Skrill - an alternative to Paypal
The technological advance has allowed humans to communicate from anywhere, and according to their skills or professions it is possible to offer all kinds of services on platforms such as Freelancer, Workana or Fiver, that have allies in terms of receiving and sending payments by different methods. This article will explain how two of the payment sending and receiving platforms work, associated with web pages. freelancer, being able to determine its advantages and disadvantages.
Paypal, is one of the giants in terms of payment processors (sending and receiving electronic money), it is widely used in any type of transaction or economic sector, and its popularity has increased thanks to the multiplication of freelancers Throughout the world, it is accepted as a means of payment in almost all countries and businesses.
Skrill emerges as an alternative to Paypal in the year 2001, formerly called MoneyBookers, is a very simple platform to use, the interface is completely friendly and does not allow the user to get lost in the page trying to locate a function. If the PC is not used frequently it is possible to download the application to the mobile phone completely free, and you will have access to all the functions as on the web page.
In order to make comparisons between both payment methods, we describe a situation, in which a work request has been received for a project in the area of Geographic Information Systems, specifically, the creation of several maps containing processed information from satellite images and an analysis report for each of the products; The contractor offers for this project an amount of USD $ 2.000,00, which must be deposited in the account of the employment platforms . and block for the purposes of security of payment, after completing the work satisfactorily, the money is released to the employee, who will have several withdrawal options, and within those who can use are Paypal and Skrill.
Comparison of platforms according to the hypothetical case
Create accounts
- In PayPal: creating an account is an easy and free process, the problem is manifested in the verification, so that the account is verified must be associated with a credit card, if you do not have one, PayPal establishes limits of use of the account and amounts of withdrawal both monthly and annual. This process usually takes 24 to 48 hours. In addition, there are other restrictions, 20 only supports types of currencies and according to the place where the account was created, the commissions vary, if you move from a country you go on a trip you can not change your address, it must be taken into account that there are some restrictions and commissions for use in each country.
- In Skrill: creating an account is just as easy and free, verification does not require associating a credit card, but some receipt of service payment and identification, this process takes 24 hours or less. You can open the account in any country, since it accepts 40 types of currencies, so there are no limitations of use, as far as the location.
You can add as many bank accounts, in the required currencies, a situation that does not happen with PayPal that allows only a personal account and a business account, it is also possible to change the balance of the account to cryptocurrencies (bitcoin cash, bitcoin, Ethereum classic, Ethereum, Litecoin and 0x) in the same Skrill interface.
Commissions and fees
In PayPal: The commissions are quite high, according to the example we calculate the following: when the client requests to send the 2.000 $ the commission that is applied per shipment is 5,14% + 0,30 $, that is to say 108,3 $, in total the person would receive 1.891,7 $. If you want to receive the total amount, the person must send 2.114,48 in order to receive 2.000 $.
Since the commission amounts are so high, the employee must choose to collect the full amount of the work, since, if fractionated payments are made, each time the process is performed, this 5,14 + 0.30 $ fee will be charged. This commission also varies according to the country of origin (for example, to send payments to Brazil the commission is 7.4% + 0,50 $).
If, you want to make a currency conversion during the reception or shipping process, an 3,5% more is charged on the amount.
PayPal works under two concepts, (net amounts and gross amounts), so the difference between the two must be taken into account when agreeing to send and receive funds. The net amount is the one that arrives when the contractor assumes the commissions (in this case the net amount is 2.114,48, so that the full $ 2.000 reaches the employee), the gross amount is received without the contractor covering the PayPal commissions means that the employee receives a total of $ 1.891,7.
- In Skrill: the commissions for receiving money are zero, that is, 0%, that is, for this example, if the contractor and the employee decide to use this payment method, the employee will receive the full $ 2.000 without reducing the amount for commissions. In the case of the contractor, the commission percentage is 1,45%, that is, the contractor must add $ 29 more to his payment, which would be $ 85,48 less than the PayPal commission.
Associate accounts
If you want to add money from:
- bank transfer 0%
- Bitcoin, neteller, Klarna, Paysafe cash, Trustlv: 1% commission
- Credit card American Express, Diners, Master card, VISA, paysafe card: 1% commission
To withdraw the commissions are:
- Euros: 5,50 euros
- Visa: 7,50%
- Swift: 5,50 euros
If you want to convert the received currency to another currency, the 3,99 commission% is charged according to the currency.
With Skrill It is possible to have a debit card, which is granted when the account amounts exceed $ 3000, when this happens, it becomes a VIP member (Bronze, Silver, Gold or Diamond). Its application cost is 10 euros and is issued between 24 to 48 hours, receiving it within 7 business days. The commissions for currency exchange are 2,49% for regular users, for VIP clients it is 1,75%.
The commissions for using this card are zero, and to withdraw from ATMs if you have a bronze account it is 1,90%, if you are a VIP Silver, Golden or Diamond client there is no percentage of commission for withdrawal, the withdrawal limit It is $ 900 to $ 5000 depending on the type of account. It is ideal for those who make purchases online.
Skrill, take a step forward, with the income of purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, commissions vary depending on the currency you have in your account, for example, if the account has funds in dollars or euros and want to change it to cryptocurrencies, the commission purchase or sale is 1,50%, for other currencies the commission is 3% promotes the use of games of chance, so this means of payment is accepted in almost all online sportsbooks and casinos.
As for security
- In PayPal: The security of the account is very high, if there is any mistake and the contractor during the payment transaction, sends the money to another person or makes a mistake, you can see where the money went and request reimbursement from the company. Another situation is that, if PayPal suspects that the movements of the account are illegal proceeds to close the account. And later it opens a research process and freezes the funds until the origin is determined.
- In Skrill: maintains a policy of not sharing customer data with any merchant, on that side it is safe, since when paying it only requires the email and password. To keep the account safe, as for the entry from PC or the mobile application, you can activate the Authentication of two factors, which generates a code through Google Authenticator to be able to access from any place or device safely. There is also a money back program for all those customers who use the two-step authentication security program.
Customer support in 12 languages bypasses the barriers, as does your 24 hours of business hours on 7 days of the week.
As it could be observed, each one has advantages and disadvantages of use, it is up to the user to define the purpose of his account, and from there to decide which of them best suits his needs, in this case Skrill It is a good alternative for those who are in the freelancer world and require constant payments, thus avoiding the reduction of income from commissions, although it is not as popular as its growth in recent years has been accelerated. PayPal will continue to be one of the most popular methods, it has earned through the years, the trust of its customers, however, the issue of commissions may be somewhat excessive for some users.
