Why does Upwork let anyone post on the client side without verifying payment?

[#1]

Have you noticed that the number of job postings with unverified payment far outweigh those whose posters have verified? It is really frustrating to have to weed through all of these. I don't even consider a job if the client hasn't verified their payment. Honestly, I don't think Upwork is earning their % when freelancers have to dig to find a trustworthy client. This is supposed to be a professional space where the jobs are better curated than a random crap-shoot online. 

[#2]

You're missing out. Loads of good clients start out without verifying a payment method, and only do so when they hire someone. It's not really a red flag at all, unless combined with other suspicious signs.

[#3]

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Robert Y wrote:

You're missing out. Loads of good clients start out without verifying a payment method, and only do so when they hire someone. It's not really a red flag at all, unless combined with other suspicious signs.

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Shhh.

Don't tell everybody - it means more clients for us. 

[#4]

I think it’s just in the language. “Verified” is a reassuring word when it seems to answer the question “Will I get paid?” with such clarity.

As I told others who took the time to reply: thank you. I wasn’t exaggerating - I really didn’t trust unverified payments and didn’t apply for jobs with that distinction.

Now I just might!
Cat’s out of the bag! 😉

[#5 · Accepted solution]

Yeah, my last two clients were newbies so their accounts said "payment method unverified" until the the job began. Don't let that hold you back and Upwork actually wants these clients because they are new blood and shekels for the platform, and all of us.

[#6]

Thanks so much, Jared! Many people had a similar "answer," but your reply was the most straight-forward and kind. I appreciated everyone who took time to set me straight, but you actually spoke more like a mentor or colleague. Using positive talk instead of negative - which helped balance out my own negativity! That's a gift that not too many people share these days. Many thanks. 

[#7]

There's nothing wrong with having an unverified payment method when posting a job. There's no reason for them to set up a payment method until they're ready to hire. It just has to be verified before you accept an offer from them. The last thing I do before I accept an offer is to check that, and I ask them to take care of it if it's still unverified. Before that, it doesn't matter.

[#8]

Requiring clients to verify their payment method before posting a job would be like making you verify your credit card at the door before allowing you to browse in DSW. 

First rule of freelancing on this platform: We don't want UW to do anything that injects friction into the process for incoming clients. They bring the money.

[#9]

All interesting replies - thanks!

I haven’t taken unverified postings seriously because they made me nervous. Maybe I’ll look at it a little differently now.

[#10]

One of the larger misconceptions that newbies seem to have is that an unverified payment method is a bad sign. No idea where that came from. 

[#11]

I’m not a newbie; I have just worked for a verified client long-term, so had a limited view.
I think it’s just in the language. “Verified” is a reassuring word.
As I told others who took the time to reply: thank you. I wasn’t exaggerating - I really didn’t trust unverified payments and didn’t apply for them.
Now I just might!

[#12]

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Melissa F wrote:

I don't even consider a job if the client hasn't verified their payment.

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How very shortsighted.

I'd have missed out on many tens of thousands of Dollars if I had the same attitude... 

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Melissa F wrote:

Honestly, I don't think Upwork is earning their % when freelancers have to dig to find a trustworthy client. 

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Two unfounded assumptions... 1) That it is a mistake not to allow unverified clients to post jobs and 2) that that unverified clients are not trustworthy. Both assumptions are false.

Upwork understand their customers. They listenend to clients when they overwhelmingly told Upwork that they would never have posted a job had they been required to verify their payment method first, and would have gone to another platform.

So those clients, even the ones with multiple 100k spending, would have been lost to Upwork and to the freelancers who have made money from them.

[#13]

Thanks for your insight. I’ve heard a lot of the same here, which adjusted my feelings about it. I wasn’t being snarky - I truly didn’t trust it. But so many have replied with similar experiences to yours that it has helped me see it differently.