Due to the internet, many businesses have gained wide reach around the globe. It has opened up many opportunities for different platforms to come forward and facilitate these users’ online financial matters.
While many platforms provide these services, only a few users trust and use them regularly. One such name in the online financial services industry is Payoneer.
Payoneer allows users across the globe to receive their funds from different online marketplaces, platforms, or their clients. Similarly, it helps users pay other Payoneer users without any charges.
The platform also offers a MasterCard to its users to facilitate other online and offline payments. Finally, the platform also allows users to withdraw their funds to their local bank accounts in different currencies.
Because there’s a lot of money involved in the platform, users need to know if it is safe and the risks associated with using Payoneer.
Many users prefer platforms that allow them to facilitate their online receipts and payments without worrying about the risks associated with them.
While Payoneer is a safe network and takes user security seriously, users still face some risks when using it.
Given below are the top five risks of using Payoneer.
1) Scam
Using Payoneer, or any other online financial services platform, exposes users to scam risk. Due to the widespread usage of these platforms, scammers target users to trick them into paying them. Unlike in the past, scams nowadays have become much more complex and sophisticated, making detecting them even more difficult.
As mentioned above, Payoneer takes these matters seriously and has some barriers to preventing scams. However, sometimes scammers can get through these systems through different loopholes. Therefore, a scam is a risk that users of Payoneer have to face.
2) Hacking
Payoneer users also risk hackers gaining unauthorized access to their accounts. It is a risk similar to a scam but different in many aspects. While Payoneer has modern systems to prevent hackers from getting users’ info, such as two-factor authentication, they do not fully mitigate the risk.
Hacking isn’t a risk that only Payoneer users face, though. Throughout the internet, all platforms that have users get exposed to these risks in one way or another. However, most of the time, the users are responsible for keeping their accounts safe through different common methods and techniques. Nonetheless, they still have to face the risk.
3) Frozen or blocked account
Another risk that Payoneer users face and have come across multiple times is frozen or blocked accounts. Sometimes, Payoneer freezes or blocks users’ accounts when the platform doubts there is any malicious or suspicious activity in these accounts.
While it is a part of the platform’s security procedures, some users may also suffer due to false positives. The platform also doesn’t notify users before freezing or blocking their accounts, thus, leaving them without any explanation. For users whose businesses and livelihoods depend on the network, it is a risk that can have severe consequences.
4) Loss of business
Payoneer is a platform that mainly focuses on businesses and professional users. While it provides its users with various features, it may also result in a business loss. The reason behind it is PayPal, one of Payoneer’s main competitors. PayPal is a platform that is much more widespread. Almost all online websites, platforms, marketplaces, etc., accept PayPal payments.
These platforms also can transfer funds to PayPal users apart from Payoneer users alone. In contrast, Payoneer is not as widely accepted. Therefore, clients of a business using Payoneer may switch to other suppliers that offer PayPal acceptability instead. It is a risk all Payoneer users have to face.
5) Tax problems
Payoneer has limited tax services, which mostly include calculating VAT on some transactions. Apart from that, Payoneer offers its users no other tax-related services.
On the other hand, other online payment platforms, including its competitor PayPal, offer users much better tax-related services in some countries than Payoneer. There are also some reported instances of Payoneer helping users avoid taxes using the Payoneer card in different jurisdictions.
That can create problems for users, especially considering the users on the platform are businesses and professional users. Instead of providing these services, Payoneer delegates the responsibility of taxes to its users.
Conclusion
Many users worldwide trust Payoneer as an online financial services platform. Payoneer, while safe, still has some risks that users must face.
The top five risks of using Payoneer include scams, hacking, frozen or blocked accounts, loss of business, and tax problems. While some solutions to these problems exist, users still have to come across them from time to time.