
UK online casinos have started to support Yaspa instant banking. Formerly known as Citizen, Yaspa is UK FCA regulated that provides real-time bank payments to help reduce delays, forgoing the need to enter your card details every time you want to deposit.
What is Yaspa? (The next-gen UK casino payment)
Yaspa is an authorised FCA open banking platform that enables instant Account-to-Account (A2A) payments, bypassing card networks to limit delays.
It was formerly known as Citizen, but rebranded in October 2023. Yaspa allows you to make real-time payments (pay by bank) without the hassle of card declines, long, multi-day withdrawal speeds, and tiresome verification checks.
2017
Founded as Citizen
Launched by James Neville, a former Worldpay CTO, with a focus on combining digital ID checks with open banking.
2019
Granted full FCA regulation
Achieved full UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulation as an open banking payment provider, becoming an Authorised Payment Institution (API).
2023
Yaspa rebrand
Became known as Yaspa in October 2023, further establishing itself as a real-time, instant, and account verification platform.
2024
Awarded Best Innovation in Responsible Gaming
Received the Best Innovation in Responsible Gaming at the 2024 SiGMA Awards.
Award-winning 🏆 : Won the award for Payment Solution of the Year at the SBC Awards 2026.
Yaspa’s industry awards prove how well it has been received within the iGaming industry, also recognising it as a ‘next gen’ payment solution. This is through its combined use of AI and open banking to facilitate real-time payments and account verification.
Expert opinion 🧐 :
Essentially, it solves issues such as delays with payment processors like Visa and Mastercard by directly connecting bank accounts, hence why it’s known as open banking or pay by bank.
Under the hood: How Yaspa actually works
At NewCasinos, we’re always looking at the latest innovations emerging from the online gambling industry. We had a look at the Yaspa website to see what the main things are that you need to know.
Here’s what the folks over at Yaspa are claiming on their website:
- Instant RTP Withdrawals
- AI-Driven Player Intelligence & Protection
- Account-to-Account (A2A) Payments
- Broad Regional Coverage
These things caught our eye because it’s music to any casino player’s ears.
Yaspa claims you can receive instant payouts without the hassle of having to go through intermediaries, while player intelligence and protection eases fears over potential fraud risks and gambling harm.
Capping it all off, the site claims that Yaspa is available across the UK.
However, would these claims stand up to a genuine test rather than just serve as ‘testimonial’ on their site?

We took Yaspa for a test drive: Our hands-on impressions
To confirm Yaspa’s claims, we took it for a spin ourselves to see how it all genuinely works at UK online casinos, ensuring that it all holds up.
So first up, here’s how it actually works:
- You select ‘pay by bank’ from the casino cashier and click ‘deposit’.
- Then you can choose your bank from the list provided and hit ‘confirm’.
- Once this is done, you will be connected to your banking app, where you will need to confirm the transaction, usually by FaceID/TouchID biometrics.
- And Voila! The payment is complete, and you will be transferred back to the casino site.
It’s actually incredibly easy to complete Yaspa payments when depositing at online casinos. There’s no need to enter long card numbers or CVVs.
Regarding withdrawals, Yaspa follows the same process, instantly connecting you with your bank account to facilitate ultra-fast payouts within a matter of minutes, if not seconds. Pretty decent that.
QR code tech 📱: If you are completing a transaction using Yaspa on a desktop version of a casino site, you are even able to scan a QR code on your phone, which then directly takes you to your banking app to confirm the payment.
Here are some other important things we found:
- UX/UI feedback: Everything is pretty easy to complete, with payments made in minutes. It has a mobile-first design, with the steps completed through automatically loaded pages. QR codes and biometric confirmation allow for simple navigation and authorisation. Deposits hit your casino account in seconds.
- Payout velocity test: After hitting withdraw via Yaspa on the BestOdds casino page, it took around three minutes before the funds had landed.
Let’s take you on our journey of using Yaspa to withdrawal from BestOdds:
09:19 AM
Made a direct connection between Yaspa and BestOdds, which then connected with a HSBC bank account using a QR code generated on desktop.
09:30 AM
Submitted a £10 withdrawal request using Yaspa instant banking from BestOdds’ casino cashier.
09:33 AM
Received a notification from the HSBC bank account that the £10 payout had hit the bank after just 3 minutes of triggering the withdrawal.
🛡️ Security check: Since there’s no need to share your card details with the site, there’s zero risk at all of compromised data leaks. Your details are not stored on the server, so nothing can be stolen. Yaspa completes identity checks for payments, not the casino, through AI and its Intelligent Payments software.
Yaspa vs. traditional payment methods
So, how does Yaspa compare to traditional payment methods? Is it actually worth using for online gamblers?
Here’s how it looks in comparison to the options you’re most familiar with:
| Payment method | Speed (Deposits/Withdrawals) | Verification/KYC | Deposit limits and fees | Mobile usability |
| Yaspa | Instant deposits / Instant to real-time withdrawals | Automated using bank-level verification and Intelligent Payments | Zero fees & flexible limits | QR codes & mobile banking / biometric authorisation |
| Debit cards (Visa/Mastercard) | Instant deposits / Minutes – days for withdrawals | Manual document uploads | Zero fees & high limits | Requires long card number, expiry, CVV & 3D secure |
| e-Wallets (Skrill/PayPal) | Instant deposits / Instant – 24 hours for withdrawals | KYC checks for e-wallet and casino | Potential fees & moderate limits | Mobile app / biometric logins |
| Apple Pay | Instant deposits / Instant to a few hours for withdrawals | Biometric checks on devices with standard KYC | Zero fees & moderate limits | One-touch biometric authorisation |
| Paysafecard | Instant deposits / Unavailable for withdrawals | KYC checks needed for large amounts | Fees may apply & low deposit limits | Requires entry of long 16-digit voucher code |
Yaspa vs. other open banking platforms
Yaspa isn’t the only open banking platform you’ll see at UK casino sites. You’ll most likely find names like Trustly and TrueLayer pop up in the cashier.
The table below shows how the three major players compare.

The FPS network in the UK helps facilitate the near-instant bank transfers, like the one used by Yaspa. Its Intelligent Payments drastically helps with account verification, but Trustly and TrueLayer offer their own technology, such as the Trustly risk engine and verification API. Trustly and TrueLayer currently have better UK coverage at online casinos as well, which is what puts them both just ahead of Yaspa right now, especially when considering their high conversion rates.
Why UK casinos are adopting Yaspa (and where to find it)
Yaspa is not yet widely available at UK casinos, but sites like BestOdds, Priced Up and Starsports Bet have started to support it.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that UK casinos are starting to adopt it due to the speed in which it facilitates bank transfers and strong account verification technology.
👍 For casinos, it helps reduce fraud and helps sites to remain compliant with the UKGC. From a player’s perspective, Yaspa is a frictionless way to deposit and withdraw funds extremely quickly due to real-time open banking.
Missy is an Editorial Executive and casino reviewer who thrives on the rapid pace of the online casino industry. She blends a sharp marketing background with a real talent for making complex casino info easy to digest.
Fact-Checked by Eoin McMahon, Head of Content
4 minread