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Agency VAs Payment Methods

Let’s explore the best payment methods used by Virtual Latinos to pay all VAs who work as part of our agency program.

Introduction
With the goal of finding the most affordable, and most trustworthy company to send money to Latin America, our staff researched the various payment companies we use to pay our virtual assistants, along with the various fees associated with sending money to our remote workers in Mexico, South, and Central America. This article explains the results of our findings, along with our choice of companies we’ll be using to pay our VAs as of June 2020 (revised January 4, 2022).

We can tell you that we crunched some numbers to compare current fees vs new fees using the proposed payment methods, and we realized that 85% of VAs will actually pay lower transfer fees than they currently do. The rest will pay the same fees, or slightly higher. We learned that on average, Xoom charges about 3% transfer fee. Via Payoneer, most people will pay 2% to 2.75%, which is lower for most payments.

Companies We Evaluated
These are the companies we considered during our research for the best platforms to send money to our VAs. We focused on our goal of being able to pay our VAs for the long-term, without constantly being limited by the restrictions of the sending limits.


 

VL Agency New Default Payment Methods
The following are the payment companies that the VL Agency will use to pay our VAs as of June 2022, unless otherwise told by our company to an individual VA. The company selected was chosen by focusing on the lowest transfer rates, in order for our VAs to receive the highest amount of money in their countries.

The company used for payments will depend on the country of residence of each VA

  • Payoneer: Most flexible for payments to most countries around the world, chosen by the biggest VA/freelance platforms
    • VAs from the following countries will be paid via Payoneer: Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay. NOTE: No need to create a Payoneer account online, we’ll send you an email invitation asking you to join Payoneer. If you already have an account, that’s ok, just let us know.
    • If you’re from a country not listed above and would like to use Payoneer as well, we’d be happy to make it happen as well. Please inform your customer success agent by email.
    • For Payoneer fees see below
  • PayPal: Easiest to receive money, but the highest fees
    • Any VA that resides in a country where PayPal can be used to receive money can still choose and request to get paid via PayPal (no limits)
  • Veem.com: Newest platform we’re offering, with flexibility and payment options (Digital wallet or bank deposit)
    • VAs from the following countries can choose this payment method: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Spain, and Uruguay.
  • UpHold: Cryptocurrency Platform, low or no fees, but high risk.
    • It’s very high risk, but an alternative for those VAs interested in getting paid in a cryptocurrency.
  • Wise: (No longer offered, as of Dec 15, 2021)

 

Special Requests for Different Payment Methods
We try to limit any special requests to be paid using a different payment method from the one mentioned above. Yet, if you’d like to use a different payment method, we’re still open to your feedback as long as the new payment method meets some of the following conditions:

  • Any new payment method or platform you’d like us to consider must NOT have any type of limit for sending money from the US to Latin America. Most payment companies that process “Remittances”, such as Xoom, Remitly, WorldRemit, Uniteller, etc won’t be considered as they’re required by US laws to have such limits. Now that VL has paid via these methods for over a year, and see how these limits hinder our company’s growth, we, unfortunately, can’t consider them at this time.
  • It must be a payment method that accepts businesses, like ours, to send payments outside the US, rather than only the ability to send payments from individual persons.

 


 

Payoneer Process
When using Payoneer, money can be sent to virtually any country in the world. They offer “flat pricing” which means they charge a flat percentage fee on all payments.

How it works: Payoneer works like PayPal, where the money is sent to your Payoneer account (rather than directly to your bank account), and it can then be withdrawn/deposited out of your Payoneer account and into your bank.

Additionally, Payoneer offers an option to ship you a MasterCard debit card (not available in all countries), which you can then use to pay for things using the money in your Payoneer account balance – without the need to ever withdraw/deposit your money into your bank account.

Payoneer fees:

  • Typical Fees: Their fees are normally 1% to send money to your Payoneer account plus another 2-2.75% when you withdraw/deposit money into your bank account, or when you use the debit card to make purchases. Therefore total fees adding the 1% + 2-2.75% total 3% to 3.75%. See Payoneer complete pricing and fees details
  • Special Discount: Virtual Latinos has a special partnership with Payoneer where they are NOT charging us the 1% fee to send our VAs money to their Payoneer accounts. Thus, the total fees are only the 2-2.75% fee to withdraw/deposit money into the bank or when using the debit card. NOTE: This discount is only valid if the VA creates a new Payoneer account from a special invite link our company will send to each VA. 
  • The Currency of your Payoneer Balance: All the money that’s sent to your Payoneer account is always held in US dollars, it’s only converted into your local currency if you withdraw the money to the bank, or use the debit card.
  • Tip for minimizing fees:  You could simply buy things that are sold in USD, using your debit card. This way you avoid any potential exchange conversion fees.

Special Virtual Latinos Discounted Rates
Based on info provided by a Payoneer Customer Success Manager plus special VL partnership

Country Fee to Withdrawal/Deposit Money to your Bank Average Fee to use Debit Card 
Argentina 2% of money sent 2.75%
Belize $15 USD flat-fee* 2.75%
Bolivia $15 USD flat-fee* 2.75%
Brazil 2% of money sent 2.75%
Chile 2% of money sent 2.75%
Colombia 2% of money sent (Before was:$15 USD flat-fee*) 2.75%
Costa Rica $15 USD flat-fee* (Before was 2% of money sent) 2.75%
Dominican Republic $15 USD flat-fee* 2.75%
Ecuador 2% of money sent 2.75%
El Salvador $15 USD flat-fee* 2.75%
Guatemala $15 USD flat-fee* 2.75%
Honduras $15 USD flat-fee* 2.75%
Mexico 2% of money sent 2.75%
Nicaragua $15 USD flat-fee* 2.75%
Panama $15 USD flat-fee* 2.75%
Paraguay 2% of money sent* 2.75%
Paraguay 2% of money sent* 2.75%
Spain 2% of money sent* 2.75%
Uruguay 2% of money sent* 2.75%
Venzuela No bank (Card only) 2.75%

*The $15 USD flat-fee is a “Wire transfer fee”. This is the fee that Payoneer charges, yet each VA’s local bank may charge other fees. Such as landing fees (to receive the money), currency exchange fees, etc. These additional charges are not charged by Payoneer, and thus can’t be calculated by them either. Each VA must check with their own bank to calculate these additional fees. For the Payoneer card, there is both a physical and digital card. Both have an annual fee of $29 USD.

Payoneer Helpful Links