How to Use Payoneer: A Guide for Global Businesses + Alternatives

Payoneer¹ is a popular provider for business account and card services. Payoneer focuses on freelancers, people selling online, and small business owners, with ways to pay and get paid in USD and select foreign currencies, easy ways to receive customer card payments, and more.

If you’re new to Payoneer this guide is for you. We’ll cover how to use Payoneer step by step, to send, receive, request and withdraw funds, as well as card use.

We’ll also introduce a couple of Payoneer alternatives, including Wise Business which has a global account to hold, exchange, spend, send and receive foreign currency payments with mid-market exchange rates and low, transparent fees.

What is Payoneer?

Payoneer was launched in 2005, and offers accounts and cards for freelancers, digital businesses and online sellers. Among the array of services and solutions available are ways to pay suppliers and get paid by customers, PSPs and marketplaces, cards for day to day and overseas use, currency conversion and more. Accounts are available in the US and many countries, and Payoneer already serves millions of customers worldwide.

Features

We’ll walk through how to use Payoneer in more detail in just a moment. First, though, a look at some of the main features you could get with Payoneer²:

• Local receiving accounts in major currencies, to get paid by customers
• Options to take credit card and PayPal payments from customers
• Ways to pay contractors, vendors and suppliers
• Currency conversion services
• Payoneer debit card for spending and withdrawals locally and around the world
• Ways to withdraw your balance to your USD business account if you need to
• Working capital solutions

Costs and Fees

Here’s a roundup of some key Payoneer fees - do check the fee schedule carefully for the full details, before signing up.

Service	Payoneer fees3
Open an account	No fee - a 29.95 USD account dormancy fee applies if you don’t use your account for 12 months
Order a card	29.95 USD annual fee for the first card ordered
Spend with your card	No fee to spend select currencies supported by your card Foreign transaction fee up to 3.5% when you don’t hold the right balance
ATM use	3.15 USD for withdrawals 1 USD for balance inquiries
Receive a payment	Free to receive payments in some major currencies using local bank details Up to 1% fee to receive USD Receive card payments and PayPal payments for up to 3.99%
Send a payment	Up to 3% Some currency payments (eg. USD to the US, GBP to the UK) may have flat fees which come down the more you transact
Currency conversion	0.5%
Withdraw to your bank account	Some currency withdrawals (eg. USD to the US, GBP to the UK) may have flat fees which come down the more you transact Up to 3% if currency conversion is required

*Fee information correct at time of research - 18th September 2024

See the costs of sending money with Wise Business

How to use Payoneer

So - if you’re thinking of Payoneer for your business, what’s next? Here we’ll walk through how to set up an account, and start to transact. Let’s dive right in.

Account Requirements and Sign-up

Payoneer services are intended for online sellers, freelancers, SMEs or people working through online marketplaces. Some business types can not be supported, and you’ll need to be 18 or older to get an account.

To sign up simply download the Payoneer app and tap Subscribe. You’ll be walked through the process using on screen prompts, and will need to enter your personal, contact and business information as well as some ID and proof of address.

Exactly what is needed will depend on the type of business you have - including whether and where your business is registered, and the entity type. However, the process is all explained on screen and you can also reach out to the Payoneer support team for advice where needed.

Receive a Payment

There are several ways to receive payments with Payoneer. If you issue invoices to your customers you can get local account details in various currencies from Payoneer and add these to your invoice for your customer to pay that way. Or, you can use Payoneer to take customer card payments, using payment links and plugins for example.

Finally, if you use marketplaces sites, or if you’re a freelancer getting paid through a platform like Fiverr, you can connect Payoneer to your preferred sites to receive payments directly⁴. All you’ll need to do is to link your Payoneer account to the marketplace site or platform you’re using, confirm the currency you’re being paid in, and funds can be deposited to Payoneer.

Receiving limits do apply in some cases - including a 15,000 USD limit for payments made by card or echeck.

Send a Payment

You can use Payoneer to send a payment to someone else who has a Payoneer account, or to a bank account. Payments can only be made for business purposes, and limits may apply which will be displayed in the app when you set up your transfer⁵.

To send a payment to another Payoneer customer you only need their email address. To send to a vendor’s bank account you’ll need to enter their banking details, as well as the amount and currency you’re sending. You can then confirm the payment which will usually arrive in 1 or 2 days.

Pay up to 1000 invoices in one instance

Pay your employees
with Wise Business

Request a Payment

One handy feature from Payoneer is their payment request option⁶. Here all you need to do is select the Get Paid tab in your account, enter the clients email and the amount you’re expecting to receive. Your client is automatically emailed and offered a selection of ways to pay you. Once the transfer is made, the money is deposited right into your Payoneer account for convenience.

Withdraw Funds

Payoneer lets customers receive payments in various currencies, and then withdraw to bank accounts in 190 countries⁷. If you want to make a Payoneer withdrawal to your US bank account you’ll need to link your bank to Payoneer, and then schedule a withdrawal. This is done by simply entering the amount to withdraw and confirming the account you want the funds to be moved to. Money is usually deposited in 1 or 2 days.

Payoneer Cards

Eligible customers can apply for a Payoneer card to spend and make withdrawals. Cards are issued on the Mastercard network, and allow you to spend from your Payoneer balance conveniently. There’s an annual card fee, and some transactions, such as ATM use do have costs associated. However, it's often free to spend a balance you hold in your account - including spending in USD, EUR, GBP and CAD.

Payoneer Mobile App

You can use Payoneer online but the services are also available through the Payoneer app on Apple⁸ and Android⁹ phones. This allows you to manage your account, payments, withdrawals, cards and other transactions, on the go. Payoneer’s app scores pretty well on reviews looking at both Apple and Android phones, with millions of downloads already clocked in. On Google Play, Payoneer gets a 4.3 star rating, while over on Apple, it comes in with 4.5 stars out of 5.

Payoneer Working Capital

Payoneer account holders can apply for working capital to help grow their business¹⁰. Eligible customers could get up to 140% of the monthly revenue of their business, with eligibility judged - in part - through the volume of transactions that flow through your Payoneer account.

There are fixed fees for this service, and fees and repayments are deducted from incoming customer payments as they are deposited to your Payoneer account, so there’s no separate billing step to think about.

Payoneer Checkout

If you’re an online seller, you can benefit from Payoneer’s checkout¹¹ services to receive customer payments in 120+ currencies, through a selection of payment methods. You’ll be able to use plugins or dedicated payment pages which can be customized to your brand for a seamless checkout experience. Fees apply for this service, with support offered in multiple languages, 24/7,

Alternatives to Payoneer

Payoneer isn’t the only option for your business. Depending on the features that matter to you, you may also want to compare some alternatives like Wise or PayPal.

Wise Business

Wise Business has business accounts which can hold and exchange multiple global currencies, and which offer local and SWIFT account details to receive payments in multiple currencies from customers, PSPs and marketplace sites.

You can use Wise to hold your balance in the currency you receive, or exchange to the currency you need with the mid-market exchange rate with low fees ¹². Other services include low cost, fast cross-border payments, with batch payments to allow you to pay up to 1,000 recipients at a time.

You can also get debit and expense cards for spending and withdrawals, but card payment processing is not an option, making this a good Payoneer alternative for businesses which value international features but which are more likely to receive payments by bank or SWIFT transfer.

Pay up to 1000 invoices in one instance

Pay your employees
with Wise Business

PayPal Business

PayPal US¹³ offers merchant accounts which can accept customer card and bank payments in 25 or so currencies. Because PayPal is well known and has a huge user base, it’s a very popular choice, especially for ecommerce businesses. However, fees can be on the high side, particularly for international transactions¹⁴.

Fees can be higher for international customer payments, where a 1.5% surcharge applies on top of any domestic fee. Currency conversion also has a fee of 3% or 4% depending on the specific transaction - making PayPal a good Payoneer alternative for businesses trading online mainly in the US.

Payoneer FAQ

How to cancel or close a Payoneer account?

You can close your Payoneer account by submitting an account close form to Payoneer customer services. Once your account is closed any funds in the account are lost, and the account can not be reopened. You can not open another Payoneer account with the same email address used if you decide to sign up again in future.

Can I withdraw funds from Payoneer to PayPal?

You can not usually directly withdraw a balance from Payoneer to PayPal. However, you can withdraw your money from Payoneer to your bank, and then use your balance to top up your PayPal account if you’d like to.

Can I withdraw funds from Payoneer to Wise Business?

You may be able to withdraw funds from Payoneer to Wise if you connect your local account details from Wise to your Payoneer account. You’ll then be able to withdraw in the currency of the account details, including USD and several other currencies, to manage your money in your Wise account.

How do I manage currencies in Payoneer?

Payoneer lets you receive and hold foreign currency payments - you can also switch between currencies easily in your account if you would like to. Simply select the currency conversion option to initiate this, and you’ll be able to see the applicable exchange rate and fee.

Payoneer is a popular provider for businesses in the US which trade online and sell through marketplaces or similar platforms. Use this guide to see if it may fit your own needs - and compare your options with alternatives like Wise Business so you know you’ve got the very best solution out there.

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Sources:

1. Payoneer
2. Payoneer accounts
3. Payoneer pricing
4. Payoneer - receive marketplace payments
5. Payoneer help - making payments
6. Payoneer - request
7. Payoneer - withdraw
8. Payoneer App Store
9. Payoneer Google Play
10. Payoneer working capital
11. Payoneer checkout
12. Pricing/fees: Please seeTerms of Use for your region or visit WiseFees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information
13. PayPal US
14. PayPal merchant fees