Paying your freelancer for his services is an important aspect of the hiring process that often gets overlooked. There are various ways you can do this with a lot of options.

For instance, PayPal only offers their services in certain countries, so if you were thinking of using PayPal to pay your freelancer you need to check if it is available in their country.

Here’s the deal ...

First, speak with your freelancer and ask them what the most convenient way is for them, money transfer, cheque or cash. It will depend on where they are geographically located.

Today, we will take a look at the most popular payment methods for you to explore.

• PayPal has become very popular, it is free for non-commercial use and lets you send and receive money quickly and easily with no fuss. If you are sending money to your freelancer internationally there is a small fee, also there is a fee if you fund it with your credit card, or paying in a different currency. In addition, your freelancer could be faced with a fee when they want to withdraw their money for their PayPal account.

diiferent ways to pay freelancers

• Bank transfer is another option, its safe all you need to do is send it directly from your account to your freelancer’s bank. If you are sending the money internationally you can expect delays and you can expect to pay a fee for this service. It is advisable to let your freelancer know that there might be a delay with this process.

• One of the most popular forms of payment amongst Freelancers is Payoneer. Especially set up for international payments, they cater for a number of services similar to a real bank, they also offer a Payoneer MasterCard that is like a regular credit card. If you have a Payoneer account, sending and receiving money is for free however if you don’t have an account there is a low cost of only 1%.

• Another popular way to send money is with Skrill. Similar to PayPal and Payoneer with the difference that they only charge 1% for sending money which is capped at a max of $10. It could be a profitable way for you to send money if you make a lot of online transactions. It is also good for your freelancer as there are no fees charged to the receiver. They also have a pre-paid MasterCard, which can be used as a debit card at ATMs and shops.

But there’s a catch ...

However, be warned they have a reputation of poor customer service and to set up an account is difficult and time consuming with lots of slow verification and identity checks.

• If you have a small project, paying your freelancer Cash is acceptable, just make sure they give you a valid invoice for tax purposes. Of course, for big projects paying cash is not advisable.

• To transfer money globally, Western Union is another popular service. The upside is that they have convenient physical addresses where you can go and collect your money, you can also do transfers online. There is also the option to send money to a bank account. They do charge a fee starting from $5 capping at $10. Finding the location of your nearest Western Union is easy just look for the familiar yellow-fronted shop windows that are on most high streets.

• Paying your freelancer with a cheque is not ideal for them, it is not a convenient form of payment as they have to physically go to their bank to deposit it. Not only is this inconvenient but it takes time. In addition, using a cheque to pay international freelancers is not possible.

• Look, if you have used a reputable freelance marketplace like Fiverr to recruit your freelancer they take over the responsibility of paying your freelancer. Besides offering thousands of freelance services for your business, there are many benefits for using this service, besides getting the freelancer of your dreams that is qualified and has been vetted, they also offer numerous and easy ways to pay them, such as:

• The most preferred way is using a major credit/debit card, with this option you can set monthly limits and apply all your monthly payments made to Fiverr

• Apple Pay, a Fiverr’s mobile application

• PayPal, which can be conveniently linked to your Fiverr account

• Ideal, which is only available in the Netherlands

Bottom Line?

Knowing beforehand all your payment options is the key to arranging the best and most convenient ways to pay your freelancer.