Companies use debit cards to pay workers

R.A. Hettinga rah at shipwright.com
Wed Nov 14 16:37:53 PST 2007


I remember somebody from Mondex at FCXX once saying their cards, as cards,
were bearer instruments. The following cards certainly will be, soon enough.

Cheers,
RAH
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<http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/11/14/companies_use_debit_cards_to_pay_workers?mode=PF>

The Boston Globe


Companies use debit cards to pay workers

By Anick Jesdanun, AP Internet Writer  |  November 14, 2007

NEW YORK --Paying employees and contractors around the world can be an
expensive hassle, after accounting for wire transfer fees and delays when
checks are mailed.

A New York company is promoting a new option: plastic.

Payoneer Inc. is issuing prepaid cards through MasterCard. After obtaining
the card, the recipient gets subsequent payments instantly and
electronically. As any debit card can, Payoneer cards can be used to buy
things or withdraw cash from ATMs in a local currency. And ATM fees, the
company says, are often lower than wire transfer fees, and some employers
will subsidize new costs their workers incur.

Getty Images Inc.'s iStockphoto is among the early customers and plans to
make the Payoneer cards an option for paying photographers commissions on
images sold through its site.

"They are in every country in the world just about now, and it has been
difficult to get money to those people effectively and inexpensively," said
Kelly Thompson, executive vice president for iStockphoto.

Market research firm Mercator Advisory Group estimates that about $11.3
billion in U.S. wages were paid through prepaid cards last year. But until
now, they were largely aimed at lower-income individuals who don't have
bank accounts.

Payoneer Chief Executive Yuval Tal said he decided to extend the concept to
foreign workers and contractors because of the growth in Internet
businesses that must pay people worldwide.

Companies remain responsible for any tax withholdings for employees, while
contractors and freelancers still make their tax payments. Recipients need
a PIN number or a signature to use the cards, and lost and stolen cards can
be replaced, along with the funds. 
-- 
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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'





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