How Do You Pay Your Virtual Assistant?

So, you’ve hired your first Virtual Assistant – well done! Now begins the work on how you will set her up to complete her work successfully. One of the things you need to set up is payment. How will you pay your Virtual Assistant?

If you’re in the same country, it’s simple. You can make a bank transfer into your Virtual Assistant’s bank account. If you’re in different countries, however, you may still deposit the funds into their bank account, but it is not an easy process. You will require your VA’s bank code, bank name and bank account number. You will also need to inquire with your own bank on how you can best set this up.

Alternatively, you can use PayPal. Many entrepreneurs use PayPal to pay their virtual employees because it’s simple and fast. All you require is your VA’s email address and you can easily send money to that address. Both you and your VA must create a PayPal account for this to work. Your VA will receive the funds almost immediately, thereafter choose whether she wants to withdraw the funds or transfer it to her local bank account. If she transfers it to her bank account it will reflect in 2-5 business days.

Alternatives to PayPal

When choosing the best payment method, you must take fees into account. PayPal, for example, takes a large amount out of your VA’s salary if transferred for ‘goods and services rendered’.

There are some PayPal alternatives:

Payoneer

Payoneer offers you multiple ways to pay your international Virtual Assistant quickly, securely and at low cost.  Your Virtual Assistant has the option to withdraw funds at their local bank or via the ATM with a Mastercard. The website also has plenty of How to videos to help you set it up.

Skrill

Skrill is a money transfer platform that is popular in Western Europe. You can choose from over 40 currencies and your VA can either move funds from Skrill to her local bank account or withdraw at an ATM. The first transaction is free, but thereafter you will pay a nominal fee.

Bitcoin

Another way to pay your Virtual Assistant is through Bitcoin. This is essentially digital money that your Virtual Assistant can exchange at a Bitcoin ATM. If you choose this option, please note that; “Like everything, Bitcoin’s price is determined by the laws of supply and demand. Because the supply is limited to 21 million bitcoins, as more people use Bitcoin the increased demand, combined with the fixed supply, will force the price to go up. Because the number of people using Bitcoin in the world is still relatively small, the price of Bitcoin in terms of traditional currency can fluctuate significantly on a daily basis, but will continue to increase as more people start to use it.” – Bitcoin.com

Payza

Payza is similar to Payoneer with the additional functionality of supporting credit cards and Bitcoin. Sending money is always free, but receiving money costs a lot more than with Payoneer.

Lastly, if you are using a freelancer website like UpWork or Fiverr to hire your Virtual Assistant, you must follow their payment rules. These websites tend to use their own payment methods that ensure the security of funds. With this, though, comes extra fees. Make sure you understand their fee structure before choosing this option.