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How to Pay Your Foreign Employees
It is not uncommon to hire international workers for a limited period, for example summer camp workers, au pairs, educators, and more. Opening a bank account for a few months to a year is not always an option. They need a solution that allows them to access and manage their funds without a bank account, and to then bring the remaining money home with them.
Many international workers do not have US bank accounts, so traditional paychecks may not be the most cost-effective form of payment. The workers may have trouble cashing the checks, or pay steep commissions at a check-cashing venue. Paying in cash is also problematic, as it is difficult to report, and if you have a number of employees, and in a wide range of places, it is simply not practical.
So how do you pay international workers?
There are a number of electronic funds transfer (EFT) services available that are faster, more convenient and less expensive than the traditional methods of checks and wire transfers. The introduction of innovative payment methods has meant that distributors can receive their money more quickly and keep more of it. For example, online payments offer more flexibility and are more cost-effective for workers who do not have US bank accounts.
These methods generally offer an online account or "wallet" where money can be deposited and spent. Should the distributor have a number of online expenses, particularly from suppliers who offer the same payment service, online payments can be the right choice. However, cashing out payments from online wallets can complicated and can become as cumbersome as using the traditional payment methods.
An innovative method now being offered by leading direct selling organizations are payments direct to co-branded prepaid debit cards such as MasterCard and Visa. The cards are extremely popular with brand-loyal workers, allow easy cash-outs from ATMs or spending any where that accepts the debit cards, and do not require a US bank account or credit check. The client organization transfers the funds to the card accounts, and the money is then instantly accessible online, at shops and restaurants or at ATMs. Furthermore, if issued by a US bank, the card accounts are FDIC insured and often offer protections against unauthorized purchases.
One effective solution is prepaid debit or gift cards. You have a receipt for the purchase of the card or for loading an existing card with more funds, so from a tax perspective, you have documentation. The workers get to keep more of their money, since they don't need to pay check-cashing fees. And they can use the card and spend their money as soon as the funds are loaded to the card.
About the Author Tomer Bar-Zeev is the VP Marketing for Payoneer, the online mass payout solution that pays directly to universally accepted Prepaid MasterCard cards. For more information on Payoneer visit http://www.payoneer.com |
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