The Freelance Economy has been rapidly increasing in the last years, and more people than ever are deciding to jump onto the freelance wagon. In fact, according to a recent report by Elance, more than 1.15 million professionals have signed up as freelancers in the last year alone!

Payoneer recently carried out a Global Payments survey for Freelancers, and found very interesting information regarding the preferences professionals have regarding receiving their online earnings. One of the questions we put forward was their preferred payment method.

Do you agree with the preferred method to receive freelance earnings below? Don’t be shy and let us know in the comments 🙂

Are you curious about how other professionals receive and use their online earnings? Stay tuned for future blog posts with more interesting info!

One such freelancer is Alejandro, a professional linguist who uses Payoneer to receive his earnings to Argentina. Using Payoneer’s US Payment Request service, Alejandro is able to easily send a request for payment to US companies and receive US bank transfers directly to his Payoneer account. We asked Alejandro to share his Payoneer experience – here’s what he had to say:

What are the benefits of using the US Payment Request service?

The US Payment Service is very convenient for the company I work for as a freelancer, since they can send my earnings to me through ACH transfers online in a matter of seconds. 

Are you satisfied with the updated US Payment  Service?

Yes- I’ve used the US Payment Service payment request not only to request payments for my work but also to receive reimbursements for operative expenses and commuting from the companies I work for. 

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Eduardo Grude is a professional freelance web designer from Latin America, and also a Payoneer account holder. Being experienced in doing business internationally while living in Latin America, Eduardo explains the obstacles freelancers face working in a global economy, and how Payoneer helped him to overcome those obstacles and grow his business.

I´ve been working as a web design freelancer for many years, but I had a big problem: I couldn’t do effective online advertising with per pay click payment methods such as Google Adwords, because of limitations I encountered in Venezuela. I needed to promote my Google Adwords services since the traditional methods weren’t effective enough for me and I needed to get more clients.

I received payments for selling some hosting services as an affiliate but I couldn’t make use of that money other than purchasing on websites or paying for some services. I discovered  Payoneer around 2012, I had been looking for information about opening a bank account in the USA for a long time, and I finally came across Payoneer’s services.

Why did you choose Payoneer?

I can honestly say that Payoneer has changed my life! My biggest problem had been solved, and now I could withdraw money that I received online to a US bank account through the US Payment Service, without having to incur in any expenses, like depositing money to open such account. I was then able to make payments with my Payoneer Mastercard.

Payoneer has enabled me to see the endless opportunities that the Internet has to offer, so much so that I’m leaving my profession as a freelance worker to start other online businesses.

Tell us a bit about your experience using the Payoneer Refer a Friend Program. Are you satisfied?

Regarding the Refer a Friend Program, I immediately started promoting Payoneer’s services- I wanted to shout to the world I had found such a valuable opportunity for everyone using the Net to work and do business.

I am very satisfied with the services Payoneer offers, they really are excellent! And I’m even happier that I have been able to help so many people get to know about their services. In fact, they have acknowledged I’m one of the top 2013 referrers.

To my fellow Venezuelans, and to everyone around the world, I’d like to say: there is a way, starting an online business to work from home or anywhere in the world, is the only way!

Eduardo Grude

Blog:  http://www.generandoactivos.com

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Over the past few years the Freelance Economy has been exploding. Did you know that 1 in 3 people in the US are earning money from freelance jobs*, which amounted to approximately $42 million in 2013? In fact, a recent Global Online Employment Report posted by Elance shows 600,000 new jobs, 600,000 new freelancers, and over $130 million earned on Elance – just in the first 6 months of 2013!

The concept of traditional full-time employment  being the most secure and consistent is becoming obsolete thanks to technology’s role in today’s flexible global economy. Rather than leaving your home country to seek new employment opportunities, technology has made it possible for you to stay at home and work remotely. You can view an interesting infographic showing reasons why people choose to become freelancers here.

More and more companies are realizing the benefits of hiring freelance workers to complete projects. Whether it’s a one-time project, the company is short on budget, or simply is not in a position to hire a full-time employee, freelancers bring a lot to the table.

If you’re a freelancer, now is the time to take advantage of this rapidly growing economy and make money! The first thing you need to decide is where to focus your efforts. Payoneer provides global payment solutions to freelancers across the globe, and we recently asked them what kind of work they do. We found that the majority of freelancers work in the creative fields of Graphic Design, Content Writing and Video and Animation – below are the full results:

Next you’ll want to promote your services and find new clients. Social media is certainly a powerful tool, and services like Wix, WordPress, and Tumblr can help you easily set up your own website. Developing your profile and portfolio on major Sites like Elance, oDesk, Fiverr, 99Designs, Freelancer.com, and Envato is also a great way to promote yourself and find new jobs. Not sure which to focus on? Perhaps this infographic comparing some of the major freelance marketplaces can help:

Are you a Freelancer and want to share your experience and tips with us? Perhaps you’d like to write a guest post on our blog? Let us know in the comments below!

*Statistic according to the Freelancers Union