Hello Freelancers!
I hope everyone is having a great day!
I'm new to Upwork, so I'm still experimenting. I tried something interesting today and wanted to share it with my fellow freelancers.
Update: After further exploration, it seems that PayPal's conversion rates go up and down. So, before proceeding, ensure to check the marketplace rates first.
I'm based in the UK, so your experience might be different. Nonetheless, I believe this is worth noting. Since I'm in the UK, my dollars get converted to pounds, and I usually prefer receiving my money directly to my bank since it's a $1 fee compared to $2 for PayPal. However, whenever I send my money to the bank, it deducts an additional 3 to 5 dollars, which can be annoying. So, you've got the 10% Upwork fee + 0.2 * Upwork's fee to get the VAT + 3 to 5 dollars to be converted to the bank, which is taking more than necessary, in my opinion.
By transferring my money to PayPal, I pay a $2 fee, but I get my money instantly without the need to wait. More importantly, the money I receive in my PayPal account is similar to the amount in Upwork after the fee and VAT deduction. Some might think an additional 3 to 5 dollars isn't worth it, but if this happens weekly, you're paying an additional $20 to the bank each month and $240 yearly above the 10% fee and VAT deductions. Apparently, everyone is milking you for your hard-earned work 🙂
I hope you find this helpful and remember; sharing is caring.
Have a nice day.
😊
