Online MLM payment forms - what options do you have?
One thing to consider before you get serious with any online
MLM program you're interested in joining is: how are you going
to get paid?
You see, with online MLM programs of today, it's very possible
that you may be the only person in your country joining a
certain online MLM program and all your downlines reside in
other countries across the globe. This holds especially true for
some countries where internet access is not as common as in the
US and most European countries.
In such condition, that certain online MLM program won't have a
representative office in your country yet. This means your
commisions will be paid directly from that online MLM company's
head quarter.
Even if you live in the US or Europe and the online MLM
company's headquarter is located in your country, it is still
crucial to know the options you have in receiving the money
you've earned as commision from them.
Generally speaking, there are four ways of online MLM commisions
payments:
- Bank Transfer - Pay Card - Check - Paypal and other "virtual
money" forms
Let's take a closer look at each of these payment methods in
order of flexibility:
1. Bank Transfer
This is by far the most flexible payment form of online MLM
commision payment. With this method, the MLM company orders
their bank to deposit your money directly into your bank account
by means of bank transfer. Typical processing time from payment
until money can be used is two days until 1 week.
With this method, you will receive your money within 1 week
after the payment. Since the money is in your local bank, you
have the liberty of spending it any way you like, just like you
would with your "normal" income.
If your online MLM has this payment option, it is best to check
if they charge any bank transfer fee and whether or not they
will deduct it from your payment.
Writer's suggestion: Go for this option even if you have many
other payment options. This is the best.
2. Pay Card
With this method, the MLM company will send you a Pay Card that
functions as an ATM card that can be used in any ATM machine in
any country that supports Visa/Mastercard transactions.
The most important feature of this method is: there is no delay
between payment time until money can be used. The minute your
payment is done, you can retrieve your money from almost any ATM
in the world. One drawback though: for every money withdrawal
transaction there is a typical withdrawal fee of around US$3
(this may vary from country to country and from bank to bank).
Only big online MLM companies can afford to this method, as
Visa/Mastercard only accept reputable companies as their
partners.
Writer's suggestion: Choose this method only if you don't have
Bank Transfer option.
3. Check
As "offline" as it may seem, check is still the most used form
on online MLM commision payment until today.
With this method, your MLM company writes you a check for your
commision payment and send it to you by postal service. If you
live in a different country from the MLM company's headquarter
and they send it using normal postage service, it can take
anywhere from 2 - 8 weeks for the check to reach you.
When you finally receive the check, you must manually clear it
at your local bank and that will take 1 to 6 weeks, depending on
your country and your bank.
A typical case where you receive your check from another country
is 3 weeks for delivery and 4 weeks for clearance. That leaves
you with 7 weeks to live after payment before you can actually
use your money.
Writer's suggestion: Avoid this method if you can. Its long and
manual process doesn't make sense in the fast moving world of
online MLM.
4. Paypal and other "virtual money" forms
If you have ever done transaction on eBay, then you must know
what Paypal is. Paypal is an online payment method in which you
can pay or receive "virtual money". To use this option you must
have a paypal account, which can be opened at www.paypal.com.
Paypal only accepts applications from a few countries in the
world, so be sure to check whether or not your country is in
their list of accepted countries before you try this option.
There are other "virtual money" payments than Paypa, but since
they are more or less similar to Paypal, we will group them into
this payment method.
With this method, your MLM company will send "virtual money" to
your Paypal account on the payment date. The "virtual money"
will arrive instantly in your account at the moment payment is
sent.
If you plan to spend all of your commision payment online, then
this payment option may be correct for you in some cases. You
can use the virtual money money for shopping in online shops
that receive Paypal. This way you get to spend the money without
having to cash it first.
But if you want to use the money in cash, this method is even
worse than check. Firstly, you have to notify Paypal that you
want to cash the money and you they will send you a check with
the amount of money in your Paypal account. The remaining steps
are exactly as long and tedious as check payment described in
point 3 above.
Writer's suggestion: Never use this option unless you want to
spend all your commision money online in sites that accept
Paypal.
Conclusion:
- Of all those online MLM payment options, Bank Transfer is the
best because it allows you the greatest flexibility with
moderate waiting time from payment until money can be used. Even
if you plan to spend the commision money online again, it is
better to do the online transaction with your credit card then
pay the credit card company with the commision money sitting in
your bank account.
- If you need cash, Paypal is the worst method of payment to
choose. It is limited to several countries only, and the process
of cashing the "virtual money" is even longer than checks issued
directly by MLM companies.
Now that you know your options, choose carefully.