Tag: payoneer

  • Top 5 Methods To Withdraw Money Online in Kenya

    A lot of things have changed in how freelancers transfer their earned income online since the year 2013. Then, if a client paid an independent professional directly via Paypal, or on a freelancing service platform; it was really hard to withdraw the funds directly to your bank account.

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    When bank transfer feature was introduced- it could take up to 7 days for the funds to clear and show on your bank balance. That was it,unless you withdrew the money to Paypal (if you were paid via a freelancing platform) and then spend it on purchasing products online to be shipped to you in your country of residence.

    But now 7 years down the line, in Kenya, freelancers have more ways of withdrawing their earnings-thanks to the fast growing trust on the online marketplaces by various investors.

    In this blogpost, I will explore the history of cash transfers remotely.

    Early Birds in Global Money Transfer Market

    Payoneer Mastercard

    Before Upwork, there was Odesk and Elance. Those were the most preferred freelancing platforms in the year 2010-2013 in Kenya before the two companies merged to form Upwork. During this time, Payoneer had partnered with the two freelancing platforms to process freelancers earnings in any country. As a freelancer, one could apply for a Payoneer Mastercard which was sent to his/her respective country.

    This way, wherever a freelancer withdrew their earnings to their payoneer account, the funds could automatically load to their card. From here the freelancer was able to withdraw them in any ATM outlet with a ‘Mastercard‘ sign. Good news about this way of receiving funds was and is still the fastest and most convenient way to access your money within an hour of withdrawing them from Upwork or a freelancing platform in partnership with Payoneer. Additionally, you can use the card to shop anywhere.

    Skrill

    Skrill came in later in the year 2014 when they partnered with Mpesa to process payments for people living in Kenya. So the idea was, you could withdraw money to your Skrill account from the freelancing site of your choice. Then from your Skrill account send the funds directly to Mpesa.

    It came second after Payoneer because of its speed and convenience. This was little before Skrill customer support became unreliable and this payment method was removed from Upwork.

    I still see Freelancing platforms like Freelancer having this option as one of the withdrawal methods.

    And did I mention that they used to issue Visa cards as well? Yes they did.

    If you are considering a global digital payment processing service, you should consider Skrill.

    Paypal

    Paypal was there from the time I joined the internet marketplace. In any occasion, after everything has failed, the only ‘last man standing’ here is Paypal. The problem I had with Paypal was- I could not access the money in my country Kenya.

    Later, things changed to better when they partnered with Equity bank. To date, that’s the only bank that allows direct money transfers from Paypal. Another way of withdrawing money from paypal is via mobile money transfer to M-pesa account which takes less than 5 Mins to process.

    Direct Money Transfers to your Local Bank (EFT)

    This came much later in the year 2016. At the time, payments could take 5 days to appear in your bank balance. But due to competition and enhanced security measures put in place by banks, it now takes 2 days to process the payments and the conversion rate is very good.

    For any digital service provider making his money online, I fully recommend having EFT as your first option because of the many benefits that comes with it. You are protected from all forms of fraud.

    Moreover, your bank will favor you anytime you need their assistance.

    MPESA Global Mobile Money Transfer

    Mpesa is the fast growing Kenyan Mobile Money Transfer service owned by Safaricom PLC. This way of withdrawing money is only available in some freelancing platforms. Also, they process most payments originating from Kenyan citizens. While their systems are very secure, there is a long list of growing fraudsters prying on unsuspecting customers.

    Most of the kingpins being former Safaricom employees who call users acting as Safaricom customer care.

    And that is a summary of Global Money Transfers services from the eyes of an independent professional living in Kenya.

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    Until next time. Bye bye and take care.

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  • Updated: Payoneer Cards Reinstated After FCA Completed Its Audit

    Freelancers who use Payoneer as their primary method to make and receive payment have a reason to smile again after Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) completed its audit and lifted the freeze on the Payoneer prepaid Mastercards after 5 days in dilemma. 

    What it mean’t to payoneer Mastercard Holders?

    The FCA had communicated that they had taken these measures with the primary objective of protecting the interests and money of consumers who use Wirecard.

    Pending further actions from the FCA, Payoneer users were temporarily unable to withdraw their funds on to their cards, nor receive new payments onto the card.

    What Happened to the Money in  Payoneer Accounts?

    If the Payoneer card limit is $5000, then, users were only able to transfer the funds in excess to their bank accounts. $5000 were be frozen pending FCA further action.

    Getting Paid during the Period

    Any payments that freelancers received from marketplaces that they operate in was not be affected by the freeze. The funds, and any others already on their virtual currency balance, were available for bank withdrawal.

    In Summary

    • Its good to understand that Wire Card’s Former and not the current CEO was arrested for failing to explain the missing $2 billion for it’s customers in Germany.
    • There is a regulatory body in UK called Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which regulates Wire Card.
    • FCA has freezed all the transaction being done by Wire Card to protect the money of their customers.
    • Payoneer has not done any fraud. So No need to worry. Its not only Payoneer who is using Wire Card to process payments. Many other companies who use Wirecard as their payment processor was frozen.
    • Your money is safe, and once the investigation is complete, all the money from Wirecard will come back to your Payoneer Mastercard and you can start using that money thereafter.
    • If you receive any future payment, it will not be affected by the freeze. You can send them to other Payoneer users as payment or can be withdrawn to a bank account.
    • Payoneer might tie up with other card processors and provide you with Mastercards or Visacards from those processors soon. This is because the case in question might take a while to resolve. It has affected billions of dollars in transactions done every day.

    And that is. 

    Let me know what you think of this blogpost in the comments below. 

    Until next time, take care.