Payoneer or Wise (Transferwise)? The top neobanks/money remittance platforms for digital nomads in Africa

Accepting payment globally is always something that can pose a great challenge for online businesses, freelancers, affiliate marketers, and eCommerce sites. Although there are several payment service providers out there, however, Wise and Payoneer are seen as the giants for international money transfers. When it comes to choosing which one to integrate into your business...

Accepting payment globally is always something that can pose a great challenge for online businesses, freelancers, affiliate marketers, and eCommerce sites. Although there are several payment service providers out there, however, Wise and Payoneer are seen as the giants for international money transfers.

When it comes to choosing which one to integrate into your business for receiving payments, lots of people tend to be stuck between Payoneer or Wise. In this article, you will get to know the core differences between the two, and know which best suits your business.

 

Wise and Payoneer may look similar to you at first, however, once you start using them, it becomes obvious that they are different and are incomparable in their functionalities. Even though Payoneer or Wise can be used to both send and receive money, they are both unique in terms of their concept and core services. To help you better understand their concept and how they operate, we are going to explore the key features of each platform and how they can serve your global payment needs.

 

Payoneer was established in 2005. Their aim was to provide a convenient and more reliable way to make and receive payment with ease globally. With their consistency, they were able to build a quality brand which has helped them create a long-standing reputation in the online business world and they are now seeing as the go-to place for those looking for payment service providers for, freelancing, affiliate marketing, eCommerce, peer to peer money transfer, etc. with their high level of security and reliability, they have acquired lots of high-profile customers, including Airbnb, eBay, and Amazon and also have a one-click plugin you can simply integrate on your WordPress site.

 

Key Features of Payoneer:

Setup Individual or Business Account

Receive funds in six different currencies including USD, EUR, GBP

Send payment requests to individuals and customers

Free transfers from Payoneer to Payoneer accounts

Over 150 currencies are supported

Use Payoneer Mastercard to Withdraw and Make Payment

Withdraw directly to your local bank account

 

Wise started as TransferWise before changing its name to wise. Wise is an online banking system that allows you to send, receive and send money internationally. According to their website, it was launched in 2011 with its primary focus on helping customers lower the commission rates on global transactions like cards for travelers and digital business owners.

With Wise, you can easily set up local bank accounts in 10 currencies. These currencies include USD, GBP, EUR, AUD. also, you can send and receive money to your respective bank accounts and make payments with ease.

 

Key Features of Wise:

Create an Individual or business account

Hold and convert money in 56 currencies

Send money to over 70 countries

Set up recurring direct debits in GBP and EUR

Moderate transaction fees.

Wise debit card available

 

Payoneer or Wise in Terms of Business

Payoneer is more convenient and robust when you are using it for business, freelancer, affiliate marketing, and seller payments purposes. To make things more interesting, Payoneer has integrated several other features, such as direct transfer to your local bank accounts, which helps increase access to individual clients.

Although you can use Payoneer to send money to another individual’s bank account. However, you will have to provide more details about your business and the purpose of the transaction.

 

Wise on the other hand was created for the purpose of individuals transactions but later introduced business accounts. This is why Peer-to-peer transfers are much more straightforward and convenient on Wise. Another interesting thing about Wise is that you can easily top-up your Wise balance using your local bank account and then transfer the money to others without any hassle.

Read Also:.The Top 5 Challenges of Running an eCommerce Business With tips on How to Surmount Them

In terms of business solutions, here are the features offered on each platform.

 

Payoneer Business Account

Payoneer offers a global business payment platform with several payment options for about 200 countries.

No registration fee is required.

They have 14 established offices globally with multi-lingual support options.

Simple payment initiation, administration, and reconciliation

It is ideal for both SMEs and freelancers who are looking to receive and make payments globally.

Send money to bank accounts, Mastercard, and electronic wallets.

Easily pay taxes directly from Payoneer.

Scalable, allowing mass payments and ERP integration

Full automation options, allowing payment initiation, administration, and reconciliation

 

Wise Business Account

A direct competitor to MoneyGram and Western Union

Requires 16 GBP registration fee

Provides a travel card that can be used globally with automatic currency exchange

Can be used to set up person to person payments in over 70 countries

Move money between 55+ countries within seconds

Set up direct debits for recurring payments

 

When it comes down to business, Payoneer has a more global reach compared to Wise. It has established 14 offices in different locations across the globe and has partnered with highly respected marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay, and Airbnb.

 

Payoneer Or Wise in Terms of Ease of Use, Accessibility & Security:

 

Payoneer claims to have about 320 customer service representatives that offer quality customer support to its clients in 70 languages through live chat, email, and telephone. However, their response to live chat may be slow in most cases. Transfers can be done in over 150 currencies from different parts of the world making it easy for you to have access to any currency you are looking for. In addition to English, they have also translated their website into 8 other languages for easy access.

They have made it easy for you to access the platform through an app that allows you to manage currencies, request payments, withdraw and make payments to bank accounts and Payoneer accounts.  Although Payoneer has a very user-friendly mobile interface, however, to complete some actions, you might be redirected to the website.

 

They also provide a secured platform for all their users and regularly asks users to update their passwords periodically. Sooner or later, they will introduce 3D Secure to its prepaid cards to ensure that only authorized users can transact on the platform. This security improvement feature is a welcome measure against cybercrime.

Payoneer is licensed and regulated in the EU, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, and India. It about holds 51 territory/state licenses in the US

With Payoneer, your funds are segregated and stored at top-tier banks, such as Bank of America, Barclays, and the Deutsche Bank.

The company also goes through regular audits and is backed by top investors.

 

On the other hand, Wise has a great customer support platform that is accessible through live chat, email, and phone. The website supports up to 12 languages which include English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Italian, French.

Wise also makes their platform easy to access by providing an app that makes transfers on the go easy and very convenient. You can easily check exchange rates and view historical transactions right from the mobile app. Simply put, you can access all functionalities and make transfers, without having to leave the app.

Wise uses 2-Factor authentication to secure customer transfers, this authentication system sends a code to your linked phone number to verify transactions before proceeding.

Wise is regulated in Australia, EEA, Canada, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, UAE, US, and the UK.

It also keeps your money stored in well-established financial institutions, such as Barclays and JP Morgan Chase, depending on your account address.

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Payoneer or Wise in Terms of Transaction Fees and Charges

No registration fee is required with Payoneer

No fee on Payoneer to Payoneer transactions

Charges Up to 3% to receive payments made through credit cards, and 1% when done through bank accounts.

Payoneer adds an additional 3.5% currency conversion fee to Mastercard transactions

Receiving payment in EUR and GBP is free but has a 1% charge for USD payments.

 

Wise account comes with a 16 GBP registration fee.

A nominal percentage of the fee transferred is charged for both transactions and withdrawals

They have one of the best exchange rates currently available in the market

No additional fee for making deposits or maintenance of accounts

No extra charge for receiving payments.

 

Payoneer or Wise in Terms of Debit Card for Business:

Payoneer adds charges for every ATM transaction and with currency conversions applied.

You are also charged an annual card maintenance fee.

Withdrawals and spending limits are applied and vary between countries.

Payoneer provides digital purchasing Mastercard giving immediate access to funds earned, access to multiple cards, and virtual card access

 

Wise offers 2 free ATM withdrawals of up to 200 GBP (or equivalent) per month.

Withdrawal limits and any other fee varies based on your location.

Wise debit cards are ideal for personal travel and one-person businesses.

Less competitive for volume transactions

 

To wrap things up, you will notice that both platforms make it easy for you to handle all your online transactions securely and without issues. Even though there are some features that set them apart, they still have something in common. As a result of this, the best solution for you really depends on your individual needs. If you want to have options, you can still make use of both as there are no restrictions or what so ever.

 

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