Fee hike shakes Pakistani freelancers as Payoneer imposes new 3% withdrawal charges

Payoneer, a prominent global financial services provider, has implemented major changes to its fee structure for users in Pakistan, introducing a 3% withdrawal charge that has drawn widespread concern from the local online workforce.

This week, the company quietly revised its pricing policy, with a particular impact on freelancers and digital professionals who depend on the platform for international payments. Under the updated terms, withdrawals from Payoneer accounts to non-local currency bank accounts—including USD, EUR, and GBP—are now subject to a flat 3% fee. This marks a 50% increase from the previous rates, where some transactions were either free or carried lower fees.

Transfers to third-party bank accounts, which were previously partially exempt, now uniformly incur the 3% charge across all currencies. Internal Payoneer-to-Payoneer transfers have also been revised: transactions exceeding 500 units in USD, EUR, or GBP will be charged a 0.60% fee, while smaller amounts will face a flat fee of 3.00 in the respective currency.

Moreover, the platform has introduced new charges for incoming payments. Dollar transfers below $100 are now subject to a $1 fee, whereas transfers exceeding $100 will incur a 1% deduction. Comparable fee structures have been introduced for other major currencies, including GBP, EUR, CAD, AED, and AUD.

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These sudden changes have sparked frustration among thousands of Pakistani freelancers, remote workers, and small businesses, many of whom criticized the lack of transparency and advance notice from the company.