Accounting
Freelance Economy Sees Nearly Triple-Digit Jump in Outbound Payments from U.S. to Overseas
The data are indicative of global growth in the online freelance economy, a business engine that is allowing more workers to sell their products or services from remote locations around the world.
Apr. 24, 2018
Outbound payments from the United States of America to various countries around the globe have increased significantly in the past 12 months, according to recent data from Transpay, the global cross-border mass payout platform.
The data are indicative of global growth in the online freelance economy, a business engine that is allowing more workers to sell their products or services from remote locations around the world.
U.S. outbound cross-border transactions processed by Transpay increased by 93 percent in the first quarter of 2018, compared with the same period last year, while the total transaction value, or principal, increased 43 percent.
“We have seen extraordinary growth of the gig economy in the last year alone and our year-over-year data reflect that trend,” said Peter Shore, General Manager at Transpay. “Factors like U.S. H-1B visa regulations, new enterprise technology, and the proliferation of freelance marketplaces in today’s digital economy have had significant influence over the way companies hire and pay freelance employees based overseas.”
According to the University of Oxford’s Online Labour Index (OLI)[1], the freelance marketplace has grown 25 percent in the last year. Transpay reports that the countries receiving the most principal from the U.S. in the first quarters of 2017 and 2018 were Pakistan and Bangladesh. This is in line with expectations as these are two of the top three countries with the most freelancers on online platforms according to OLI, with the U.S. showing the highest demand for these online services.
Earlier this year, Transpay expanded its direct-to-bank payouts offering to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, reinforcing that the need for streamlined cross-border payouts that span multiple regions and currencies.
“In the last year alone, our expansion of new corridors into various geographies has been supported by increasing levels of freelance workers we’ve seen in those regions,” said Shore. “Transpay provides a secure, transparent method in which online freelancers can access their earnings in local currency. Our goal is to ensure that gig workers working abroad with an international clientele can be paid easily, quickly, and securely.”
Transpay provides businesses of all sizes with a scalable, secure, and fully compliant cross-border mass payout solution, making it easy to send funds directly to the local bank accounts of vendors, business partners, freelancers or others in over 100+ countries. To learn more, visit http://www.transpay.com.