How To Beat The Bank De-Risking Issue
With the Belize bank de-risking issue in Belize, a lot of Belizean business owners are beginning to seriously worry about how they will receive and make payments to and from the United States of America, our main trading partner.
Many Belizean business owners have been using PayPal as a way to recieve and send payments, especially Belizeans whom have been venturing into the tourism industry, and receiving credit card payments is critical in this sector. After talking to business owners across the country, I came to realize that many do not know of Payoneer.
Payoneer is similar to PayPal, however, I find it to be far more practical and flexible:
PayPal:
Drawbacks:
you must have a credit card to link to your account, or link to a US bank account. You currently cannot link PayPal to a Belize bank account. Belize Bank is the only bank in Belize that allows you to link their Visa credit card to your PayPal account.
May small Belizean business owners do not have a US Bank account.
Using a credit card to transfer your funds from your PayPal account ends up eating up a lot of your profits by paying the credit card company a high interest rate.
Transfering funds from your PayPal account to your credit card takes days, which is not good if you are in need of your funds right away.
Payoneer:
Benefits:
With a Payoneer account, it is akin to having a US Bank account, and your account is linked to a debit MasterCard that Payoneer sends to you via mail. It takes about 2 weeks to arrive in Belize.
Once you get your debit MasterCard in the mail, you go to their site at www.payoneer.com and follow their very simple instructions to activate your account and the card.
Once your account and your card is activated, you can receive payments from anywhere in the United States and almost anywhere in the world.
Once you receive a payment, your account is then loaded with the funds.
You can use the debit MasterCard at any merchant that accepts MasterCards or you can simply go to any ATM countrywide/worldwide that accepts MasterCard and take out your cash.
The fees are much better than a credit card.
You avoid paying the greedy banks in Belize all their usury fees.
Once your account has been loaded with funds, you have access to your money almost immediately.
Now, this is not a magic bullet for making and receiving international payments - wire transfer is still the best and cheapest way - however, it is a viable alternative, especially for small business owners. I like it because it gives you control and security over your money, since you can use your debit card and better track your transactions, or take out cash via an ATM machine when it is necessary. This way you don't need to have cash on your person if you prefer not to - great for business people who travel a lot and worry about safety. Payoneer will track each transaction when you use your debit card.
If you want to know more about this service, visit their website at www.payoneer.com. It is very easy apply for a card that is linked to your account, and it will make your business that much more flexible for your business and convenient for clients who want the ease of making online payments.
PS: If you want to use an ATM, use Atlantic Bank, they don't charge rediculous ATM fees as the other banks here in Belize.