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Huzaifa's avatar
Huzaifa S Community Member

My Payment Method is Inactive

Your withdrawal method isn’t active yet. For security reasons, you need to wait 3 days after you add a new withdrawal method before you can use it.

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Luiggi's avatar
Luiggi R Retiring Moderator

Hi Huzaifa,

 

If your payment method is inactive, it can be because of one or both of the following reasons:

 

  • It was added in the last three days: For security reasons, any new payment method will become active in three days. 
  • You need to provide your tax information: All freelancers who are U.S. persons should file a Form W-9 with Upwork to access their funds. You sign electronically by submitting the form.

If you’re not a U.S. taxpayer, you must file a Form W-8BEN instead. The Form W-8BEN is used to confirm that you’re not a U.S. taxpayer and that Upwork is not required to withhold taxes from your earnings. Tip: You can use your legal name as it appears in your passport or other official documents.

~ Luiggi

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95 REPLIES 95
Ronna's avatar
Ronna P Retired Team Member

Hi Samanta, 

 

Thank you for your message. I have shared your post to a support ticket to look into this for you. The handling team will reach out to you on the ticket to assist you accordingly.

 

~Ronna
Haris's avatar
Haris S Community Member

Hello Upwork Community and Support Team!

 

I hope you're all doing well. I recently added my US bank account as my preferred withdrawal method, and the 3-day activation period has now passed. However, my account still shows as inactive, even though all the information provided is correct.

I submitted a ticket about three days ago and received a response within 24 hours, letting me know that my request had been forwarded to the relevant department. Unfortunately, it’s been 48 hours since then, and I haven’t received any further updates.

Could you please assist with this issue? Thank you so much for your help!

Ivygail's avatar
Ivygail J Retired Team Member

Hello Haris,

 

I am sorry to hear about the issue with your newly added payment method. I checked and see that you are already in correspondence with our team on your support ticket. I have coordinated with our assigned team and the agent handling your case will reach out to you soon. You can access your ticket on this page.

 

~Ivy
Haris's avatar
Haris S Community Member

Hello IvygailJ,

Thanks for the help. My issue has been resolved.
Yaroslav's avatar
Yaroslav K Community Member

Hello. I'll go straight to the point. If I don't add tax info, will I be able to withdraw my earnings? I will be grateful, if someone from Upwork moderators will reply.

Ivygail's avatar
Ivygail J Retired Team Member

Hello Yaroslav,

 

Thank you for your message. Please know that in order to withdraw your earnings from Upwork, you'll need to complete the Tax Information form.

 

Furthermore, if the required form isn't completed, we might have to withhold up to 30% of your earnings and send that amount to the IRS. It is important to note that we won't be able to issue refunds for any withheld funds sent to the IRS, even if the forms are completed later. You can learn more here

 

~Ivy
Jehan's avatar
Jehan S Community Member

Hi everyone! I’m a new freelancer from the Philippines, and I’ve been struggling for over a month now trying to withdraw my first earnings on Upwork. Both my bank accounts, Payoneer, and PayPal keep showing as inactive. I’ve double-checked everything—my personal account details, profile name, phone number, and address all match, yet I still can't withdraw. Every time I try, I wait the usual 3 days for the accounts to activate, but after several attempts, nothing seems to work.

 

This is really stressing me out, especially since I’m the breadwinner in my family and really need to access these funds. It's also my first payment from my first client, so I’m eager to sort this out. If anyone has experienced a similar issue or knows what might be causing this, I would greatly appreciate your advice.

 

Thank you in advance! 🙏

Carla's avatar
Carla C Community Member

Hi! Have you tried contacting Upworks support team? I know there's a support forum maybe you can ask there.

Ivygail's avatar
Ivygail J Retired Team Member

Hello Jehan,

 

Thank you for reaching out. I understand how frustrating this must be for you. I checked your account and it looks like your payment method is inactive because you have not been able to complete your Tax Information page yet. Please know that you need to provide your tax information: In order to access your funds. If you’re not a U.S. taxpayer, you’ll need to file a Form W-8BEN instead. The Form W-8BEN is a form used to confirm you’re not a U.S. taxpayer and that Upwork is not required to withhold taxes from your earnings. 

 

Tip: You can use your own legal name as it appears in your passport or other official documents.

 

~Ivy
Mary Grace's avatar
Mary Grace J Community Member

Hi. It says my payment method (local bank) will be available today (September 20, 2024) but as I have checked my status, it's still inactive. 

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

What is "it" that says?

Ivygail's avatar
Ivygail J Retired Team Member

Hello Mary Grace,

 

I checked your account, and it looks like the payment method is already active, and you have already transferred your funds. Let us know if you need further assistance.

 

~Ivy
Cristina's avatar
Cristina C Community Member

I have an account and i am trying to set up my tax information set up. I have entered my tax info on the W8 BEN but it tells me the following when clicking enter at the bottom of the page: Please read and scroll to the bottom of the content of the W-8BEN certification to confirm electronic delivery of document. I see no option to obtain this electronic. 

Ronna's avatar
Ronna P Retired Team Member

Hi Cristina, 

 

Thank you for sharing your concern. Upon checking, it looks like you just need to enter your signature at the bottom part by entering your full name to complete the form. You can learn more by visiting this helpful page. Let us know if you need further assistance. 

 

~Ronna
Cristina's avatar
Cristina C Community Member

Hi, Yes, I have already sone this and does not let me continue, give the same error. Is there a customer service number that I can call?

Thank you.
Ivygail's avatar
Ivygail J Retired Team Member

Thank you for confirming that the issue persists, Cristina. I am stepping in for Ronna and created a support ticket for you. One of our agents will reach out to you soon to further assist. Could you also please attach a video clip that shows the issue to your support ticket here?

 

~Ivy
Matthew's avatar
Matthew A Community Member

My payment method is still inactive after 3 days, what is the problem? I can not find it! what should I do?

Pradeep's avatar
Pradeep H Retired Team Member

Hi Matthew,

 

I checked your account and can confirm that your payment method is already accepted. Please complete the Tax Information page to activate your withdrawal. 

 

- Pradeep

Emdadul's avatar
Emdadul H Community Member

Hello everyone, my upwork work profile payment method is not active, they showing inactive but all those right information I will provide checked over time, but don.t know how to fix this problem.I atteched  screen short below 

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Pradeep's avatar
Pradeep H Retired Team Member

Hi Emdadul,

 

I checked your account and can confirm that the payment method is already accepted. Please update your Taxpayer identification section on the Tax Information page to activate the payment method.

 

- Pradeep

Felekech's avatar
Felekech A Community Member

Hello! It's been four days since I added a payment method to my local bank, but it's still inactive. I haven't received any response or verification email from Upwork. Could you please tell me how long it typically takes for the payment method to be activated? Also, this is my first time using Upwork, but I did not receive the free 50 Connects for new users. Could you help clarify this situation?

Ronna's avatar
Ronna P Retired Team Member

Hi Felekech,

 

Thank you for your message. I checked and see that you need to complete your Tax Info in Manage finances > Tax information so that your payment method will be active. Additionally, a newly added payment method will be active after the standard three-day security period. To learn more, you can visit these helpful pages:

 

 

I'd like to clarify that currently, new freelancers on Upwork need to do one of two things before they can receive free 50 Connects and submit a proposal for a job: subscribe to our Freelancer Plus membership plan for $19.99 USD a month, or purchase Connects. You can see this helpful article to learn more.

 

~Ronna
Carolyn's avatar
Carolyn R Community Member

Why is my bank account for direct deposit inactive. The bank rejected my funds a week ago but my subsequent withdrawal was deposited to my account last week. I'm very confused. Please Help. This is very frustrating as I need my funds immediately

Ivygail's avatar
Ivygail J Retired Team Member

Hello Caroly,

 

I understand how frustrating this must be for you. I’ve escalated your community post to a support ticket. One of our agents will be in touch with you soon to assist.

 

~Ivy
Carolyn's avatar
Carolyn R Community Member

Hello, I returned to this post because both of my payment methods (direct depostis)  are inactive. What I suspected with  my fundsl being rejected the first time has happend  again. This time with my second account. The bank rejected my funds yet again.  I called both banks spoke to cusomter service and it appears they reject deposits under US$100. All of my withdrawals must be over US$100 for the funds to be deposited to my bank accounts. So going forward I will not attempt to make a withdrawal unless my funds are above aforementioned amount.  Now that the bank has informed me of this, When can my direct payment methods be re activated? 

 

The agent told me that once I find out the reason for my funds being rejected, upwork can reactivate my payment methods.