Is Payoneer Safe for UK Businesses?

Payoneer® was launched in 2005 in New York City, and has since grown to serve millions of customers, through 2,000+ employees and a network of 24 global offices¹. Payoneer UK² offers online account services to freelancers, entrepreneurs and business owners, with a focus on digital industries such as content creation, ecommerce, digital marketing and travel platforms.

If you’re thinking about using Payoneer for your UK business, the most important question is probably: is Payoneer safe? This guide covers all you need to know before you set up your Payoneer account - plus, we’ll also touch on Wise Business as an alternative provider you can consider and compare.

If you're a business sending more than 100,000 GBP (or equivalent) monthly across different currencies, get in touch with the Wise Business sales team to discuss the best solutions for your needs.

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What is Payoneer and how does it work?

Before we look at Payoneer safety, let’s start with a few basics. Since launching 18 years ago, Payoneer has grown steadily, adding extra functionality to its accounts, and expanding into new areas such as digital purchasing cards. Today, Payoneer is NASDAQ listed under the ticker PAYO.

Payoneer accounts are set up online or through the Payoneer app, and managed digitally. With a Payoneer account, customers can get local account details for a selection of 9 major currencies, to get paid more easily by customers. There’s also a billing system for convenience. Once you hold a balance in a supported currency you can convert to GBP to withdraw, use the funds to send payments to employees, suppliers or contractors, or even to pay your VAT.

Trustpilot has aggregated reviews from over 50,000 Payoneer customers, and gives an overall 4.4 out of 5 star score - a Great rating³. Over 75% of Payoneer customers gave 5 star reviews, which goes to show they’ve got a pretty large and loyal customer base.

Is Payoneer FCA protected?

The FCA is the Financial Conduct Authority - the UK body responsible for many aspects of licensing and regulating financial service businesses in the UK.

Payoneer UK is licensed as an electronic money institution (EMI) by the FCA⁴, which means they must comply with UK standards and regulations to keep customers and their money safe. Previously and prior to Brexit, Payoneer operated in the UK through the EEA passporting system, via their licence held in Ireland⁵.

Is Payoneer regulated in other countries?

So is Payoneer safe to use when sending and receiving payments internationally? The good news is that Payoneer operates in different countries and is regulated by each country's relevant institution. As well as having an EEA licence through the Central Bank of Ireland, Payoneer is regulated as follows⁵:

• United States: Registered as a Money Services Business (MSB) and prepaid access provider with FinCEN.Licensed Money Transmitter in 51 states and territories.
• Hong Kong: Licensed Money Service Operator with the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department.
• Japan: Registered Fund Transfer Service Provider with the Kanto Finance Bureau (KFB).
• Australia: Licensed by ASIC to deal in non-cash payment products.
• India: Registered with the Reserve Bank of India as an Online Payment Gateway Service Provider (OPGSP).

Payoneer's safety

As a licensed and regulated financial service provider, Payoneer has to take a broad range of steps to keep customers, their accounts, money and data safe. One key requirement is that all customer money is held separately to Payoneer’s own operating capital, in liquid assets, at low risk financial institutions.

That means that when you deposit funds in a Payoneer account, Payoneer will hold the money separately to its own funds, at a top tier bank like Barclays or RBS in the UK⁵, so you can always get it back when you need it, and so it can’t be used for the day to day running of the Payoneer business.

Aside from this, Payoneer also has regular audits, full verification processes to open and use accounts, and automatic and manual anti-fraud measures. As you’d expect from a digitally native business, there are also many online security measures, including 2 factor authentication, CAPTCHA requests, adaptive authentication requirements, and risk modelling which helps to pick out suspicious transactions or account logins.

Tips to keep your Payoneer account safe

Financial service providers like Payoneer do a lot in the background to keep customer accounts safe. However, customers still need to take basic common sense precautions to make sure they aren’t victims of fraud. Here are a few tips to keep safe when using Payoneer:

• Never share your Payoneer account information or log in details with anyone
• Set up two-factor authentication by logging into your account and going to Settings and then Security Settings, and following the prompts⁶
• Look out for emails from Payoneer - if any suspicious activity is spotted in your account, you’ll get an official email notification with instructions on what action to take
• Regularly monitor account activity and report any suspicious transactions

Wise Business - A safe alternative to Payoneer in the UK

Before you set up a Payoneer account for your company check out Wise Business as an alternative which could let you tap into more global markets, with low fees⁷ and the mid-market exchange rate.

Payoneer allows full currency management in around 7 global currencies, while a Wise Business account can hold, exchange, send and spend 40+ currencies.

You’ll get local bank details for 9 currencies to receive easy transfers to your account, with optional extras like handy linked debit and expense cards, low cost payments to 80+ countries, multi-user access, cloud accounting integrations, batch payments and a powerful API to automate workflow.

All in all that could mean you save both time and money as you connect with customers globally. With Wise Business multi-currency account you can also earn a return on the money you hold.

Like Payoneer, Wise is a safe provider, regulated in the UK, and covered by a range of other authorities around the world. Learn more about how Wise keeps customers and their money safe here.

Picking a trusted, convenient and low cost way to manage your business finances is crucial. Accounts which are tricky to use waste time - and options with excessive or unexpected fees eat away at your profits. Using a digital provider like Payoneer or Wise Business makes a lot of sense, as you’ll often find lower fees and more flexibility compared to many banks. And while services like Payoneer and Wise aren’t banks themselves, they’re regulated just like your normal bank is - making them safe for the services they offer.

Use this guide to check out the ways Payoneer keeps customers safe, and don’t forget to compare your options, including Wise Business, before you get started.

Sources used in this article:

Sources last checked June 21, 2023