How to pay to unregistered users?

Question

I have a question similar to this , only that my question is focused on "non-Western" users (with this I appeal to users outside Western Europe and the USA).

I have to pay users of my website (for example, for services rendered), and they are located in places where at least the banking systems are poor. They have ATMs, and in most of these countries credit cards work (Visa, Mastercard, etc.).

After many hours of browsing the web studying this, I find it best to go with prepaid debit cards . They allow me to deposit on cards, and my users simply withdraw or pay for things using this card. In fact, some of these services were mentioned in a previous post. They were mentioned:

• Payoneer : on paper, their service looks good, but I have not yet received a response to several requests, their registration form is erroneous, and the news section mainly contains news from 2008. All red flags for me.

• iKobo : another provider named on a different topic and on Wikipedia (what is it for ...). However, their SSL certificate has expired. Big red flag.

I looked through most of the maps mentioned on this review site , but they all seem to be adapted to the USA.

So my question is: does anyone know a good payment solution (maybe prepaid debit cards, maybe something else) that is suitable for paying a wide audience of international users?

NOTE. These are mainly large payments ranging from 100 to 500 US dollars.

Answer 1

There are two providers in the UK: Caxton (Visa) and Fairfx (Mastercard). Their cards are called currency cards, not prepaid debit cards, but I believe that they are exactly what you describe. Both of them are fully registered in accordance with the financial laws of Great Britain, therefore they deserve respect and reliability. Both can be used in a wide variety of countries. They can be used in many, although not all, ATMs (for example, in Thailand, they can be used in ATMs in local supermarkets, but not in local kiosks that change money). In addition to the problems that @hol mentions ATMs, particularly in Asia, local banks can and do, prefer to stop receiving payments from one of two main networks - usually Mastercard - if there was a high level of fraud in relation to this network in this particular country .

I believe that Caxton also offers a variety of remittance options at a low price, but I have not used these services.

This year I used both suppliers to travel to 11 countries, mainly in the developing world, including Laos, which has the least developed financial system of all the countries that I visited. They provided reliable and helpful service. I have no other connection with any supplier.

Answer 2

My own instant idea was bankwire or paypal (or Skrill - moneybookers). Western Union I remember how expensive it is, but I could be wrong.

Working in international payments for banks in my professional career, I know how money moves around the world, and I have to say that the prepaid debit card idea is not such a bad idea and is actually very innovative. I looked at the platinum, and I think everything looks fine.

I wonder if there are hidden costs, but not like that. The only expenses that are not visible are, of course, the additional charge from the ATM provider outside the country in addition to the prepaid debit card provider.

One thought occurred to me: make sure that the receiver can use the card at an ATM in your country. Currently, almost all cards can receive money at any ATM around the world, but I will not take it for granted. In the worst case, the recipient must go to a large airport, where ATMs are becoming more internationalized. Ask the recipient which symbols / names the nearest ATM shows. Then ask the hotline if the card can receive money at this ATM. For example. EFTPOS supported etc.

At bankwire, it depends on the recipient country, and some countries will usually drop the charges. I think you are in the USA. I don’t know if banks provide this service, but UBS Switzerland has a “guaranteed EXT,” which allows you to make ATMs anywhere in the world where the recipient does not pay anything and you are charged a maximum of 20 CHF plus regular payment by bank transfer (I think about 15 CHF to foreign countries). Foreign US bankers also seem ridiculously expensive. I just looked at what Bank of America takes. OMG.

Bankwire I would dissuade some countries. I had some bad experience in a certain country once and maybe times have changed. Consult with the payee first and take a test with a lower amount if it is more likely a country that is corrupt. They may think that this is money against something exported and requiring securities and everything before the release of money ...

Of course, you can still return to cash or checks, in which the problem will be very slow and get lost in the mail (but your cards must also be sent by mail), and checks in international traffic tend to have high costs and cash money has a bad exchange rate.

Finally, you should also ask the recipients of the offers.

Answer 3

Whatever method you choose, you must be very careful not to fall over the laws against money. I'm not sure that sending prepaid debit cards is legal.

Answer 4

Could you ask some of your users or people from countries that are in similar circumstances?

And Western Union Money Transfer is widely known for being able to pay people in many countries.

Answer 5

I would use paypal or, if they accept it, bitcoin.

Answer 6

Skrill (formerly MoneyBookers) may also be an option as they provide the included MasterCard prepaid card. https://www.moneybookers.com/