When it comes to getting your payments as a VA, the main things to consider are reliability, security, and speed of transfers. There are a few reputable online money transfer companies to choose from. But deciding on one largely depends on both you and your client’s preference. For a virtual assistant one main consideration is ease of use or a hassle-free system. While employers normally want a payment method that does not charge much when transferring funds. 

Here are some of the commonly used payment methods to get paid as a VA:

1. PayPal

When we talk about credible, safe, and secure online payment company, PayPal is a household name. You can be assured that your money is in good hands. The American e-payment company is the biggest brand in the realm of electronic payments system. Thus, if you are a virtual assistant, clients usually expect you to have your own PayPal account to receive your salaries. 

PayPal is user-friendly and intuitive. Its fuss-free design does not intimidate first-time users. If you want to receive your VA fees via this method, all you need to do is link either a major debit or credit card or your local bank account. By linking a bank account or a Visa, Mastercard or American Express card to your PayPal account, you can transfer the funds received in your PayPal Account to the linked card or bank account. Another great thing about this payment transfer option is that it supports a lot of currencies. 

But in anything there’s always a downside. One is high cross-border transfer costs which is at least 2.5%. Another one is account freeze without prior notice. While it is a good thing and only validates how secure this digital payment company is, some freelancers and virtual assistants are not comfortable about this possibility. 

Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that PayPal is often a target of cyber criminals such as phishers and online thieves. Therefore, always be alert and in the know of updates. Know PayPal’s official emails and notifications. 

2. Bank Transfer

Electronic fund transfer to your bank is the most convenient and cheapest way to get paid as a VA. These direct transfers are also fast. They usually only take between 24 to 48 hours. Also, you do not need to worry about your money getting frozen within a third-party platform or suspended en route to your account.

The bad news however is that some overseas clients cannot transfer funds directly to your bank account due to restrictions imposed by their own local bank. Therefore, it is not a convenient option for your employer.

3. Online Job Platforms

Some virtual employment platforms offer their own payments system such as Upwork. Their own payments collection system will basically bill your clients on your behalf. So no need for you to send an invoice to your client and your hours worked are practically always hours paid. Once payment is available, you have the option to withdraw your salary by linking your local bank account or transfer via PayPal or Payoneer.

While freelance sites are still a reliable way to get paid as a virtual assistant, the problem is that they aren’t as fast and you get to pay the transfer and withdrawal fees, unless your client picks up the fees for you. 

4. International Money Transfer Platform

Another convenient method to receive your payment as a VA is through online money transfer sites such as TransferWise, Xoom, XE amongst others depending on which platform is mostly used in your client’s location. The good thing about these platforms is you receive your money directly to your own bank account. Plus, you don’t need to pay cross-border fees. 

In conclusion, there are several credible ways to get paid as a VA. Now it really is just a matter of choosing which one is most convenient not only for you but also for your client.

As a real estate investor, you know how busy you can get that sometimes you would wish you can bilocate or have multiple hands to do things at once. But nah… you are not a machine and you neither have more than two hands nor be in two different places at the same time! But with a real estate VA, you can easily unload tasks off your plate and focus on scaling your business instead. Sounds good right?

Hiring a real estate virtual assistant can be a game-changing experience for you. The benefits of having remote assistants working for you can be life-long even especially if you find a reliable and talented VA. So, what exactly are the things that you will enjoy if you hire a real estate VA?

1. Operate a 24/7 Real Estate Business

If you want to maximize your business’ earning potential, then being able to operate 24 hours a day, 7days a week is a powerful strategy to achieve that. Imagine having a fully operational team of remote assistants located halfway around the world (like in the Philippines), picking up where you left off when you go to sleep! You have a business running efficiently, staying productive even while you’re in dreamland. And we are talking about tasks delegated to real people implementing and accomplishing them.

2. Enjoy a more automated and systematized business operation

These virtual assistants are in fact highly qualified and college-educated even that they are fully able to do practically anything under the sun. What’s more, even if they’re literally located for instance in the Philippines where many businesses hire remote staff, they are bilingual and can speak good English. They can help you with a multitude of tasks, automate your office, as well as create and implement business systems. Think about managing your inbox every day, data scraping, calling leads and clients, entering or uploading data, managing your social media pages, and basically everything from A to Z!

3. More time and profit

Obviously, if you are able to delegate essential tasks to capable office assistants, you would be able to focus more on growing your business. And ultimately this would mean increasing your net profit! If you can free up your time, instead of doing time-consuming clerical stuff, you can find more deals, and then generate more money for the company. 

4. Scale your business

The whole point of hiring virtual assistants to begin with is to be able to expand and scale up your real estate business. As mentioned, these remote workers are highly educated and skilled workers. As a matter of fact, you can even seek advice from them in terms of growing or improving your business. Sometimes we get really unique and brilliant ideas from our own employees we would thank them later.

5. Less stress, more time to be happy 

If you hire a real estate VA, you will enjoy a more organized, less stressful working environment, and a happier life overall. Naturally, if you see your business growing and becoming more and more profitable each day, you will become happy and more fulfilled. 

So if you want to see this happening for you too, now is the time to seriously consider having a virtual staff at your real estate company.

2020 has kept explosive surprises coming. And the business world hasn’t fallen short of these shockers. From being one of the most valuable fintech empires in the world, the German payment processing firm called Wirecard has crumbled just like that.

 After its CEO Markus Braun bowed out of the company and ultimately arrested due to alleged fraudulent accounting activities, Wirecard AG finally filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, June 25,, 2020.

But what does this insolvent status mean to subsidiary companies, its partners, and freelancers across the globe who relied on the supposed reputable financial firm for their online payments and other digital financial transactions? 

With the fallen fintech giant’s current financial chaos, nobody knows exactly whether global remote workers especially those wirecard-issued card holders can withdraw their money anytime soon, as millions of funds are temporarily frozen as a result of the shocking financial scam. 

Wirecard has an estimated debt of about 4 billion USD, and around 1.9 billion Euros that’s nowhere to be found in the company’s books, of which Wirecard later on admitted being non-existent to begin with. In their press release, the Germany-based company said that they are currently assessing whether to also file insolvency for its subsidiaries. Naturally, it caused panic amongst users of online money transfer cards issued by Wirecard Card Solutions Limited (WCSL) UK, such as  Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard and boon card.

However, all hope is not lost for freelancers with money still stuck due to Wirecard AG’s bankruptcy. Payoneer said that the UK FCA or Financial Conduct Authority has already intervened and is now overseeing WCSL in order to protect the interest of all Wirecard clients. But this in turn results in the temporary suspension on all card activities. 

For the time being, the funds on your card might stay frozen for as long as the FCA investigation is happening. The good news is Payoneer assures customers that they are working closely with the FCA to be able to resume all card activities as soon as possible. Payoneer also highlighted that clients can withdraw the money that is exceeding the maximum balance of their card as it’s being held by Payoneer and therefore not affected by the temporary freeze. 

But what about your pending payments, you may ask. Pending transfers on the other hand will go straight to your Payoneer account as a virtual currency balance just like how PayPal works. This means that you simply sign in, add a local bank account if you haven’t yet, and then you can transfer such funds to your bank for future withdrawal.

Just like the pandemic, nobody has seen the collapse of Wirecard coming. And just like any other massive scandals that we get to see time and again, the story of the disgraced fintech firm must serve as another important lesson for private customers and businesses alike. Giants like Goliath are not invincible. 

As virtual freelancers, being able to receive payments successfully and on-time is critical. Therefore, payment methods matter. The only way to make transfer and receipt of payments secure is to be more critical in terms of choosing the type of online payment service to use.