International payroll feels like extra work, but it's not.

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"International payments sound like a lot of extra work."

It's a common concern I hear from companies considering global talent.

But here's the thing: if you can use PayPal, you can manage international payroll.

International Payroll Used to Be Complicated (and Expensive) But Not Anymore

Back in 2015, paying overseas talent meant:

• Expensive wire transfer fees

• Complex currency conversions

• Lengthy processing times

• Compliance headaches

But it's 2025 now. Paying global hires using Payoneer or Wise is simpler than ever in terms of setup, costs, speed, and compliance.

The New Reality of Global Payments

Modern payment platforms have eliminated the traditional hurdles:

✅ No expensive wire fees

✅ Automatic currency conversion

✅ Same-day transfers

✅ Built-in compliance tools

Let's do some math and compare international and domestic employment costs: 

Payment Platform Fees:

• Wise: 0.33-1% per transfer

• Payoneer: Similar rates

• Traditional banks: 2-3%

Compare that to domestic employment costs:

• Payroll Processing: 2-4% of payroll expenses, including subscription fees, setup costs, and per-employee charges).

• Benefits Administration: 3-5% of payroll expenses

• Tax Compliance: managing federal payroll taxes (7.65% for FICA), federal unemployment taxes (0.6% after credits), and state unemployment taxes (typically 2.7-6.2%), totaling around 11.75% of payroll expenses.

• Healthcare: 15-20% of an employee's salary

Conclusion? International payment platforms like Wise and Payoneer offer lower fees than traditional banks making them cost-effective for paying overseas team members.

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How to Set Up Your Wise Account

Setting up payroll is actually super simple. My favorite one to use is Wise. I’m not sponsored by them but I like them for three reasons:

1. They have the lowest fees out of the box for small businesses (normally, just a few dollars per pay period).

2. They have a “send for approval” feature so my Ops Manager can set up payroll (nothing leaves the bank account until we approve it).

3. Their free invoicing tool saves us time and reduces the extra administrative work. 

I think there’s a misconception out there that setting up international payments is risky or hard, but the reality is it’s actually easier than setting up a PayPal account.

Here’s literally everything you need to do to set it up: 

1. Register for a Wise account (you and the person you’re paying will need to upload a valid government ID to verify your accounts).

2. Securely connect your bank account.

3. Set the balance you want to send/receive payments in (we always choose USD).

4. And finally, hit send (and go back to running your business).

*A lot of people think international payments mean having to deal with messy currency conversions, but the truth is almost everyone is fine receiving the money in USD. If they don’t want to, they can configure to exchange the money on arrival to their preferred currency (at no charge to you).

Need help making your first international hire? Go Carpathian will find the candidates, vet them for you, and help you set up payment with no additional fees.

Click here to book a free consultation with our recruiting specialists

Until next time,

Nathan

PS: Check out what one of our clients has to say about working with Go Carpathian: