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PokerStars Rolls Out Significant Multi-Currency Changes

Leading online poker room PokerStars heard user feedback and made several changes to their multi-currency features as a result.

In an announcement made on the 2+2 forums, Stars outlined a number of significant alterations to their multi-currency system. The short version: fees are gone (or reduced), conversion is a smoother process and more currencies are supported.

The long version:

Fees – Stars generated a lot of controversy when they announced that they’d essentially be tacking a 1% fee on to all conversions – including every time you sat at a game to play. Stars has now decided to waive that fee, along with the 1% fee on deposits and cashouts for supported currencies (currently US Dollars, Euro, British Pounds or Canadian Dollars); other currencies get a .5% fee applied.

The point of that 1% fee, ostensibly, was to stop currency speculators from using PokerStars as a proxy, fee-free trading service. Stars said they’ll reserve the right to put the 1% fee back on any transactions that appear to be employing Stars as “a foreign-exchange service or bureau de change.”

Bottom line: To calculate your exchange rate when swapping currency at the table or in the cashier, PokerStars will be using the Reuters mid-market rate without any adjustments.

Process – Two nice features for multi-currency users in the new update. First, conversion is now a one-click process (if you’d like it to be). In the Stars client, go to ‘Options’ > ‘Multi-Currency Options…’ and check ‘Convert currencies automatically, without confirmation’, and from that point out, currency conversions performed when you sit down at a table completely in the background – no more popups or clicking.

Second, Stars now has the functionality to allow players to keep their entire accounts in a single currency, rather than maintaining parallel accounts split between currencies. Players can still sit in games of all currencies, and any winnings from said games will be automatically credited to the player’s account in their preferred currency. To employ this feature, go to ‘Options’ > ‘Multi-Currency Options…’ and check ‘Credit Funds in My Preferred Currency When Leaving a Game’.

Supported Currency – Stars now offers currency support for accounts in British Pounds and Canadian Dollars, but has no current plans to offer games in those currencies.

The multi-currency features are all still technically beta, with a formal release slated for late February.

One thing you won’t find at PokerStars – rakeback. Consider rooms that do offer rakeback such as Full Tilt Poker, Cake Poker and Ultimate Bet in addition to your PokerStars account.

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