How to Pay Overseas Contractors: The 5 Best Platforms for 2026

Key Takeaways

• Scattered Tools are a Hidden Cost: Juggling different tools for payments, time tracking, invoicing, and compliance is not just inefficient—it’s a significant legal and financial risk. The modern solution is a unified platform that handles everything.

• #1: Globaltize - The All-in-One Solution: For businesses that need a complete, end-to-end solution, Globaltize is the top choice. It combines multi-currency payments, time tracking, automated invoicing, and crucial compliance features (like contract generation and IRS-compliant tax forms) into a single, easy-to-use dashboard.

• #2: Wise - The Low-Fee Specialist: If your only concern is sending money with low fees, Wise is a strong contender. However, it lacks the integrated time tracking, compliance, and management tools that a dedicated payroll platform offers.

• #3: Payoneer - The Marketplace Favorite: Similar to Wise, Payoneer is a popular choice for simple international payments, especially for those hiring through freelance marketplaces. It’s a solid payment tool, but not a comprehensive contractor management solution.

• #4: PayPal - The High-Fee Convenience: While familiar and widely available, PayPal comes with notoriously high fees that eat into your savings, making it an expensive choice for regular contractor payments.

• #5: SWIFT - The Manual, High-Cost Option: This traditional bank wire transfer system is the most manual and often most expensive option, lacking any management features and best reserved for one-off payments when no other method is available.

• The Right Platform Mitigates Risk: Choosing the right payment platform is a critical business decision. A comprehensive solution like Globaltize not only simplifies your operations but also protects you from the significant legal and financial risks of improper contractor classification and payment.

So, you’ve made the smart decision to hire a global contractor. You’ve found the perfect talent, and you’re ready to scale your business. Now comes the critical, often-overlooked question: how do you actually pay them?

Many business owners fall into the trap of patching together a messy system of spreadsheets for time tracking, email for invoicing, and a separate service for payments. This isn’t just inefficient; it’s a minefield of hidden costs, compliance risks, and administrative headaches. The time you save by hiring a virtual assistant can be quickly erased by the time you spend managing a clunky, manual payroll process.

In 2026, using scattered tools is an unnecessary risk. The modern solution is a unified platform that streamlines the entire process, from onboarding and time tracking to payments and compliance. This guide breaks down the five most common options for paying overseas contractors, from the most comprehensive to the most basic, to help you make the right choice for your business.

#1: Globaltize - The All-in-One Contractor Management Platform

For businesses that want to eliminate administrative work and mitigate legal risk, a dedicated contractor management platform is the gold standard. This is where a solution like Globaltize shines, moving beyond simple payments to offer a complete, end-to-end system.

What it is: Globaltize is a comprehensive platform designed specifically for managing and paying international contractors. It integrates every aspect of the process into a single, easy-to-use dashboard.

Key Features:

• Multi-Currency Payments: Pay your team in over 150 currencies with competitive exchange rates.

• Integrated Time Tracking: Contractors log their hours, you approve them, and payroll is calculated automatically.

• Automated Invoicing: The system generates invoices automatically, eliminating manual back-and-forth.

• Built-in Compliance: This is the most critical differentiator. Globaltize includes tools for contract generation, KYC/ID verification, and the creation of IRS-compliant tax documents (like W-8BEN forms), which is crucial for protecting your business from misclassification risks.

The Verdict: If you are building a long-term relationship with one or more contractors and want a “set it and forget it” system that handles payments, management, and compliance, an all-in-one platform is the clear winner. It’s the most professional, secure, and scalable solution.

Best for: Businesses of all sizes that are serious about building and managing a global team efficiently and safely.

#2: Wise (Formerly TransferWise) - The Low-Fee Specialist

Wise has built a massive user base by focusing on one thing: sending money internationally with transparent, low fees. It is an excellent tool for what it does, but it’s important to understand its limitations.

What it is: A financial technology company that specializes in international money transfers.

Pros:

• Low, Transparent Fees: Wise is known for having some of the lowest fees in the industry.

• Easy to Use: The interface is simple and intuitive for sending one-off or recurring payments.

Cons:

• No Management Features: It does not include time tracking, invoicing, or project management tools.

• No Compliance Support: Wise is purely a payment service. It does not help with contract generation, tax forms, or any other compliance-related tasks. You are entirely on your own to manage this.

The Verdict: Wise is a great choice if you only need to send money and are comfortable managing all other aspects of your contractor relationship (time tracking, invoicing, compliance) manually through other tools.

Best for: One-off payments or businesses with very simple, established processes that only need a payment solution.

#3: Payoneer - The Marketplace Favorite

Payoneer operates in a similar space to Wise, offering a straightforward way to send and receive international payments. It has gained significant popularity as the integrated payment provider for many freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr.

What it is: A global payment platform that facilitates transactions for businesses and freelancers.

Pros:

• Widely Used: Many international contractors, especially those on freelance platforms, already have a Payoneer account.

• Simple Payments: Like Wise, it makes the act of sending money relatively simple.

Cons:

• Limited Features: It lacks the comprehensive management and compliance tools of a dedicated platform like Globaltize.

• Fees Can Vary: While generally competitive, the fee structure can be more complex than Wise’s.

The Verdict: Payoneer is a solid, reliable payment tool. However, like Wise, it is not a contractor management solution. It solves the payment piece of the puzzle but leaves you to handle the rest.

Best for: Businesses hiring contractors from freelance marketplaces or those who need a simple, widely accepted payment method.

#4: PayPal - The High-Fee Convenience

PayPal is the most ubiquitous name in online payments, and its familiarity is its biggest advantage. Nearly everyone has an account, which makes it seem like the easiest option. However, that convenience comes at a significant cost.

What it is: A global online payment system.

Pros:

• Extremely Common: Most contractors will have a PayPal account, making the initial setup easy.

Cons:

• Very High Fees: PayPal’s international transaction fees are notoriously high, often 5% or more, which can quickly erode the cost savings you gain by hiring globally.

• Poor Exchange Rates: The currency conversion rates offered by PayPal are typically much worse than those from specialized services like Wise or Globaltize.

• No Management or Compliance Features: It is purely a payment tool and offers no support for managing your team.

The Verdict: While tempting due to its familiarity, PayPal is one of the most expensive ways to pay international contractors. The high fees make it a poor choice for regular, ongoing payments.

Best for: A one-time, small payment when no other option is available.

#5: SWIFT (Wire Transfer) - The Manual, High-Cost Option

This is the old-school method: a direct bank-to-bank wire transfer. While it feels secure because it’s handled by banks, it is the most manual, complex, and expensive option on the list.

What it is: A traditional international bank transfer.

Pros:

• Direct to Bank: The money goes directly into your contractor’s bank account.

Cons:

• Highest Fees: SWIFT transfers often involve high sending fees, intermediary bank fees, and receiving fees, sometimes totaling $50 or more per transaction.

• Slow and Complex: It can take several days for the money to arrive, and the process of initiating the transfer requires gathering detailed banking information.

• Absolutely No Features: It is a one-way transfer of funds with no tracking, management, or compliance capabilities.

The Verdict: In 2026, there is almost no reason to use a SWIFT transfer to pay a contractor regularly. It is slow, expensive, and completely manual.

Best for: A last resort for a single, large payment when a digital platform is not an option.

Making the Right Choice

Choosing how to pay your overseas team is a critical decision that impacts your efficiency, budget, and legal standing. While simple payment tools like Wise and Payoneer are excellent for what they do, they leave you exposed to compliance risks and administrative burdens.

For any business looking to build a sustainable, scalable global team, an all-in-one platform is the clear choice. By unifying payments, management, and compliance, a solution like the Globaltize Payroll Software not only saves you time and money but also provides the peace of mind that comes from knowing you’re doing things the right way.

References

[1] Globaltize Payroll Software [2] Wise [3] Payoneer [4] PayPal [5] SWIFT