convenient. But frankly, if I had to tell someone why they should play in UK Siru Mobile casinos, I'd straight up tell 'em: don't.
I fail to see how this service helps people from underdeveloped countries without access to credit cards, when it taxes all deposits.