Global Payouts: Methods and Providers (2024)

With business being so internationally demanding, companies big and small need a global payout solution to keep up.

Let’s explore what you should consider when making international payments, the many methods available, and a few providers you’ll want to check out. You'll also learn about how Wise Business has become a popular choice for global businesses looking for a reliable, cost-effective, and easy to integrate payment option.

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What Are Global Payouts?

Global payouts are a way for businesses to pay employees, contractors, partners, suppliers, and other contributors wherever they are in the world.

Traditionally, this feat was a difficult one, as there were so many hurdles relating to currency conversion, payment methods, transaction logistics, security issues, and regulatory requirements. But when innovations like ecommerce and remote work came about, there became a pressing need to revamp the global payments system to keep up.

Sending global payouts

When sending a payout to a recipient, the sender will set up a payment and choose a suitable payment method for the transaction. They’ll review the details of the recipient’s contact information, initiate a conversion, look at the fees involved, and process the transaction. The recipient will typically receive the money in their local currency.

Receive global payouts

For recipients, they’re the ones receiving the funds from someone in another country. They’ll provide payment details to the sender and be credited in their local currency.

International Payouts - 6 Tips to Consider

Before you send or receive a global payout, it’s not just a case of getting the money from point A to point B. There are several considerations that’ll determine how efficiently and cost-effectively your transaction gets to where it needs to.

1. Speed

How fast your transaction gets to the recipient will depend mainly on the financial institution or platform you’re using and the payment method used. Traditional bank wire transfers can take up to five business days, while international payment services can transfer money as quickly as a few minutes or hours.

2. User Experience

If you regularly make international payouts, you certainly don’t want to be stuck dealing with a hard-to-use platform or a service that gives you grief every time you use it. A good user experience will, first and foremost, come with a user-friendly interface that is intuitive, provides clear instructions, and is communicative about costs and the status of your transactions. There may even be extra features like real-time tracking, integrations with other platforms, and responsive customer service to bolster your peace of mind.

3. Price and Fees

Arguably the number one aspect that makes currency conversions so tedious is the fees. After all, sending money to someone in another country, to an international bank, and in a different currency involves layers upon layers of costs. There are the transaction charges, the processing fees, the exchange rates, and the typical markups that you’ll have to deal with, which is why comparing financial platforms is so important—you don’t want to lose out on money on every transfer and have those costs pile up.

4. Reputation

Since you’re handling money and sensitive information, you can’t just use any old international payout system. The platform needs to be reliable and reputable, with client testimonials and details about their security measures to back it up. This consideration is a lot easier when it comes to banks, as they have decades of proven track records and compliance monitoring. For other institutions or online services, however, you’ll need to do your due diligence.

5. Customer Service

Even if everything runs smoothly on a regular basis with the payout platform you use, there could be times when things go wrong or you need a hand. Without a proper customer service team and ways to contact the provider, trying to resolve issues could be extremely frustrating. The best service providers will offer multiple contact methods, including live chat, a phone number, and an email address—and even better, 24/7 hours.

6. Integrations

Although global transfers _can _exist in a bubble, it’s an advantage when platforms have integration capabilities with other business tools, such as accounting tools, invoicing software, and more, through their own API. That way, you can integrate all your financial data without having to manually enter it or keep switching between multiple platforms.

6 Global Payout Methods

There are a variety of methods for sending international payouts to fit your needs. Maybe you want the convenience of using a digital wallet, or prefer the security and familiarity of paper checks—either way, there are multiple options that can cater to your individual global payment strategy.

1. Wise Business: Your International Account

Wise is built for international payments, where you can send over a transfer to someone anywhere in the world. Their global business account let you hold multiple currencies and easily send money to recipients.

All you have to do is type in how much you want to send and in what currency, choose the recipient’s currency of choice, choose your payment method, and review the details. You’ll get a full breakdown of what you’re paying and will be able to track your transfer in real time.

Need to send to more than one recipient? Wise Business enables batch payments, where you can send money to up to 1,000 recipients at once in a variety of currencies.

Check how much you'll pay with Wise Business

2. Wire Transfers

Wire transfers are considered the most popular method for sending international payouts. In this scenario, funds are directly transferred from one bank to another, so there’s no middleman involved in the process. Because you’re using a bank service, there’s also the perks of heavy regulation and strong encryption protocols. The downside to wire transfers is that they’re often expensive and slow.

3. International ACH

International ACH is a solid alternative to wire transfers, as they’re processed and sent out in batches, which makes them most cost-effective and speedy. They’re favored as a recurring payment method because they can be scheduled and work automatically, but unfortunately, they’re not available at every financial institution.

4. Direct Debit and Bank Transfer

Bank transfers and direct debit are straightforward methods of payment, as they take or deposit money directly in or out of a bank at scheduled intervals. The sender also has more control over these payments, as they have the power to authorize or cancel payments when they need to. Just like wire transfers, you get to enjoy top security but may have to wrestle with high fees and slow delivery.

5. Paper Checks

Paper checks are touted as the old-fashioned way to send a payment, yet they’re still used in various applications, like sending large sums or making monthly rent payments. They’re the only tangible way to send money other than cash and provide the benefit of a paper trail for record-keeping. Of course, they have many downsides compared to digital methods, including long processing and clearing times, exchange rate fluctuations, and more responsibility for the recipient.

6. Credit Card

Using a credit card to send a global payout is extremely convenient thanks to major international networks like Visa and MasterCard. They’re both secure and fast, but often come with high fees due to this nature. Just like a regular credit card payment, money is used from the credit card limit to cover the transaction amount. Along with the instant transaction, there’s the perk of earning rewards and managing these payments in installments later on.

Global Payout Providers: 5 Companies to Know

Thinking about using a global payout solution to streamline your international finances? Here’s a couple to add to your shortlist.

1. Wise Business

If you’re most interested in embracing digital payout methods, Wise is the smartest choice. With a global account, you can seamlessly spend, receive, and hold multiple currencies.

Wise also has the advantage of a pay-as-you-use fee structure, where you’ll only pay fees per transfer, starting at a low fee. Every transfer and conversion uses the mid-market rate—the fairest exchange rate on the market—with no markups, ever. There are also lots of other complementary tools and perks, such as batch payments, invoicing, and an app marketplace.

Looking to send low-cost international business transfers?

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2. Hyperwallet

Hyperwallet is PayPal’s very own payout service that lets businesses send mass payments internationally in 24 currencies.⁷ What’s particularly useful about Hyperwallet is that it offers full stack technology to send rewards, rebates, and commissions to recipients no matter if they have a bank account or not. It caters to businesses of all sizes and types, where large enterprises can take advantage of 9 payout methods with custom-branded experiences.

The downside to Hyperwallet is that there are fees for sending and receiving money alone, including $3 to send to your local bank and $3 – $20 charge to receive a wire transfer. It’s also not exactly transparent with its fee structure, which means users will have to sign up to find out what they’re paying.

3. Stripe

Stripe is a payment processing and financial solution provider that allows businesses to send payouts and accept payments. The service is compatible with global payments and has the ability to connect to users’ financial accounts for payouts, direct debit, and ACH. There’s also the ability to automate sales tax and VAT, and invoicing to create and track payments. Global payments can be made in 135+ currencies, and it holds worldwide regulatory licenses for enhanced security.

Each bank verification comes with a $1.50 charge, while other transactions come with their own fees.⁹

4. Payoneer

Payoneer simplifies global business with a multi-currency account that simplifies cross-border payments. It allows businesses to send money from their Payoneer balance, credit card, ACH bank debit, and by PayPal in the US, whether as an individual transfer or batch payments of over 1,000 at a time. With bank account details in 8 currencies as well, you can get paid and pay in your recipient’s local currency and bypass those hefty conversion fees.¹⁰

If you’re sending money to a non-Payoneer customer, you’ll incur a maximum 3% fee of the transfer amount, as well as a fixed fee in certain scenarios. Receiving payouts come with a fee of 0-3% of the total transaction, and moving funds between Payoneer balances come with a fee of 0.5% of the transfer amount.¹¹ Payoneer could be a little less vague about its fees, but it still operates under a pay-as-you-go system.

5. Tipalti

Tipalti is all about a business’s accounts payable. Often a tricky task to manage, it puts you in the driver’s seat of your payouts through their easy-to-use platform. Businesses can use automation tools to streamline their time-consuming payout tasks, including 26,000 rules to reduce payment errors. Tipalti offers the ability to make payouts to 196 countries in 120 currencies through wire transfer, international ACH, and more.¹²

When you’re ready to make a payment, the system can automatically trigger payments from all sources, whether invoice or the Tipalti API. And that’s regardless of the currency, country, or method. This all-in-one financial solution starts at $129/month, but multi-currency and global payment require businesses to sign up for Premium and Elite plans.¹³

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Sources:

7 - Hyperwallet - Make Payments
9 - Stripe Pricing
10 - Payoneer - Local Receiving Accounts
11 - Payoneer Pricing
12 - Tipalti Global Payments
13 - Tipalti Pricing