Payoneer vs WorldFirst
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Best ways to receive payouts from Amazon
As an online seller based in Singapore but selling in the US and Europe, one of the first services needed was a payment solution to receive funds in the US and UK. For me, these include disbursements from selling on Amazon .com and .co.uk, and Amazon Associate affiliate payouts. If you are a US based seller wanting to sell in the UK you will also find WorldFirst useful. And UK based sellers wanting to sell in the US can consider both options.
Note: If you are a seller in the Eurozone, US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong or Canada, Amazon supports payouts directly into bank accounts in those countries (http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200501140).
However if your payouts involve currency conversion, Amazon's conversion rates are very poor and the options here will help you maximize earnings.
Three possible options:
Note: If you are a seller in the Eurozone, US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong or Canada, Amazon supports payouts directly into bank accounts in those countries (http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200501140).
However if your payouts involve currency conversion, Amazon's conversion rates are very poor and the options here will help you maximize earnings.
Three possible options:
- Incorporate a US company with a US bank account. Of the three options, this would be the most expensive and also require that you then file tax returns in the US (these could include corporate tax, income tax and sales tax). This also means you would have to hire a US CPA. However it is something to consider if you have considerable capital and revenue in the US or US tax rates are lower than in your local jurisdiction.
- Payoneer
- WorldFirst
Payoneer Review
I started with Payoneer in late 2013 as it was the easiest solution I could find (and also because Singapore has a Free Trade Agreement with the US so I do not have to pay double taxes on profits or income, and Singapore tax rates are among the lowest in the world so I'd rather sell as a Singapore registered entity). Essentially Payoneer allows you to receive ACH transfers from US companies and SEPA transfers from EU companies, directly to your Payoneer Account. Payoneer's fees are
The process of registering a Payoneer account is pretty simple. Just sign up online and upload documentary proof of your ID and address. Then wait 2-3 weeks to receive your Payoneer MasterCard which you will need to activate the account using the card number. You then go into Amazon or whatever company you want you receive payments from and fill in the Payoneer bank account details.
My strategy for using Payoneer is to use it for funds that I want to reinvest into inventory purchases for selling on Amazon US. This is because Payoneer is transacted in USD so if I receive Amazon US payouts and use that to pay for inventory purchases in USD, I avoid two foreign currency transactions. With Payoneer I would lose 2% in fees (1% to receive and 1% on expenses). If I transferred back to my local currency and then purchased inventory in USD with my local SGD credit card, total fees would be at least 4% or more due to 2x currency conversion.
So I like Payoneer for reinvestment of capital. However something happened this week (Mar 2015) which made me dissatified with Payoneer's system. There was an unauthorized charge on my Payoneer MasterCard and Payoneer duly blocked the transaction and deactivated the card, which was good. However I have to pay $12.95 for a new card to be sent to me. This will take 2-3 weeks and in the meantime my account is completely frozen. Sure I understand that I cannot use the debit MasterCard, till the new card get here, but I can't even receive payments that are made to the Payoneer bank account! I felt this was ridiculous and contacted Payoneer customer service. Apparently that's just the way it is - all functions are blocked till I reactivate the account by keying in the new MasterCard info which I will only have when the card arrives. That resulted in my last Amazon payout to Payoneer bouncing which is terrible for my cash flow and repurchasing. So a few thousand in the account is stuck and an incoming deposit bounced. That's over $10,000 in sourcing money stuck. Since I also like to purchase only 1-2 months worth of stock, that also means I am low on inventory! Lesson learnt? Use WorldFirst more together with local credit cards that give big cashback or rewards to offset the higher transaction costs for currency exchange.
Payoneer Pros:
- 1% of each payment received using the service
- 1% of each payment made using the Payoneer debit MasterCard
- 2.75% foreign currency exchange rate to transfers/withdraw funds to your local currency
- $29.95 annual fee
The process of registering a Payoneer account is pretty simple. Just sign up online and upload documentary proof of your ID and address. Then wait 2-3 weeks to receive your Payoneer MasterCard which you will need to activate the account using the card number. You then go into Amazon or whatever company you want you receive payments from and fill in the Payoneer bank account details.
My strategy for using Payoneer is to use it for funds that I want to reinvest into inventory purchases for selling on Amazon US. This is because Payoneer is transacted in USD so if I receive Amazon US payouts and use that to pay for inventory purchases in USD, I avoid two foreign currency transactions. With Payoneer I would lose 2% in fees (1% to receive and 1% on expenses). If I transferred back to my local currency and then purchased inventory in USD with my local SGD credit card, total fees would be at least 4% or more due to 2x currency conversion.
So I like Payoneer for reinvestment of capital. However something happened this week (Mar 2015) which made me dissatified with Payoneer's system. There was an unauthorized charge on my Payoneer MasterCard and Payoneer duly blocked the transaction and deactivated the card, which was good. However I have to pay $12.95 for a new card to be sent to me. This will take 2-3 weeks and in the meantime my account is completely frozen. Sure I understand that I cannot use the debit MasterCard, till the new card get here, but I can't even receive payments that are made to the Payoneer bank account! I felt this was ridiculous and contacted Payoneer customer service. Apparently that's just the way it is - all functions are blocked till I reactivate the account by keying in the new MasterCard info which I will only have when the card arrives. That resulted in my last Amazon payout to Payoneer bouncing which is terrible for my cash flow and repurchasing. So a few thousand in the account is stuck and an incoming deposit bounced. That's over $10,000 in sourcing money stuck. Since I also like to purchase only 1-2 months worth of stock, that also means I am low on inventory! Lesson learnt? Use WorldFirst more together with local credit cards that give big cashback or rewards to offset the higher transaction costs for currency exchange.
Payoneer Pros:
- Quick, simple setup.
- Ability to receive funds from many sources and transfer to your foreign bank account.
- Ability to minimize foreign currency transaction fees if receiving funds in the US and using the Payoneer debit card to fund purchases.
- Inefficient system that does not separate functions. Once one goes down, everything goes down.
WorldFirst Review
After a year of using Payoneer only, I decided to also open an account with WorldFirst in Oct 2014. My reasons were:
As it turned out, I'm glad I have a WorldFirst account as my Payoneer bridge did get blown up and will take 2-3 weeks to rebuild.
I have 2 WorldFirst accounts, one in USD and one in GBP. Since Jan 2015, I have been alternating Amazon US payouts between Payoneer and WorldFirst. The former for reinvestment and the latter to pay myself and develop other income streams.
I also started selling on Amazon UK in the middle of 2014 and it is far lower cost to receive GBP payoutsto my WorldFirst GBP account then to my Singapore bank account vs having Amazon UK convert GBP to USD and payout to Payoneer at Amazon's conversion rate of about 4%.
The main thing to note about WorldFirst is that it specializes specifically in low-cost foreign currency transactions. WorldFirst only makes money through currency conversion when you withdraw funds into your local bank account. This has a number of useful applications for sellers like me who are not based in either the US or UK. It is also useful for a US based seller who sells in the UK or a UK based seller selling in the US.
Unlike Payoneer, there is no debit card facility. This has its pros and cons. It means there is only one function - receive funds in the US or UK, convert and transfer them to your local bank account. This keeps it simple and minimizes potential complications as happened to my Payoneer account. WorldFirst also is the lowest cost way I know of to receive my USD and GBP payouts into my SGD bank account.
- Lower foreign exchange costs (2 to 2.5%) vs Payoneer (1% + 2.75%). Update: WorldFirst has revised rates down, and the spread now starts from as low as 1% to 2.5%. I know because they just changed my rate to 1%! :)
- I started selling on Amazon.co.uk and wanted a more efficient way to transfer payouts to Singapore .
- I like to have multiple options so I have alternatives in case something goes wrong. As an ex-military demolitions sergeant, I always use the analogy of having more than one bridge so you are not trapped if one gets blown up.
As it turned out, I'm glad I have a WorldFirst account as my Payoneer bridge did get blown up and will take 2-3 weeks to rebuild.
I have 2 WorldFirst accounts, one in USD and one in GBP. Since Jan 2015, I have been alternating Amazon US payouts between Payoneer and WorldFirst. The former for reinvestment and the latter to pay myself and develop other income streams.
I also started selling on Amazon UK in the middle of 2014 and it is far lower cost to receive GBP payoutsto my WorldFirst GBP account then to my Singapore bank account vs having Amazon UK convert GBP to USD and payout to Payoneer at Amazon's conversion rate of about 4%.
The main thing to note about WorldFirst is that it specializes specifically in low-cost foreign currency transactions. WorldFirst only makes money through currency conversion when you withdraw funds into your local bank account. This has a number of useful applications for sellers like me who are not based in either the US or UK. It is also useful for a US based seller who sells in the UK or a UK based seller selling in the US.
Unlike Payoneer, there is no debit card facility. This has its pros and cons. It means there is only one function - receive funds in the US or UK, convert and transfer them to your local bank account. This keeps it simple and minimizes potential complications as happened to my Payoneer account. WorldFirst also is the lowest cost way I know of to receive my USD and GBP payouts into my SGD bank account.
Conclusion: Payoneer OR WorldFirst?
My recommendation is both. As with income streams, sources, sales channels, prep services, etc. I always like to have 2 or more options available. You never want your business to be completely dependent on any one stream.
