Is Payoneer Safe [Payoneer Review]

Is Payoneer safe? When making online transactions, most people think of PayPal. However, there are other payment platforms and some may even be better than PayPal.

Yet blindly signing up to a platform can be dangerous with all the scams out there. If you are wondering “is Payoneer safe?”, read on as this article will answer your question.

Table of Contents

Is Payoneer Safe? (Payoneer Review)

Payoneer is safe to use. Payoneer is not a scam and has security and safety processes in place.

However, as with all online payment platforms, scammers can still use them so you need to be careful whom you pay.

What Is Payoneer?

Payoneer is an online money transfer platform and electronic money institution. Payoneer specialises in business payments and caters to freelancers and business owners.

It is not intended for personal money transfers. If you want to make personal transactions, you can use PayPal.

Payoneer is an American company founded in 2005 by Yuval Tal. In 2020, Payoneer was included in Forbes Fintech 50: The Most Innovative Fintech Companies.

Is Payoneer Legit?

Payoneer is a legit service and not a scam. The company behind Payoneer is Payoneer Global Inc. In the UK, Payoneer operates as Payoneer UK Limited.

Payoneer also has an entry on Trustpilot. With over 45,000 reviews, the average review score is 4.3 out of 5.0. Overall, 86% of users rate Payoneer as great or excellent.

What Is Trustpilot?

Trustpilot is an independent consumer review platform. It has no affiliation with the sites mentioned in this post. On Trustpilot, users can anonymously rate and review companies they have used.

Overall, there are over 150 million reviews on Trustpilot. You can generally get a good understanding of the legitimacy and customer-friendliness of a company.

What Safety and Security Features Does Payoneer Have?

Payoneer is safe to use. Payoneer holds your money in segregated accounts with trusted banks. The Risk Committee manages and reviews where your money is held.

Payoneer also states that your funds are:

Held at low-risk financial institutions
Always liquid
Never loaned out
Never impacted by corporate operational activities

Note that Payoneer is not a bank as such your money is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS protects money held in bank accounts up to £85,000.

Payoneer also has a multi-layered security system. This includes:

Two-factor authentication
CATCHPAs
Web application firewall
Bot-locating software
Duplicate-site tracking
Proactive user-account searches (Payoneer searches the web to see if your data have been leaked)

To see whether your account is at risk, Payoneer uses RSA adaptive authentication, an intuitive user verification system that evaluates risk factors.

It also uses complex risk models and behaviour profiling programs to analyse suspicious user transactions. The aim of this is to prevent fraud and malicious account takeovers.

What Are the Safety Risks With Payoneer?

1. Scammers

Payoneer is generally safe to use. However, this does not mean scammers cannot get your money. Creating a Payoneer account is easier than creating a bank account, although Payoneer does verify accounts.

However, scammers may prefer Payoneer over bank accounts and use it to elicit money from their victims.

When making a transfer to a Payoneer account, you should also check that the account is legit. You can ask the intended recipient to double-check the account details.

If in doubt about the legitimacy of an account, it is better not to make a payment.

2. Account Protection

Money in your bank account is legally protected by the FSCS for up to £85,000. If Payoneer becomes bankrupt, or your account gets hacked despite all the protection, you are on your own.

While the risk of this happening is very slim, you should not leave large amounts of money in your Payoneer account.

3. Account Suspension

Another reason not to leave large amounts of money in your Payoneer account is account suspensions. Payoneer can put your account under review and freeze your funds at any time.

This is a safety process but can sometimes backfire and hit innocent customers. If your account becomes suspended, it may take weeks until you can access your money again.

How Can You Increase Your Account Security?

There are several steps you can take as an individual to increase the safety of your Payoneer account.

Create a strong password
Use two-factor authentication
Do not use unsecured Wi-Fi connections
Use anti-malware software on your computer
Protect your phone with a PIN if you are using the app
Be aware of your surroundings when you use the Payoneer card

If you take all these steps, you can minimise the risks of scams and fraud. It is good practice to be careful and be cautious anyway and this is not limited to your Payoneer account.

Can You Get Scammed on Payoneer?

Unfortunately, no matter how much you protect your accounts, scammers exist.

Payoneer is not a scam but there are scammers that may try to trick you into giving them your Payoneer account details.

With your details, they can log into your account and transfer your money to their own accounts.

Thus, you should always be wary and never give your login details to strangers or people pretending to be Payoneer staff.

How to Use Payoneer

How Can You Sign up to Payoneer?

Signing up with Payoneer is free. There are currently no sign-up bonuses or promotions available. To sign up, simply click here and click through the steps.

To create an account, you will need to state:

What you intend to use Payoneer for
Your monthly volume in dollars

You will also need to give your details to Payoneer:

Name
Email address
Date of birth
Address
Phone number

Payoneer will carry out a credit check before your account becomes active. This may take up to two business days. Once approved, you can start requesting and sending payments with Payoneer.

How Does the Payoneer Mastercard Work?

The Payoneer Mastercard works like any other Mastercard. You can:

Make purchases where Mastercard is accepted and use your card to withdraw cash from ATMs, purchase goods online or buy in store
Pay for services on digital platforms
Pay for shipping and fulfilment services from global postal providers like UPS, FedEx, etc
Pay for everyday business expenses like travel and entertainment, office supplies, and subscriptions to software licenses and third-party services

Ordering Your Card

Once you have opened your free Payoneer account, you can order your Payoneer Mastercard. Ordering a card is optional and you do not have to do this.

If you want to get a Payoneer Mastercard, you can order it online:

Sign in to Payoneer
Select “Bank and Cards”
Click on “Payoneer Cards”
Click “Order Now”
Select a physical card, choose your currency, and verify your shipping address
Under “Shipping method”, select your shipping preferences
Click “Order Card”

If you do not see the “Order Now” button, you are not eligible to order a Mastercard. The reason why you are ineligible should be displayed on the screen.

Typically, to be eligible you need to have received at least $100 in your Payoneer account in the past six months.

How Fast Are Transferals with Payoneer?

Transfers from Payoneer to another Payoneer account are usually instant. All other transfers typically take two to five business days.

If you do not receive your money within this timeframe, you can contact customer support.

One advantage of Payoneer is that you can send money directly. You will not have to waste time having to send bank details by email.

Is It Safe to Keep Money in Your Payoneer Account?

While Payoneer is generally regarded as safe, I do not recommend keeping large sums of money in your Payoneer account. There are two reasons for this.

Firstly, Payoneer is not a bank. It does not have the same protection as the money in your bank account. You should always attempt to store your money in the safest place possible.

Thus, your bank account is a preferable location.

Secondly, Payoneer is a private company. If they freeze your account, you are at their mercy. You may be stuck in a telephone queue or unable to reach Payoneer at all.

Banks are more likely to have measures in place to help you in a timely manner.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Payoneer?

Payoneer Review Pros

Payoneer is designed for freelancers and small businesses
Transactions are low cost
No fees to sign up to Payoneer
Rigorous safety measures in place

Payoneer Review Cons

While Payoneer is legit, scammers can still use it
May take time to become verified
Payoneer is not a bank so it does not have the same protection

Alternatives to Payoneer

Payoneer’s most popular competitor is Paypal. Paypal is well-known and offers accounts for both businesses and individuals. However, some users report issues with PayPal’s security prompt.

Another alternative is Monese. Monese is an electronic money institution that you can use to send and receive money.

You may want to read this post :

Conclusion

If you are asking “is Payoneer safe?”, the answer is “yes”. Payoneer has robust safety mechanisms that protect your money.

However, you need to keep in mind that Payoneer is not a bank account.

As such, your money is less protected, no matter Payoneer does. While Payoneer should be safe for business use, I do not recommend keeping large amounts of cash in your Payoneer account.

If you like this post, please help Entitled Knowledge grow by sharing it with your friends.

Entitled Knowledge