Payment Methods For Freelancers - How to pay and get paid

May 28th, 2022 by Felix Cheruiyot

payment methods for freelancers in Africa

IntaSend provides one of the best payment methods for freelancers and remote contractors in Africa. There's no doubt that the freelance business has taken over the majority of the global workforce. In fact, according to Upwork statistics, the number of freelancers grew from 17% in 2014 to 28% in 2019.

Moreover, Kenya, India, and Pakistan are some of the top ten countries with the fastest-growing freelancer earnings.

While it comes with its own set of benefits, like the ability to work on your own schedule, most freelancers in these countries have difficulty receiving international payments from clients. This is mainly because many mainstream online platforms, such as PayPal, don’t offer proper support for their services to these regions. As much as there's seemingly a lot you can do with a PayPal account, the limitations involved in having a PayPal account in the first place are very discouraging, especially when you're a freelancer outside the United States.

However, this shouldn't prevent you from starting and eventually scaling your freelance business. This post will discuss the best payment methods for freelancers in 11 African countries, Pakistan, and India.

Best Payment Methods For Freelancers In Africa

Check out some reliable and hassle-free online payment methods in Africa.

Let's get started

IntaSend

IntaSend works with various partners including, Visa, MasterCard, and Remitly, to enable businesses to pay freelancers, remote workers, and creatives.

By utilizing this innovative platform, we have the opportunity to create and distribute sophisticated payment options across the continent of Africa. In addition, the platform maintains your data privacy and security.

IntaSend enables freelancers to accept online payments and businesses to disburse to anywhere in Africa. The platform allows you to accept online payments using IntaSend's advanced no-code payment links or easy-to-use payment API. M-Pesa, Bitcoin, Visa, and MasterCard are all integrated into the platform. IntaSend stands out as one of the freelance payment methods for African freelancers, from credit card payments to creating simple invoices that you can send to your client's email address. On top of that, IntaSend charges little to nothing on transaction fees, which is a strong quality of a good payment provider. It is one of the best alternative payment methods to PayPal for freelancers in regions outside of the United States.

How To Receive Payment From International Clients (Freelancers)

IntaSend makes it easy to receive payments from international clients. In addition to Visa and MasterCard, we accept ACH payments (bank transfers from US banks to African banks) and the Bitcoin payment option. Clients have the option to choose from a variety of payment methods. This will increase your revenue and success rate. Payment methods include:

How to Send Payments (Business)

In addition to the accept online payment options, businesses can process their payroll using our Mass payout APIs. With the cross-border payments support, you can automate payments through the API and properly track every transaction's status. Payments are processed in the receiver's local currency, which is amazing. IntaSend supports different currencies, one of the company's biggest pros.

Key Benefits of Using IntaSend

Western Union

Western Union is on our list of the best payment methods for freelancers because of the sheer number of locations this platform has. This is mainly because it's been around for several years.

Over 500,000 locations offer online payments through Western Union. You can pay freelancers locally as well as internationally through Western Union. The service supports over 200 countries and 140 currencies.

Key Benefits Of Using Western Union

Bank Wire Transfer

Bank wire and direct bank transfers have always been reliable and secure ways to receive freelance payments. Because of their dependability, they are the best option for transferring large sums of money. However, these types of transfers have higher fees and much longer processing times.

While it costs less than $3 to withdraw funds from sites like Upwork into your digital account, a Wire Transfer costs $30, which is the flat fee. It may also take up to 7 banking days for the transaction to be reflected in your account.

Key Benefits Of Using Bank Wire Transfers

Best Payment Methods For Freelancers in Pakistan

One of the other countries apart from Kenya, that have a burgeoning freelance industry is Pakistan. In fact, it's the 4th most popular country for freelancing. Check out some of the best payment methods for freelancers in Pakistan.

Remitly

Remitly is a digital money transfer business with the purpose to make money transfers more economical, transparent, and efficient. Due to the fact that they are a digital service with no locations, they are able to maintain low costs and pass on the savings to their users. IntaSend works with Remitely to facilitate B2B mass payouts and cross-border payments to beneficiaries in Pakistan, India, and countries in Africa.

With Remitly, freelancers in Pakistan can secure their payments from anywhere in the world including the United Kingdom, Canada, and the US.

Key Benefits Of Using Remitly

SadaPay

SadaPay is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan as SadaTech Pakistan Pvt Ltd, is governed by the State Bank of Pakistan, and is an entirely subsidiary of SadaPay Technologies Ltd.

SadaPay provides cash withdrawals with no additional bank charges. It contains multiple features to qualify as a contemporary payment solution system.

Key Benefits Of Using SadaPay

E-currency Exchangers

There are numerous e-currency exchanges in Pakistan, one of the most notable being Digital Paisa. Digital Paisa's services are accessible no matter where you reside in Pakistan. Digital Paisa is the most efficient and user-friendly buy/sell/exchange and withdrawal mechanism in Pakistan compared to other online payment options.

It is also the most efficient online payment solution for Pakistani freelancers who have trouble withdrawing their payments. Using facilities provided by Digital Paisa, freelancers can now easily withdraw their payments at any time and from any location.

Key Benefits Of Using E-Currency Exchanges

Apart from these 3 payment methods for freelancers in Pakistan, you’ll be delighted to know that IntaSend is making its way to Pakistan. It's doing this as part o its expansion from Africa into other countries. For now, the focus remains on providing freelancers with the option of mass payout systems.

Best Payment Methods For Freelancers In India

In 2020, India’s freelance market saw an increase of 46% from Q1 to Q2. This makes the country the fastest-growing ground for the gig economy. Let's check out some ways payment methods freelancers in India opt to get paid.

PayTM

If you and your customers have PayTM accounts with KYC completed, PayTM is the best and fastest way to receive payments. Additionally, you can create a company account to generate QR codes and billing links that you can share with your clients.

Due to the 4 percent transaction fee that you must pay when transferring PayTM funds to your bank account, we would not advise it for receiving massive payments.

Key Benefits Of Using PayTM

Indian Banks

Another option available to you is accepting payment directly in your Indian bank account. As stated previously, this results in a wire transfer fee of up to $50 for the client and 1 percent plus $20 to 4 percent plus $50 for you. Additionally, funds may take longer to reflect, and the financial institution for extra checks frequently holds them.

Wise

Wise uses cutting-edge technology to send cash to India and the rest of the world, but your client must first create an account.

Wise is an easy and quick method for transferring cash to India from overseas. Using modern, secure technology, money transfers on major routes to India can arrive in bank accounts within seconds. With the real exchange rate, which eliminates markups, you can secure a larger portion of each transfer's earnings.

Key Benefits Of Using Wise

In addition to these three payment options for freelancers in India, you will be pleased to learn that IntaSend is coming to India. This is part of the company's expansion from Africa to other countries. Currently, the emphasis remains on providing contractors access to mass payment systems.

Tips For Getting Paid

Now that we’ve talked about some of the best payment methods for freelancers in Africa, Pakistan and India, check out some tips to make getting paid for your gigs easy, no matter where you are in the world!

Make things Streamlined

Never begin work on a project before reading and signing a freelance contract. To avoid payment delays, make it as easy as possible for customers to pay you.

Provide various payment options so they may choose the one they are most comfortable with. Include a "Pay Now" button, credit card payment options, and check payment instructions, for instance, on invoices.

Be Sure To Follow Up!

Sending an invoice doesn't guarantee payment. Establish a process to ensure that you receive payment and reach out to customers who are typically slow to pay reasonably. They may be unwilling to pay in addition to being busy.

Whether they're simply dragging their feet or there's an issue with your service, communicate with them to avoid a situation from escalating. Again, some payment services will perform this task on your behalf. Depending on your service, you may be able to choose the right options, such as "send a reminder after 30 days" if an invoice remains unpaid.

Using A Time Tracker For Billable Hours

There are numerous advantages to time tracking. Therefore, freelancers who work on hourly projects must use a dependable time-tracking tool. With the proper tool, you can keep an accurate completed work log.

Keeping track of your time will ensure that you are never underpaid for your time and effort. A good time tracker can help automate billing. It can bill customers according to your payment schedule.

Using An Invoicing Software

Online billing software simplifies the payment process for your clients. Your customers can immediately pay using their preferred method by clicking the payment button they receive via email.

A quality invoice software application will also include functions to remind your clients to pay their balances. Therefore, you will not need to follow up on payments with your clients.

Conclusion

Technological developments have facilitated the hiring and management of international contractors worldwide. Even distributing payments to your team has become incredibly easy regardless of where they reside. Freelance work is taking over, but you need the right payment provider to ensure your hard work is not in vain.

IntaSend is rapidly becoming Africa's preferred online payment channel for all contracting-related transactions. If you are looking for methods to get paid by international clients, our services come highly recommended.

We offer business accounts, business payments, and wallets, among other products.

Curious to learn more about the simpler way to get paid by your international clients? Talk to us today to learn more!


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