ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Pakistani freelancers on Upwork can now send their earnings straight to local mobile wallets, including JazzCash and Easypaisa, without going through Payoneer or a bank, according to the platform’s help centre.
Upwork lists five Pakistani wallets for its “direct to wallet” option: JazzCash, Easypaisa, NayaPay, SadaPay and Finja. Freelancers began seeing it in their accounts this week. Upwork says the money usually arrives within minutes. If a withdrawal takes more than 24 hours, it advises checking with the wallet provider first and then contacting Upwork.
How to set it up: register and activate your wallet account first. Then, on Upwork, go to Account settings (Settings in the mobile app), open Withdrawals, select Add a method, choose the setup button for direct to wallet and enter your details. Your first and last name must exactly match the name on the wallet and your verified name on Upwork. For security reasons, the new method becomes active after three days. Withdrawal limits vary by wallet and are shown when you add it or withdraw.
What it costs: Upwork says the withdrawal fee varies by wallet, though users report the app showing a flat fee of $1.99 a withdrawal. The money is converted to rupees at an exchange rate that already includes conversion costs, with no separate conversion fee, but the wallet provider may charge its own fees. For comparison, Upwork’s direct to local bank option costs $0.99 a withdrawal.
Until now most Pakistani freelancers moved their money to Payoneer first and then on to a bank or wallet, paying fees at each step. Pakistan’s freelancers earned a record $1.76 billion in the last financial year, 78 per cent more than the year before, officials say. The wallet option is also available in Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Kenya.
