Top 5 International Payroll Alternatives UK

As a small or mid-sized business owner in the UK, your main focus is selling your passion and building and growing your business. Since a lot of small business owners simply lack the necessary time and other resources to dedicate to HR and payroll management, they often use payroll outsourcing services. On the other hand, some businesses use full-service payroll systems.

While these payroll systems come with advanced features, your business may not need them for various reasons, such as cost constraints. While a software solution, such as Paychex, is a good option for your small business, it does not necessarily mean these solutions are the best fit for your kind of business. The good news is that there are many different options in payroll management services beyond Paychex.

Whether you found solutions like QuickBooks Payroll and Gusto lacking, cost-prohibitive or just want to see what other options are out there, we can help.

We will discuss the top five international payroll alternative partners. These solutions are great as they can help you slash payroll costs by offering convenient services, like easy batch payments and quick integration with your accounting software. And some of these payroll solutions even offer multi-currency payments, which is excellent.

Top Five International Payroll Alternatives in the UK

1. Wise Batch Payment

Wise is a well-known fund transfer company that added batch payment support for payroll and other corporate transactions in 2018. With Wise batch payments, you can easily make up to 1,000 payroll and supplier payments all at once. Isn’t that incredible! This will save your business a considerable amount of time and resources on the payroll. And it can be valuable as you don’t have to set up individual payments, which can be a nuisance.

The international payroll solution can be used to pay employees, freelancers and even vendors across borders using a single file with your convenient multi-currency business account. If you run a small business in the UK and have a Starter, Standard or Premium subscription, then you will be able to pay your employees and vendors with Wise.

The company built this fantastic tool for businesses that need to operate international payroll or pay recurring invoices. You can also use it if you are looking to streamline your payment processes.

And if you want a payroll solution that's automated or more customised, you can get in touch with the team directly.

Features and Cost

• Use the payroll tool to manage payroll in 38 different currencies, which makes this international payroll software very convenient
• Your UK business can pay international contractors, vendors and freelancers in USD
• You can easily integrate Wise with your accounting software

The great thing about Wise is that you only have one-off fee to pay upon registering for an account, and you can benefit from a guaranteed real exchange rate on every payment transaction. You just have to pay a reasonable fee for sending international payments. The fee amount will vary depending on the currency that is being converted. It is typically 0.35% to 3%.

Start saving today with Wise

2. OFX

Your UK business can save money by using OFX to pay your international vendors and employees. And OFX's rates are considerably lower compared to those of many high street banks. Also, when you consider repeated payments to multiple workers, these savings can add up quickly. Note that OFX’s Multipay tool is convenient as it lets you pay up to 500 recipients simultaneously, in their currency of choice.¹

This means you save time and cost while improving the operational efficiency of your business. OFX also provides excellent 24/7 customer support, so even when your bank is closed, this international payroll software can help you capitalize on international opportunities.

The process is convenient and secure. You have to sign up and upload your payroll documents along with payment details. The system is simple, and it automatically generates currency conversion rates for each payment. On approval, the payments are sent to your employees.

Features and Cost

• The platform supports payments in up to 55 currencies
• Your UK business can pay international contractors, vendors and freelancers in USD
• Quick integration with accounting software

OFX’s charges are higher than other transfer services in terms of the exchange rate. However, OFX charges a smaller margin compared to most banks. You will not have to pay any transaction fees. The good news is that transfers from the UK don’t incur a fee, which means considerable cost savings for your business. OFX’s exchange rates, on average, are 1.72% of the total sum transferred for amounts up to $1,000, and 0.70% for amounts higher than $100,000.

3. PayPal Payouts

The PayPal integration can be set up for Payouts, which is PayPal’s mass pay option.PayPal Payouts is one of the lowest cost ways for your business to employees on PayPal.

You will get a notification when payments are sent to your employees, and you can also track the status of all payments in PayPal, making this platform very convenient. With this international payroll software, you can easily send money to any group or as many as 5,000 people simultaneously. After creating a PayPal Business account, you can easily set up bulk payments.

Features and Cost

• Pay your employees or manage payroll in 24 different major currencies
• Your UK business can pay international contractors, vendors and freelancers in USD
• The software uses an industry-standard REST API, and you can set up bulk payments in a way that suits your business

The most attractive feature of PayPal Payouts is its straightforward pricing. Note that domestic payments cost 2% per payment. And if you use the API, it is even cheaper (USD 0.25 per US transaction).

4. Skrill

Formerly called MoneyBookers, Skrill is a UK-based fund transfer platform. Skrill is especially popular with contractors and freelancers in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia because of the localized and convenient withdrawal options that the platform offers.

Your business can use Skrill’s mass payment service for sending payments to up to 3,000 employees in a single procedure.

Features and Cost

• Make payments in up to 40 different currencies
• Quick, secure and reliable payments
• The platform’s API interface supports unlimited automated transfers

Skrill is convenient and attractive for small businesses as it has no hidden fees, and also promises you the mid-market rate. You can send payments straight to a bank account without any fee. However, if the recipient does not have a bank account, you will incur fees of 1.45% per transaction.

5. Payoneer

Payoneer is a secure service that provides companies, businesses and corporations, with cross-border payment needs. You can use the platform to transfer funds to a large number of beneficiaries in over 200 countries in more than 150 currencies. The service is very useful for receiving and sending funds internationally.²

Features and Cost

• Supports payments to more than 200 countries
• Your UK business can pay international contractors, vendors and freelancers in USD
• The platform’s cutting-edge APIs make integration with your platforms seamless and quick.

The best thing about Payoneer is that you can send funds to other Payoneer users for free when using your balance. In contrast, if your business makes international payments to non-users, you will incur fees in the range of 1% and 3%.

These are the top 5 international payroll alternatives for your UK business. These payment solutions can be an excellent alternative for your small or medium-sized business and can save you a lot of money, as long as you find a solution that works best for you.