Payoneer Fees: A Full, Comprehensive Breakdown of the Costs

Reasonable costs with some hidden fees


Payoneer Fees: A Full, Comprehensive Breakdown of the Costs

 

When comparing payment and transfer services, it is vital to understand all the fees fully. As a leading international payment provider, Payoneer fees are a little difficult to assimilate at first glance.

Due to the complexity of this topic, we had hoped to speak with a sales representative from Payoneer, but their chatbot does not handle complex questions. We further discovered that the customer service number is – surprise, surprise – only for registered Payoneer customers.

For this guide, we relied heavily upon initial research compiled in our Payoneer Review, as well as Payoneer’s pricing page. Additionally, we combed through customer forums for answers to less common questions.

Setting up your Payoneer account

Creating a Payoneer Account is free.

When registering for the first time, Payoneer will perform a background and credit check before activating your account. The wait time for account activation varies, but most say it takes about 48-72 hours.

Does Payoneer charge a maintenance fee?

Payoneer charges you both a monthly and annual maintenance fee. Unfortunately, Payoneer is a little less transparent about these maintenance fees than we had hoped.

That said, if you carry a balance of $0, you do not owe a monthly maintenance fee. Payoneer designed its platform for payments. As such, they are less inclined to provide you a virtual bank account.

Transfers: Payoneer account to Payoneer account

When sending and receiving payments from one Payoneer account to another, there are no transfer fees.

However, if you are accepting or sending payments between two different currencies, you will still need to take exchange fees into account.

Currency exchange fees

A Payoneer account allows you to hold your funds in a variety of currencies. For businesses in the United States, you do not pay an exchange fee until you convert funds into USD.

Of course, Payoneer does not require you to convert funds. If you are sending and receiving payments within the same foreign currency, it makes the most sense not to convert.

With Payoneer, you pay a .5% fee for transfers between two different currencies on funds already in your account. It is important to note that this is not the same as exchange fees that occur when receiving or paying non-Payoneer clients using a different currency.

If the foreign payee or payer is a Payoneer account holder, there are no exchange fees applied to the transaction. Otherwise, Payoneer charges a variable rate of “up to 2% above mid-market rate to a recipient’s bank account.”

Cost of sending and receiving payments through Payoneer

Payoneer account to/from external (non-Payoneer) account

You will likely be working with vendors and clients that do not have a Payoneer account. As such, there are fees attached to these transactions.

Within Payoneer, you have the option to absorb the fees yourself or pass them along to the payer/payee.

Credit/debit card

Payoneer charges a 3% fee on all card transactions.

eCheck

Payoneer charges a 1% fee on all e-check transactions.

Bank transfer

The only fees that Payoneer applies to a bank transfer are one of the following:

  • A flat $1.50 if both you and the payer/payee use banks within the United States; or,
  • The exchange fee described above – “up to 2% above mid-market rate to a recipient’s bank account.”

Cost of transferring funds from your Payoneer account to your bank

When you are ready to move funds from your Payoneer account into your bank account, fees work identically to bank transfer fees described above.

That is, you will either pay a flat $1.50 or Payoneer’s exchange fee.

Payoneer fees recap

In a quick review of Payoneer fees, we’ve located three fee categories:

  • Maintenance fees
    • Varying by volume of payments
    • Details unknown except to Payoneer customers
  • Exchange fees
    • “Up to 2% above the mid-market rate to a recipient’s bank account”
    • .5% if exchanging currencies within one’s Payoneer account
  • Payment fees
    • 3% on card transactions
    • 1% on e-check transactions
    • $1.50 on USD bank transfers
    • Exchange fee on foreign bank transfers to/from non-Payoneer payers/payees

As a final consideration, Payoneer notes that these fees can decrease if your sales and payment volume is high. That’s why we recommend Payoneer for serious freelancers, e-commerce and small business owners only.

 


Like it? Share with your friends!