Payoneer
Founded in 2005, Payoneer is based in New York City and promises to make international money transfers and cross-border payments easy for businesses, while providing a reliable service for individuals around the world. An enviable collection of blue chip companies and multinationals use Payoneer as their default payment service including Amazon, Google and Airbnb.
A company can pay into a Payoneer bank account in their country and the recipient will be able to withdraw the funds locally using a Payoneer MasterCard or have them wired directly into their bank account.
TransferWise
A peer-to-peer money transfer service set up in 2011, TransferWise was regarded as one of the most exciting tech startups at the time of its launch. With a mission to avoid bank conversion commission rates on international payments, TransferWise’s Estonian founders were frustrated at losing so much money when they had to send money abroad so decided to take matters into their own hands.
The idea to eliminate bank fees from the world of international payments has seen them move over £3bn of their customers’ money since their inception and lauded them with praise for the simplicity of their business model.
Payoneer Features
TransferWise Features
Mastercard available for business customers
Good option for freelancers being paid internationally
Receive payments via debit card
Bank account offered
Not for larger businesses
Takes longer than Transferwise for an account to be opened
Personal accounts cannot add money to the platform and make transfers, they can only receive money paid from another person or company
Make transferring on the go simple, with their new Wise bot available through Facebook Messenger
Offers the ability to carry out batch payments to up to 1000 recipients – useful for regular payments to self-employed contractors or freelancers.
The main website is available in: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
Difficult to compare easily to other providers due to the fees, but does make them transparent and details them all at the start, so there are no surprises
Cannot accept out bound payments from Hong Kong
Customers have voiced concerns about the specific point at which Wise verify your identity as this may not be your first transfer. This could impact your transfer timescales, so best to confirm directly with them if you do have an urgent, large transfer due.
Price Comparison
Payoneer promises low fees with no hidden costs and they are true to their word. There are no fees at all for receiving from other Payoneer customers and just a 2% charge when receiving money into a bank account in a different currency. There is a set charge if the currencies are the same.
Due to the way they facilitate money transfers, TransferWise operate on a case-by-case basis and all details can be found by using the conversion tool on their website. Users of TransferWise can avoid what can be hefty hidden bank charges by using the mid-market rate. The company also displays fees upfront and deducts them before the conversion so that customers know exactly what to expect.
International Presence
The fact that Payoneer can count Google, Upwork, Airbnb, Amazon and Getty Images as either partners or clients shows the kind of global reach – and trust – that they wield. With 14 offices across the world, including in China, the US, Spain and Hong Kong, they are able to handle 150 currencies in over 200 countries. Their global reach has expanded in the last few years with offices opening in the Philippines and Japan.
Using the Borderless account with TransferWise, customers can send money to over 50 countries and manage around 40 different currencies. Their online service spreads their business globally and complements the reach that their offices give them – including in Tallinn, in the home country of their founders.
Ease of Use
Payoneer has become especially popular with freelance workers in developing countries, such as India, where the banking system is perhaps not as robust as in the traditional finance centres. Their global reach gives them a definite advantage in this respect but the annual card fees can put some potential customers off. The fact that only VIP clients can organise outbound payments is a slight negative on what is otherwise an impressive service.
It should perhaps be expected from a tech startup, but the fully automated process at TransferWise is a particular attraction for many of their customers. The low fees are an obvious plus but the friendliness of their customer support team has helped them become one of the market leaders for money transfers – which is remarkable given the history of some of their more well-established competitors.
OFX provides secure and speedy international money transfers to over 300,000 people in 55 currencies at better-than-bank rates.
Average of the top US Banks costs as compiled by our own FXC Intelligence group
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