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Payoneer offers payment and business solutions for entrepreneurs, freelancers and small business owners. To decide whether Payoneer is the best payment provider for your international transfers, you’ll want to research and compare alternatives. This guide has you covered.

We’ll cover a range of payment services for business and personal customers looking to make international transfers. We’ll also introduce Wise and the Wise multi-currency account as a smart alternative which offers cross border payments all over the world using the mid-market exchange rate. Here’s what’s coming up:

Payoneer Alternatives for Digital Payments

1. Wise
2. PayPal
3. Skrill
4. XE
5. Remitly
6. World First
7. Neteller

Wise

Wise is a specialist in international payments and currency services, working with individual and business customers. You can arrange a fast and cheap one off payment - or get yourself a free online Wise multi-currency account to hold, send and spend money all over the world for less.

Wise international payments and currency conversion always use the real mid-market exchange rate. That’s the one banks get when they buy and sell currencies on global markets - no markups or hidden fees added. You’ll only ever pay a transparent charge per transaction which can work out to be 4x cheaper than using your normal bank. 

With a Wise account you’ll get your own local bank details for major regions including the US, UK, euro area, Australia and New Zealand. Use these details to receive fee free payments in a range of global currencies no matter where in the world you actually live. You can convert your money using the Wise app whenever you want to, send payments at the touch of a button, and spend easily using your linked Wise debit card Mastercard. It couldn’t be easier.

PayPal

PayPal offers a simple way to pay when you shop online, as well as a range of local and international payment services for business and personal customers.

A big selling point for PayPal is the simplicity of making a payment. You’ll only usually need the recipient’s name, email or phone number - which means no messing around with account numbers and online banking. However, both you and your recipient will need to have active PayPal accounts to benefit, and there are fees for some PayPal services.

PayPal’s fees can vary widely depending on what you want to do - which makes it crucial to check up before you proceed to avoid surprises. Sending a payment to a friend in the US, funded through your PayPal balance should be fee free - but if you make the same payment to your sister who lives in Paris and opened her PayPal account there, you’ll pay significant charges. International personal payments charges can ramp up quickly, with a fee of at least 5% plus a fixed charge based on currency, and an extra 4% cost if currency conversion is required.

PayPal’s merchant fees are different to personal charges, so you’ll want to look carefully at the terms and conditions if you’re thinking of opening a PayPal business account, too.

Skrill

Skrill has products and services for personal customers, as well as business owners and entrepreneurs. 

As a personal customer you can use your Skrill account to send and receive payments, including buying and selling crypto currencies securely. You’ll also be able to join the Skrill loyalty program. Skrill business customers can use their account to take online payments and to consolidate payments made through different channels into one simple digital account.

Many of Skrill’s services are fee free. You can deposit and withdraw money, or make local transfers with no additional charge to pay. However, it’s different when you’re sending money overseas. There’s no upfront fee to pay when you transfer money overseas with Skrill, but there is actually a charge which is added onto the exchange rate and into the small print. This means you’ll pay an extra fee of 3.99% added onto the mid-market exchange rate for your currency, pushing up the costs.

XE

XE personal customers can make international payments online to over 220 countries and territories, in any of 139 different currencies. Business solutions are also available including currency transfer in a broad range of currencies and foreign currency risk management solutions.

To learn more about the costs of sending an XE international transfer you’ll need to create an account and get a quote for the payment you want to make. For personal payments there are no upfront transfer fees, but you’ll want to check the exchange rates being used for your chosen currency, to see if there are charges added here. 

It’s important to remember that the exchange rates which appear in the XE informational section are not the transactional rates they’ll apply to the transfer you want to make. Compare the XE money transfer rate you get when you log into your XE account and model your specific payment against the mid-market rate to see if a markup has been added.

Remitly

Payments made through Remitly can only be to friends and family - there are no commercial or business services available. You can open a Remitly account and send money directly to a bank account, for cash collection, or in some cases, for home delivery. This means you can use Remitly to send money to someone who doesn’t have access to a bank account, or who needs a payment as soon as possible. There are different fees depending on the country you’re sending to, the amount you want to send, and how quickly you want your recipient to get the payment.

As with all international transfer services, you’ll want to check the fees which apply to the specific service you need, as well as the exchange rate being proposed. Some payments with Remitly state there is no upfront cost, but this doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no fee at all - check the rate for a markup, to make sure you don’t get a surprise later.

World First

World First allows personal and business clients to send international payments and open an account which is tailor made to your needs as an individual, business owner or ecommerce seller. It’s important to note that eligibility for World First accounts is based on your location. Back in 2019, World First withdrew from the US market, so you may not be able to open an account, depending on where in the world you are.

If you are eligible for a World First account you’ll be able to send money easily online, all over the world. There are no upfront fees for personal clients, but business account customers will pay a charge. Exchange rates used do include a markup - but World First says the markup is smaller than normal banks, which can mean payments are cheaper despite the currency conversion charge.

Neteller

There are some 23 million Neteller accounts worldwide - with customers using the services for both personal and business purposes.

If you plan on using Neteller you’ll want to take a close look at the fee structures as there are a number of costs to consider. 

Uploading money can cost 2.5%, with charges for some withdrawals too. When it comes to making a payment, the charges may vary depending on when you opened your account, and how you’ve used it. For recently opened accounts you’ll usually pay 1.45% for a transfer if you’ve uploaded money to your account already, but the charge can be as high as 4.49%, or include a one time charge of up to USD100 under some circumstances. You’ll also pay a 3.99% charge which is built into the exchange rates used, if your transfer involves currency conversion.

What to remember before signing up with a money transfer company

The sheer rage of international payment options out there can be confusing. But spending some time comparing them can mean you save a lot of money.

Make sure you look closely at the fees you'll need to pay before you select a payment provider. Fees are structured differently by different services, which can make it hard to compare accurately. If you’re applying for a business account, it’s good to know the charges can be different to personal customers. Look at the upfront fees, and also the exchange rates used by different providers, as it’s common to find fees tucked away there, too.

Finally, don’t forget there may be costs to upload and withdraw funds, or administration and dormancy charges if you don’t use your account often. Looking through the terms and conditions carefully will help you find the right account for you - and save you the cost and hassle of unexpected charges.

Look at a broad range of different service types to get a full picture of your options, and don’t forget to compare the low-cost payments available from Wise to see if you can save.