ISLAMABAD – Pakistani freelancers bore the brunt of Payoneer’s 3 percent Withdrawal fee hike.
The money transfer giant implemented a fee hike for its users in Pakistan, affecting a wide range of financial transactions in ca ountry of 242 million, where tens of thousands of freelancers are earning online. The new charges raised concerns among freelancers, small businesses, and digital professionals who rely on the platform for cross-border payments.
New Payoneer Charges
Under updated structure, withdrawal fees for non-local currency transactions moved up to 3 percent, marking 50pc increase. The change impacts users transferring funds from their Payoneer accounts to bank accounts in different currencies, like dollar as well as same-currency transfers to foreign banks.
Here is a table summarizing the new charges introduced by Payoneer for users in Pakistan:
| Transaction Type | Old Fee | New Fee |
| Withdrawal to a Foreign Bank | 2% | 3% |
| Transfer to Third-Party Bank Accounts | No Fee | 3% |
| Payoneer-to-Payoneer (USD, EUR, GBP over 500 units) | Free | 0.60% |
| Payoneer-to-Payoneer (USD, EUR, GBP under 500 units) | Free | 3.00 |
| Domestic Payoneer-to-Payoneer (USD, EUR, GBP) | Free | 3.00 |
| Receiving Payments (USD under $100) | Free | $1.00 |
| Receiving Payments (USD $100 or more) | Free | 1% |
| Other Currencies (e.g., GBP, EUR, CAD, AED, AUD) | Free | $1.00 (under $100) or 1% (above $100) |
| Currency Conversion Fees | Standard | Standard |
With new changes, transfers to third-party bank accounts now come with a flat 3percent fee – a major shift from previous policies, which allowed some of transactions at lower or no cost.
Payoneer has also introduced charges on internal transfers between users. Payments made in USD, EUR, or GBP now carry a 0.60% fee for amounts over 500 units and a fixed charge of 3.00 in the respective currency for smaller transactions.
Domestic transactions in these currencies will also attract the same flat fee. For all other currencies, the applicable charges are displayed at the time of transaction. Furthermore, receiving funds is no longer free.
US Dollar payments under $100 are charged $1.00, while those equal to or above $100 are subject to 1pc fee. Similar structures are being applied across a range of other currencies, including GBP, EUR, CAD, AED, and AUD.
As Payoneer retained its standard currency conversion fees, these are separate from the new transaction charges and are still factored into every relevant exchange.
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