Payoneer Review

Company Information

Payoneer offers a all-in-one payment solution that allows freelancers, online sellers and small/medium businesses to receive funds from customers from all over the world at low cost, fast and in a reliable manner. Payoneer is a well-established firm, regulated by US, UK and EU financial authorities. They offer practical international & local payment solutions, also in countries that often present payment or withdrawal issues.

Payoneer offers several payment solutions such as virtual collection accounts either in USD, EUR, JPY or GBP (which is equivalent of having a local bank account), in-network transfers which are 100% free of charge (Payoneer to Payoneer account), direct payments from customers via Credit Card or eCheck, and also via marketplaces & networks such as Wish, Fiverr, UpWork, Airbnb, Amazon or any of the 3,500+ companies who pay using Payoneer services. Mostly using Payoneer will result in much lower fees compared to existing main alternatives like PayPal or Western Union.

Freelancers, online sellers, affiliate marketers, small or medium businesses can easily receive funds into their Payoneer account from multiple other payments platforms and easily withdraw those funds directly from their local bank account or using Payoneer Debit Card (MasterCard).

Some Background

Founded in 2005 and based in New York, Payoneer is venture-backed, profitable and ranked in the top 100 of Inc. 5000’s Financial Services companies. Payoneer has quickly grown into an industry leader in regards to international money transfers. Its services cover the needs of just about every business entity aiming to send or to receive funds in over 200 countries worldwide. The solutions offered by Payoneer are all compliant, secure, regulated, cost-effective and simple.

Their range of payment solutions cover virtual collection accounts in main currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP, JPY and more, MasterCard prepaid cards, direct payment through over 3500 marketplaces & networks, credit card or eCheck payment to local bank accounts and local currency.

How Payoneer Works

So for example you are an online seller based in India, or maybe a web designer working out of Pakistan, and you are working for companies and online operations based in the US or in Europe or anywhere else in the world, who may prefer to pay you through credit card directly to your local bank account, or maybe even through a Payoneer account.

Payoneer offers a number of solutions which will make it extremely easy for you to receive your funds and for your customer to send you your earnings.

Ways of receiving funds with Payoneer

• Get paid via Payoneer to Payoneer Account – Best way is if your business partner/client can transfer money directly into your Payoneer account, through a Payoneer-to-Payoneer transfer, which is 100% free of fees. The Payoneer-to-Payoneer method is the most cost-effective.There are sender limits and receiver limits. Sender limit: 5K daily, 25K monthly. Receiver limit: 10K daily, 50K monthly. Minimum payment is $50 (please note that VIP accounts get different limits mostly customized to the specific account or the transfer amount)

• Get directly paid to your local bank account- Payoneer offers a ‘Billing Service’ option where you can simply ‘Request a Payment’ from your overseas customers. You’ll need to open a Payoneer account and click on “Request a Payment”. Your client then will receive a notification regarding the payment request. The Payoneer Billing Service makes it easy both for you to send a payment request and for your customers to pay you directly and securely via credit card (3% fee) or eCheck (USD – 1% fee).

• Get paid via Virtual Collection Accounts – Payoneer offers the ‘Global Payment Service’ option. Payoneer users can open virtual local accounts in currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP, JPY and more. This means that as an online seller, a freelancer or a SMB, you’ll have for example a virtual USD account which is the equivalent of having your own local bank account in the USA, which of course will result in a serious cost reduction on transfer fees. This service provides all the details and “front” of a local bank account to the Payoneer user. The freelancer or affiliate marketer can then provide these bank account details to the company/entity making the payment. From the perspective of the side making the payment, it is indeed the perfect equivalent of a local bank deposit/transfer. In the US, this happens as an ACH, while in a European virtual local account, it happens through SEPA. The money lands directly in the recipient’s Payoneer account. Payments made this way, will be 100% free of fees, while US payment service (ACH) incur a fee of 1%.
   
• Get paid via major marketplaces & networks – Many freelancers and online businesses work through marketplaces & networks such as Wish, Fiverr, UpWork, Airbnb, Amazon and more. Over 3,500+ companies on those platforms allow direct payment through Payoneer.

• Get paid through other payment platforms – There are a number of other ways such as eWallets like Skrill, Neteller and PayPal, to send money to your Payoneer account through Payoneer’s Global Payment Service. If you want to withdraw PayPal funds through your Payoneer MasterCard, you can do that too, but you have to link your US Payment Service bank account (provided by Payoneer’s Global Payment Service) to your PayPal account. PayPal will initiate a verification procedure by making two small transfers. Skrill to Payoneer transfers work in a similar manner. The bank account details of the Global Payment Service-provided US (or EU) Payment Service bank, have to be added at Skrill. Once that’s done, Skrill money can be withdrawn to the said account (and through it, to your Payoneer account).

Bottom line, your Payoneer account acts as a sort of nerve center where all the other payment solutions your clients may prefer, are linked. You will be able to manage a PayPal account, a Skrill account, as well as an EU and a US Payment Service bank account, from your Payoneer account and eventually withdraw your funds through your Payoneer debit card or through your local bank account in local currency (please note that while Payoneer does act like a full-fledged bank account, the Global Payment Service’s virtual local account cannot be charged by the user).

Ways to use or withdraw your Payoneer money

Once the money lands in your Payoneer account, you can:

• Use Payoneer prepaid MasterCard anywhere online (MasterCard is worldwide accepted) or withdraw from any ATM (in both case additional local fees might apply, depending on location, bank etc.).

• Withdraw it to from your virtual account to your own local bank account (with a different currency), in which case Payoneer will charge you with a fee of up to 2% above the mid-market exchange rate.

• Withdraw it to your own local bank account (in same currency), in which case Payoneer will charge you respectively: USD – $1.50, EUR – €1.50, GBP- £1.50.
  Payoneer apparently have several and different agreements with local banks worldwide that allow them to lower the costs and increase the efficiency of the transfer to their users’ accounts. In some countries as India, Payoneer users don’t have access to the prepaid card yet, due to local regulations.

Why Use Payoneer

It’s convenient. Small or medium online businesses, freelancers, affiliate marketers or online sellers benefit from the use of a single, unified interface for the management of their financial moves, regardless of location, local currency, currency of payment, etc. Suppose you are a web developer from Pakistan and you work for three EU-based companies and a US one. One of the EU companies has a Payoneer account set up, another pays through local bank transfer only, while the third one will only pay you through PayPal. The US company pays exclusively through Credit Card.  Using Payoneer’s Global Payment Service, you’ll be able to receive and withdraw all your funds from one place: your Payoneer account.

It’s simple. Payoneer allows its users to send out payment requests through their billing service, effectively fulfilling the needs of those making the payments to be invoiced for the services they’re paying for. For instance, a freelancer from India will be able to receive funds from the US, the EU, from various platforms like PayPal and Skrill, directly into his local bank account.

It’s regulated. Payoneer is registered as a Money Services Business (MSB) and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in UK and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), in USA. In addition, Payoneer obtained the proper State-level Money Transmitter licensing, in every State where it is required, and is obtaining additional escrow licensing in California as required. Payoneer EU is a regulated Electronic Money Institution that has passported its license across the entire EU and is a Principal member with MasterCard® EU. As a U.S. entity, Payoneer complies with OFAC, and the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Payoneer is also an Online Payment Gateway Service Provider in India, has a Money Service Operator License in Hong Kong, and is a Funds Transfer Provider In Japan. Payoneer is PCI DSS  Level 1 compliant.

Customer support

The Payoneer customer support can be reached through email, live chat, and phone (12/5). The service also features a useful FAQ section as well as community forums and a special service for the reporting of lost or stolen cards.

Bottom Line

Overall we found that as an online payment platform, Payoneer are one of the best and give an all-in-one payment gateway for their users. Their low fees and fully scalable and customizable payment solutions make them genuinely worthy for freelancers and affiliate marketers worldwide. With Payoneer, you can request, receive and withdraw funds quickly and hassle free.