Key Points
- Apple Pay and Payoneer are both digital payment systems, but they serve different audiences and have different features.
- Both platforms allow users to send and receive money online, but Apple Pay is geared towards consumers while Payoneer is used more by businesses.
- Apple Pay is compatible with iOS devices and has a wide range of partners for online and in-store shopping, while Payoneer has a wider global reach and supports multiple currencies.
- Apple Pay charges a 1.5% fee for instant transfers to bank accounts, while Payoneer has a tiered fee system depending on the payment method.
- Payoneer is more focused on business transactions, while Apple Pay is ideal for shopping and transferring money between family and friends.
Transferring money online and shopping with digital payment systems has never been easier. That leads many to debate services like Apple Pay vs. Payoneer, whether you’re interested in sending money online, buying goods, or setting up a mobile payment system.
While both provide similar services, these platforms are entirely different in key areas. If you’re considering using Apple Pay or Payoneer, it’s a good idea to understand more about what each company brings to the table beforehand.
Payoneer vs. Apple Pay: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Apple Pay | Payoneer | |
|---|---|---|
| Parent Company | Apple | Payoneer |
| Released | 2014 | 2005 |
| Services | Mobile payments | Payment services |
| Platforms | Web, mobile, in-store | Web, mobile |
| Website | https://www.apple.com/apple-pay/ | https://www.payoneer.com/ |
Apple Pay vs. Payoneer: What’s the Difference?
There has been plenty of confusion in the mobile payment space recently. Given the number of mobile payment providers and the rise of freelancers who work from home, there are more services to choose from than ever before. Apple Pay and Payoneer are among the best in their respective fields, although they serve different audiences.
Transferring Money
Sending and receiving money is the one area where Apple Pay vs. Payoneer is even depending on your needs. Both services allow users to send or receive money from people worldwide in seconds, even if they have completely different groups of users.
Apple Pay is essentially a digital wallet that allows users to replace traditional debit and credit cards online. You can send money from those accounts digitally through Apple Pay. Like PayPal, the service enables users to send digital cash to other people on the platform. You can transfer money through Apple Pay with just a few taps to any user on their platform.
Payoneer also provides users with speedy transfers. Instead of sending money to your friends on a split dinner bill, businesses use it as a payment provider for services. It’s a leading tool for freelance companies around the globe, from Fiverr to Upwork. It’s a great way to pay employees if you’re a business, and the platform allows users to receive money in multiple currencies from around the globe.
Both of these services can send and receive money online, but that’s where the similarities end. Apple Pay is geared towards consumers, but it’s valuable for businesses that want to use the company’s proprietary network to sell goods online or locally. Payoneer is a global payment provider that’s generally used by businesses. It’s a way to issue payroll, although the company also has a marketplace initiative for online shops.
Compatibility
Payoneer and Apple Pay are services designed with ease of use in mind for consumers and businesses. With Payoneer, the web is the primary way you’ll interact with the platform and where you’ll have access to all of the features. The company does have mobile apps for Android and iOS, although the features are somewhat limited compared to the web portal.
Apple Pay is essentially a digital wallet and mobile payment service, and that’s where most of the action happens. The company’s digital wallet is compatible with an abundance of iOS products, including the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. NFC helps power their payment technology, which doesn’t work with Android devices or smartphones that don’t run Apple’s operating system.
©Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock.com
While there are millions of users around the world in Apple’s ecosystem, Payoneer has a wider global reach. Apple Pay will work internationally, but it’s not available in every region. Alternatively, Payoneer is available in more than 200 countries and supports over 100 different currencies.
Withdrawals and Fees
If you’re considering using an online payment service like Paypal, Cash, Payoneer, or Apple Pay, it’s good to know their withdrawal policies. It’s something that can save or cost users a considerable amount of cash, and another area in our Apple Pay vs. Payoneer review where these services differ.
If you receive money with Apple Pay, you can send it to your bank account with a few taps. While the company doesn’t charge people for using its service, there is a 1.5% fee when you use the instant transfer method to send money to your bank account. It’s a minimum of $0.25 per transaction but capped at $15.
Payoneer has a tiered system depending on how you use their service. Payments from other Payoneer customers who pay from their balance are free. There’s a 3% credit card fee if you’re getting paid through a credit card and 1% for an ACH fee. Withdrawals to your bank account are cheap at $1.50 per transaction as long as it’s in the same currency.
Shopping
You can make a case for Apple Pay vs. Payoneer when it comes to transferring money and withdrawing funds. Shopping is where one service has a clear edge across the board, however.
Apple’s system allows consumers to pay merchants online or use their phones locally for contactless payments. The company’s list of partners is impressive with brands like Disney, McDonald’s, Costco, Target, Best Buy, and Taco Bell. Amazon even supports Apple’s digital wallet, giving users incredible reach with online shopping.
With Payoneer, things lean more towards business than consumers. Thousands of companies rely on the platform for payroll and use it to accept payments online for their goods and services. Want to use your Payoneer funds to purchase a new 4K OLED TV from LG at Best Buy? Well, you’ll need to withdraw the money or sign up for the company’s debit card.
©dinu_rj/Shutterstock.com
Apple Pay vs. Payoneer: 4 Must-Know Facts
- Apple Pay was officially announced to the world during the iPhone 6 event in 2014.
- Payoneer has raised more than 260 million dollars from investors since the seed funding round in 2005.
- Apple Pay was only available in the United States, UK, Canada, and Australia before rolling out to other countries in 2016.
- Payoneer became a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ on June 28, 2021.
Apple Pay vs. Payoneer: Which One is Better?
Comparing Apple Pay to a service like PayPal or Venmo is challenging because those services are similar. It’s a different story with Apple Pay vs. Payoneer. Once you understand what both platforms provide, it’s an easy decision. Both services excel in their respective areas, but Apple Pay is a digital wallet, whereas Payoneer is a payment service.
You can send money to people through both platforms with ease. You wouldn’t want to use Payoneer to transfer money to a friend, but you can do that through iMessage and Apple Pay. Need to pay someone for a job? You can actually do that through both platforms, although Payoneer is the best solution for small business owners and online shops.
Whether Apple Pay is better than Payoneer comes down to your needs. Both services are highly-rated and loved by users for different reasons. If you’re a freelancer or business, Payoneer is the best option, while Apple Pay is ideal for shopping and moving money between family and friends.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©PopTika/Shutterstock.com.
