Payoneer vs. Hyperwallet: Scaling Mass Payments in the Digital Economy

Whether you’re a freelancer, run a small business, or head an enterprise, disbursing payments and receiving funds involves more than counting dollars and cents. There are steps to take, to ensure that money leaves and returns to your bank account in an efficient manner.

That’s why, from fraud detection to payment methods, cross-border capabilities, and mass payments, your software solution should cover it all.

When it comes to payment processing, system capabilities can make or break your operations and seriously affect growth. When shopping for the best brands, people often find themselves looking at Payoneer vs Hyperwallet.

Here we take a closer look at both programs, top features, pricing, global capacity, and how they can meet your company’s needs right now.

What is Payoneer?

Payoneer is located in New York and was founded in 2005. It functions as an online platform for money transfers (domestic and international), digital payments, and providing companies with extra working capital. 

With a transparent and easy-to-use dashboard, users can track their account balance, payments, and full transaction history (including transaction fees and foreign currency amounts) in real-time.

The Payoneer platform supports over 200 countries with 150 local currencies and is a worldwide member service provider of Mastercard. Over 5 million customers around the world use Payoneer every day to send and receive payments.

Companies that use Payoneer include Google, Amazon, eBay, Airbnb, Rakuten, Adobe, Upwork, and Fiverr.

How Does Payoneer Work?

Unlike a point of sale (POS) system, Payoneer does not let you directly charge customers. Instead, a business requests payment through the platform or waits for the customer to initiate payment.

Payoneer gives you the ability to directly withdraw funds with a debit card, as well as send and receive funds domestically and internationally (including a local bank transfer and cross-border payments).

The payment platform immediately connects companies with customers for e-commerce and online payments. Businesses can send direct payment requests or invoices to customers, who then have the option to pay online via a credit card or bank account. 

Payoneer supports these currencies: 

USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, JPY, and CNH.

Pros of Payoneer

• Offers unique, multi-currency bank accounts to facilitate international payments.
• Superb customer support with accounting integration and ecommerce capabilities.

• Reasonable exchange rates that are better than similar payment processors.
• Transfers are free between Payoneer account holders, with 4,000+ active users worldwide.
• Simplified setup and integration that requires less user data than Payoneer alternatives.

Cons of Payoneer

• If one user does not have a Payoneer account, fees can run high.
• The payment gateway is not established with a bank and does not hold funds.
• The mobile iOS app can be improved with better analytics and bank account data.

What is Hyperwallet?

Founded in 2000, Hyperwallet is a San Francisco-based global payment system that has more than 4 million payees, and handles transactions in 150+ currencies. The brand is known for servicing the B2C segment, including credit unions and multi-level marketing.

The payout platform provides growing companies with a transparent and frictionless way to manage payables and enhance the payee experience. Available in over 170 countries, Hyperwallet was acquired by PayPal in 2018.

Trusted by e-commerce, on-demand, and enterprise businesses, Hyperwaller offers a flexible payment technology that empowers organizations to efficiently and securely distribute funds from a single payment environment.

How Does Hyperwallet Work?

Hyperwallet enables a business to send payments online or use PayPal’s robust payout API. Send up to 5000 payments at once. The system also processes all major debit and credit cards to provide third-party payouts.

In both wire transfer and direct deposit options, payees are required to enter their account number, type, and bank details. Once requested, funds can be transferred to the payee’s bank account within 2 business days with direct local deposits, and up to 5 business days for wire transfers.

The Hyperwallet system offers detailed payment histories, tax reporting, and can send payouts through the following:

• PayPal
• Venmo
• Bank Account
• Direct to debit
• Check
• Prepaid card
• eGift Cards

Unlike other systems, Hyperwallet also offers cash pickup.

Pros of Hyperwallet

• The system is adaptable to a variety of different business cases.
• The customer-facing portal offers a good experience with ease of use.
• Securely send commissions, rewards, claims, and rebates to banked and unbanked payees.
• Custom-configured marketplace and large enterprise integrations.
• Payout flexibility and control to streamline operations and scale your business.

Cons of Hyperwallet

• Customer support can be slow to respond and the setup process can be lengthy.
• There can be minimal communication about bugs and/or updates to the system.
• The system is set up for American tax, which makes it challenging for international users.

	Payoneer	Hyperwallet	Tipalti
Receiving Cost	It’s free from another Payoneer account or 1% via ACH and 3% via credit card.	The account is free but fees vary based on location and currency exchange.	6 international payment methods – cost varies
Sending Cost	It’s free from another Payoneer account or 1% via ACH, 2% to another bank account, and 3% via credit card.	Local Bank Transfer Fee – $3.00/ Transaction. Direct To Card Transfer Fee – $1.75/Credit card $2.50/Debit card, acct fee $3.00/month after 90 days.	6 international payment methods – cost varies
Speed	1-2 days	2-5 days	0-2 days
Mobile App	Yes	Pay Portal Payout Experience	No
Currencies	150	150	126
Debit Card	Mastercard	Visa	No
International Payments	Payoneer Local Currency Accounts in 200 countries.	Funds across 170+ countries.	Pays to 196 countries.
Taxes	Has a tax agreement with the IRS.	1099 Tax Reporting with detailed payout history.	There is built-in tax and VAT compliance.
Mass Payments	Automated batch-pay up to 200 at a time.	Mass Payments with PayPal or Venmo.	Global mass payables automation solution
Business Capital	Merchant cash advance through Amazon and Walmart, up to $750,000.	No.	Not yet

Payoneer vs Hyperwallet Fees: Who Has Less?

When comparing the costs of Hyperwallet vs Payoneer, it’s important to look at the pricing structure in a few different buckets, like:

Monthly Fees

Although both systems claim to offer the account for free, there are some hidden catches. For example, Payoneer will charge an annual account fee of $29.95 if you do not use it for 12 months. This is considered maintenance.

Similarly, Hyperwallet offers an account for “free”, however, if you do not withdraw funds within 90 days of receiving, there is a $2.95 USD/month storage charge.

Getting Paid

For Payoneer, a business can send payment requests to clients with the option to pay via credit card and ACH bank debit (the US only). They can also pay via local bank transfer into your receiving accounts.

The cost of receiving funds through Payoneer is as follows:

• 3% Credit Card (all currencies)
• 1% ACH Bank Debits

If both users have a Payoneer account, transfers are free. They are also free if you are using your bank account through Payoneer.

The fees for getting paid through Hyperwallet depend on where you are transferring money. The costs for receiving funds are:

• Local bank transfer -$1-$3
• Wire transfer – $3-$20
• Direct to card – $1.75/Credit card $2.50/Debit card
• PayPal account – $1
• Cash pickup – Depends on the partner; Western Union is $20, while MoneyGram is $8.

Paying Out

Paying customers directly from your Payoneer balance to their bank account via a bank transfer costs up to 2% of the transaction and 3% for a credit card.

A fixed fee of $1.50 also applies when you use a USD, EUR, or GBP balance to make a payment to a bank account that is:

• In the same currency  

• In a country where the payment currency is the local currency

• In the same country as your Payoneer profile

Payoneer customers can make batch payments up to 200 bank accounts at once with a 2% fee.

For Hyperwallet customers, the fees will vary, but you can batch up to 5,000 payments at once, which makes it ideal for bigger businesses.

Currency Conversion

For Payoneer, there is a currency conversion charge of 2% to 2.75% for international transactions (depending on the country). You are also subject to Mastercard’s exchange rates if you use it in a non-listed currency.

One cost not disclosed by Hyperwallet is the foreign currency exchange rate at which funds are transferred. It should be noted that the exchange rate is lower than the open market exchange rate, and better than banks and other payout platforms.

Prepaid Card

The prepaid Mastercard can be used as a debit card for any type of transaction, including e-commerce. There is a $29.99/year fee for the Payoneer Mastercard. It can be used at any ATM, but has a maximum daily limit of $2,500. According to the fee structure, they will also charge you an average of 1% of the transaction in foreign exchange fees.

Hyperwallet tries to push its prepaid program as a new solution for payees. They have two cards, a Hyperwallet design and a custom one. A branded card will cost an extra fee and is only offered to Enterprise and Marketplace clients.

Conclusion

Hyperwallet and Payoneer offer very similar services like worldwide money options, digital payments, mass payouts, and ecommerce capabilities. However, while Payoneer is a single entity, Hyperwallet is an extension of PayPal.

This article may also be useful for merchants and resellers who use Walmart Marketplace, as Payoneer vs Hyperwallet are your two options for payouts. In this case, Payoneer may be a more attractive option as bank transfers are free on the Walmart platform.

If you are sending mass payments globally, Hyperwallet may be the more attractive alternative. A business can send thousands of transfers at the same time, with the security and protection of PayPal.

Another smart option to consider is Tipalti. The global mass payments solution automates the entire payables, approvals, and payments process to streamline workflows and save up to 80% of manual labor.

Tipalti effortlessly provides supplier self-service onboarding, validation, tax compliance, fraud controls, and a reduction in errors. It’s the perfect alternative to both Payoneer and Hyperwallet!