Payoneer Widens Reach of Local Currency Payments1
New York July 29, 2011 - Payoneer, an international electronic payment provider, is adding 11 countries to its new program that pays partners in their native currency, streamlining the payment process. Under the new system, end users’ funds no longer have to undergo currency exchange.
Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Belgium, and Latvia join 18 countries that already use Payoneer’s feature - Germany, Italy, Estonia, Poland, Philippines, Israel, Bulgaria, Australia, France, the Netherlands, Canada, the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Romania, Spain, and United Kingdom. The "local money transfer" feature was unveiled in May.
The new method makes transfers quicker and more affordable than the current payment method, especially crucial for banks that are behind in sophistication compared to banks in the United States, where many partners await their funds for a long period of time. The feature is gradually rolling out to more countries.
Payoneer, which processes $500 million in international payments annually, was founded in 2005. It has a wide variety of partners, including stock photo company iStockphoto, freelance marketplace oDesk and affiliate marketer Buy.at. Freelancers and independent contractors are the most common Payoneer partners.
The payments, also loaded and used through a MasterCard® card, are used just as any other credit card, both at registers and ATM machines. Payoneer’s system is quicker and less expensive than traditional methods such as check payments, especially internationally.
Payoneer, headquartered in the United States, with a research and development office in Israel, is financially backed by Carmel Ventures, Greylock Partners, and Crossbar Capital. Choice Bank and First Covenant Bank facilitate the MasterCard® transactions.
Yuval Tal, founder of Payoneer, has a lifelong career in electronic payment and online commerce. He launched several web-based companies that are on the cutting edge of their markets. His career highlights include his role as Vice President of Radware and General Manager of R-U-Sure Ltd. He is the co-founder of one of the first global online payment providers to facilitate United States commerce, E4X, now FiftyOne.
He was born in Israel and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s degree in biomedical engineering, and an MBA. He is an avid photographer who studied at the Parsons New School for Design in New York City and participates in triathlons and Nike runs as a dedicated runner. The member of the Young Presidents Organization enjoys spending time with his family.
Payoneer attended the Direct Selling Association of Malaysia[/url] Convention 2011 in Selangor, Malaysia. The event, attended by leading direct selling merchants and substantial selling markets, provided trade insight and allowed Payoneer to introduce its product. The DSAM, which has a distribution operation of more than 3 million, aims to protect and promote the business goals of its members.