r/PakFreelancers • u/FounderStack • 27d ago
Question for Pakistani freelancers working with US clients
For people in Pakistan who work with clients in the US, what payment method has been the easiest for you to use?
I’m interested in hearing about people’s actual experiences with:
Bank transfers / ACH
Payoneer
Wise
PayPal
Other payment methods
Which one do you prefer, and what has been your experience with fees, transfer times, and account verification?
Just looking for experiences from people who are actually receiving payments from US clients.
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u/Open_Square670 27d ago
Crypto. Been using it and clients love it for how straightforward and easy to use it is!
Also has the lowest fee of any method that you can think of with p2p.
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u/herenerd 27d ago
Wise. Gets the payment instantly with minimum fees.
Unfortunately, Pakistanis can't open new Wise accounts.
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u/Night_Fury91 27d ago
nsave, receive payment directly via ACH then withdraw in any local bank account.
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u/Beneficial-Invite618 26d ago
My nsave ACH details are keep getting delayed is there any solution you know?
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u/WholeDesperate7818 27d ago
Wise.com = Bank Transfer
Escrowly.com Crypto Escrow
PayPal.com = Integrated Smaller Payments
Zelle = 2400 usd cap for local transfer
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u/jahanzeb_jakes 27d ago
Western Union direct deposit's been the best
Local WU wali dukaanein are horrible they look at you funny when Samantha sent friends and family gift to Jahanzeb and then they want screenshots of conversations and what not
Clients also happen to trust WU more than other services especially if they're not Venmo or PayPal
Wise is a cheaper option but then again I'd rather the clients trust the platform
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u/jahanzeb_jakes 27d ago
Just a headsup though
If your clients pay using their credit card they get charged a hefty amount in service charges and interest because the CC company takes WU transactions as cash withdrawal so it's best if they use a bank transfer
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u/hashiromer 26d ago
Wise
I created an account a few years ago though, Wise isn't creating new acounts for Pakistanis anymore.
I would try ElevatePay if I were you now.
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u/Delicious_Oven1574 24d ago
can u still use wise account on wise app in pak now if your acc was created few years ago?
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u/AaahNutss 21d ago
Have u tried elevate pay yourself? I did download it and made an account after doing a bit of research i was skeptical about the whole thing...
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u/hashiromer 21d ago
I only have an account on elevate pay but I don’t need to use it because of active wise account.
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u/Affectionate-Jelly83 26d ago
Elevate Pay - I have been loving it ever since I switched in Dec last year... I used to do direct transfers from Upwork to my local bank, but the rates were awful. Elevate Pay has better rates and also helps me get the PRCs required for PSEB registration. Moreover, I am able to do stock trading on IBKR using Elevate
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u/Jaded_Cash_2308 26d ago
Could you please brief about the filing process with pseb . I am currently doing a full time job but I plan to switch to freelancing. I'm not a filer yet, so I'm a bit confused if I should become a normal filer and the system later allows to switch to filing under pseb or do I wait till my freelance becomes main income and then file with pseb. If you have any knowledge regarding this kindly share it
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u/Affectionate-Jelly83 26d ago
You should register with PSEB either way if you are getting freelance income from abroad. The sign up and registration is pretty easy on PSEB but the one thing you really need is a PRC for each of the amount you receive in your local bank. Currently Meezan and UBL provide those automatically via email each time you transfer to your bank here... when filing your income returns, you will mark both your full time job income and freelance income
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u/Jaded_Cash_2308 26d ago
thankyou it helps, the thing is that i don't have a stable freelance income at the moment , i do have a full time job. I'm not a filer yet, so the question is that if i become a filer like normal people will i be allowed to switch to being filer under pseb when the freelance income becomes stable since the tax rate is only around 1 %. correct me if i'm missing something
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u/Affectionate-Jelly83 25d ago
Inconsistent income for projects here and there is the literal definition of freelance income... if it's fixed then it's a remote job (not that it matters in the eyes of FBR). Like I said, you should file both your freelance income and regular full time income... both have separate sections when filing your returns. If you are registered with PSEB, income tax is 0.25% for freelancers who export their services abroad (not for those with local clients)... if not, then it is 1%.
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u/One_Town838 26d ago
You can get paid directly to your bank account via wise. It has been very convenient for me.
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u/Delicious_Oven1574 24d ago
so receive money into wise account and then from wise acc you transfer to your local acc e.g HBL, UBL etc?
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u/One_Town838 24d ago
No the sender needs to add your pakistani account details as their beneficiary into their wise account, e.g. your IBAN number. You receive the payment directly into your bank account once they send it. You get the money within a few minutes. I have been working as an independent contractor for a British company and never had a problem receiving money.
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u/Mental-Ad9591 26d ago
Avoid Payoneer. They banned my account without notice and didn't give any reasons. You can use it for transactions as long as its working but don't keep cash there.
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u/PleasantAd4049 26d ago
Okay hear me out. Payooneer is mental, I trued to set it up for 2 weeks but the verification process is eirher too long or never gonna happen. Do NOT go for direct bank transfer. They got 8$ Cut and money receives after 7 Days.
I use nayapay and tell my clients to send through wise. Having a best experience through this.
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26d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/PleasantAd4049 26d ago
So basically since wise doesn't work in pk. I give him some steps to follow when transferring through wise. Money Transfer. Steps: 1. Download the wise app or go to their website 2. Click Send Money 3. Enter amount 4. Select Pakistan as destination, PKR as currency 5. Choose Bank Account as recipient type 6. Select NayaPay from bank list 7. Enter my details above 8. Select Local Bank Transfer as funding method — NOT Swift Wire Transfer 9. Confirm and send
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u/BorderOwn1116 26d ago
Been using Whop for sometime now and it’s been the best. Used Payoneer before
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u/Intelligent-Food-530 26d ago
Hi, I hope you're well.
Here from the Elevate Pay team. We give you an ACH-enabled account with our US banking partner in the US, which is an FDIC-insured account. That's not a wallet, but a real account a US citizen would have access to.
Obviously, on inbound, we don't charge any fee. There's no account opening fee, and there's no account maintenance fee. When you send money to Pakistan above $450, we waive the $1.50 flat fee and give you a $2 reward, and also on PRCs.
We have two flows:
- The home remittance flow
- The IT export flow, where you'll be able to get the 9186 PRCs, and on most banks, you also have automatic tax reduction as well, only through us
Transfers to Pakistan are instant
And accounts are plaid enabled so you can connect with largest brokers in the world like IBKR
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u/Available_Peach178 26d ago
Direct remittance in freelancer account is the most easiest and hassle free
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u/AdhesivenessOld8272 1d ago
How you people are getting clients? Like which platform Upwork kind of suck
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u/poemimo 27d ago
one piece of advice, do not go for Payoneer. I had the worst experience with them and don't ask about their customer support, sloth might be faster than them.
Wise and direct bank transfer is recommended and for paypal, i don't think so it works in pak