Payoneer Review 2023: Pros, Cons and How to Open an Account

Payoneer is a financial services company founded in 2005 by Yuval Tal, with its headquarters in New York. It provides various services ranging from online money transfer, providing customers with working capital to digital payments. The company has around 1,200 employees as of 2019 and serves over 4 million customers. Let's proceed further to see how does Payoneer works.

Payoneer has come a long way ever since its inception in 2005, from initial seed funding of $2 million to a valuation of over $1 billion in 2019. In March 2016, the company acquired Armor Payments, an internet escrow company, to address the B2B transactions market.

The firm enhanced its mass payout offering with an automated tax form service addition in August 2016. In addition, it expanded its Capital Advance service for e-commerce internet sellers like Amazon and Walmart in mid-2019 by providing immediate working capital access. Further, in February 2021, it announced its merger with FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp. (FTOCU), and on June 28th,2021, it went public on NASDAQ. 

Global operating companies like Amazon, Google, Airbnb, Rakuten, Walmart, Wish.com, freelance platforms like Fiverr and Upwork have been using Payoneer for mass payouts across the globe. It offers cross-border wire transfers, refillable debit card services, and online payments across 200 countries in more than 150 local currencies.

Let's have a look at some of its pros and cons.

Pros

• It is operating in around 200 countries with 150 local currencies.
• It offers free payments between Payoneer accounts.
• It provides a custom invoices facility and allows for payment requests from individual clients.
• The Payoneer customer support system is robust and includes email, live chat, and phone support.

Cons

• There are high card transaction fees.
• It is not a supported payment method and acts as an obstacle for e-commerce operations.
• It adds a currency conversion charge of 2% for international transactions. It also charges an annual fee for usage of Mastercard.

Payoneer is a legit US company registered as US Money Service Business (MSB). It has been in operation since 2005 and certified at PCI Level 1 Data Security Standard, which implies that they need to uphold their networks and systems with a high-level standard of security. Furthermore, it is registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network(FinCEN) of the US and files Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regularly as a part of compliance to improve its platform and customers' security.

They have implemented physical security and data integrity procedures. They also update their protocols to avoid data loss due to unforeseen incidents. Besides that, implemented virus detection systems and firewalls protect the access points to prevent tampering and hacking. Further, they are also subject to compulsory comprehensive IT systems PCI audit.

The sophisticated anti-hacking techniques and firewalls safeguard the transactions to prevent phishing, theft, and fraud attacks. Further, it also sends business and account changes notifications through email, and any unusual transaction is immediately brought to the customer's notice via email.

Payoneer has been providing a variety of services apart from international payment services. In addition, it has been associated with various businesses to expand its services. 

Global Payment Service

Payoneer helps you receive the local bank transfers from international companies located in the US, EU, UK, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and Australia directly to your Payoneer account. Then, you can transfer the money from it to your country's bank account.

Billing Service / Payment Request 

You can request your client for payment in Payoneer by raising an invoice. Then, you will receive the payments from them directly to your bank account routed via your Payoneer account.

Pay the VAT 

Payoneer offers businesses the ability to pay, for free, even the VAT authorities in the UK and EU using funds in their Payoneer account. All you need to do is send Payoneer all the details, like the amount, VAT number, country, and Payoneer account ID, and they will take care of the payment before the due date.

Store Manager FacilityI

ts Store Manager facility assists in managing payments of multiple stores across multiple marketplaces, thereby helping in global growth.

Payoneer App 

You can download and use the Payoneer app to request payments, withdraw funds, make payments, etc.

Payoneer fees are different for different services as listed below:-

Receiving Payments

• From another Payoneer Customer- The receipt of payments from another customer's Payoneer balance is free.
• Through receiving accounts-  The payment received in receiving accounts in local currencies such as EUR, GBP, and others is nil, whereas, for receipt in USD, the fee is 0-1%.
• Receipts for Payment Requests- The fee for receiving money from clients in Payoneer through credit cards is 3%, whereas the fee charged for payment via US ACH Bank debit is 1%.
• Directly from marketplaces and networks- The fees received from various integrated partners of Payoneer like Fiverr, Upwork, Airbnb, etc., vary from one to another. Hence, you should check the rates with the concerned platform. 

Withdrawal of Funds

• There is a fixed fee for withdrawing to a local bank account in the same currency, which is $1.50, €1.50, £1.50, for the transaction depending on the currency withdrawn.
• The Payoneer bank withdrawal fee to a local bank account in another currency is 2% above the market rate at the time of the transaction. Besides that, other charges may be deducted by the bank or payment provider.

Making Payments

• The fee for paying the Payoneer customers for their services depends upon the payment method. For example, the fee for payment methods such as ACH bank debit and local bank transfer is 1%, whereas payment via credit card is subject to a 3% fee. The fee can be paid by the supplier or can be passed on to the recipient. The recipients of EEA are automatically charged with the fee.

Annual Account Fee

• The Payoneer active account is never charged with a fee, whereas if the account is open for 12 months with no transactions, you need to pay an annual fee of $29.95.

To open or signup for a Payoneer account, follow the below steps:

• Click Register on Payoneer's website and enter the details to describe your identity, such as freelancer, online seller, etc. Click on the drop-down option under "I'm looking for," and then click on Register. Select your business type to enter personal information like name, email, date of birth, and contact details like address and phone number.
• Click on send code and enter the same on verification code.
• Next, fill in the security details by using your email address as the username. Then, enter the password, choose a security question, and answer it.
• Continue by entering the ID details such as ID type, ID number, expiration date, and enter the captcha code below.
• Next, enter your bank account details, check the two boxes, agreeing to the terms & conditions and the pricing and fees, and click submit.
• Then, verify your email with the link sent to your registered mail. 
• Once the account application is approved, login into your Payoneer account, and you will be asked two more security questions as a safety measure.
• Payoneer will then verify your identity and carry credit checks which take up to 2 days.
• Once the account is approved, you can request and send payments. 

You can withdraw funds from Payoneer to the added local bank account in the same currency or another currency. The fee for the former is fixed, whereas, for the latter, it is 2% above the market rate. There is no cash deposit facility available in Payoneer.

You can use Payoneer to send money to others using the following steps:

• Log in to your Payoneer account and click Pay>Make a Payment.
• Enter the email address of the recipient.
• Then, fill in the payment details, such as selecting the Payoneer currency balance/card from which you intend to make the payment, amount, and payment purpose.
• Click Review and edit any relevant details you want to change.
• Check the box to confirm and click Pay Now.

Let's take an example. Suppose you are in France and have a EUR balance in your Payoneer account and intend to transfer USD to someone in the USA. In this case, first, you need to convert your EUR currency to USD currency to make a transfer. A fee of 0.50% will be deducted, and the converted amount will reflect in your USD balance within minutes. After that, you can transfer USD to the USA recipient from your USD balance in your Payoneer account.

Further, a conversion fee of 2% is charged to the person you are sending if he has a Payoneer account for transferring money to their bank account. Otherwise, you pay the conversion fee of 2% if the person you're sending money to doesn't have a Payoneer account. The transfer completion takes 2-5 business days after receipt of confirmation email.

A Payoneer debit card is a physical or virtual card that you can associate with any of your Payoneer's currency balances. The card can be used in stores, at ATMs, or online where Mastercard is accepted.

A new client can only apply for the Payoneer prepaid Mastercard if he is eligible based on the payments received of a minimum of $100 in the last six months, excluding in-network payments and e-wallets payments such as Paypal or Skrill. Thus, an eligible client can apply during the application process or from his online account after completing the application process.

The Payoneer card costs $24.95 per year. A flat rate of 3.5% is charged for all payments not associated with the card's currency.

Payoneer offers email, live chat, and phone support during normal business hours from Monday through Friday. Regardless of the method of contact you choose, Payoneer states on their site that they try to resolve issues in 3 business days. 

Payoneer has marked its way for the global payment service and has expanded across the globe since its inception. It offers free transfers across Payoneer accounts and a facility for raising custom invoices to clients. Besides that, it also offers a Store Manager facility to manage payments of multiple stores. You can check and compare its services and features with its competitors.