We often associate financial freedom with winning a lottery or getting a huge inheritance from a distant relative. But even if you manage to get hold of such capital, you’ll need time and knowledge to invest it properly.
That’s why it is more realistic to find ways you can earn some additional income yourself online. The biggest problem when going this route is getting paid without much hassle. I’ll argue that PayPal is the best solution.
The hurdles of getting paid for online work
As someone who’s been doing various online chores to get some extra income for five years, I know that getting paid is the hardest part. Surveys, tasks, bandwidth sharing, and other profitable activities are relevantly easy compared to paying taxes and providing documents to the bank, proving you are not some kind of fraud.
What’s worse is that some people offering such work are actually scammers. Facebook groups, WhatsApp, and Telegram channels are full of such people. The usual scam is to give you a task and then ghost you before paying. In other cases, the employer might be honest in his intentions but still struggle to pay.
Location restrictions are the most common reason. Bank transfers do not work in all regions well enough. Sometimes, they are declined, require additional documents, or there’s a need to convert currency in a way that’s not beneficial for you. All these factors depend on your country and its banking system.
So, getting paid for your work might be easier if you are in Europe or the USA, but everywhere else it’s a hassle. Besides, most legitimate platforms do not use bank transfers at all as it is expensive from their end.
The worst option is platforms that pay with their own in-platform currency. This can be some sort of cryptocurrency or tokens, which you later convert to real money. The problem is that the conversion rate is entirely up to the platform and can change at any time.
The withdrawal amounts are usually unreasonably high on such platforms. It is best to count how much time it will take for you to actually reach it before putting in any work there. Since they use an in-platform currency, it’s really difficult to calculate it. Most likely, it’s intentional because the platform doesn’t want to pay users.
PayPal for online work payments
I’m not saying that PayPal is perfect, but it does solve the problems of bank transfers and in-platform currencies. It doesn’t cost much for the payer, so you can be sure that honest platforms use it not to scam you but to save and be efficient.
PayPal also ensures some level of protection both for the platform and for you. Bank transfers or other platforms often allow the payer to cancel the payment after it’s made. PayPal does have such options also, but their support is widely recognized to be able to solve disputes well.
Cashing out in-platform currency or some type of crypto might trigger compliance warnings from your bank. PayPal is widely known to be a platform for online businesses and freelancers.
They will ask you for documents themselves, which is why your bank and government will trust the payment more. Yes, the processes of PayPal might seem overcomplicated at first, but platforms that use it regularly will know about it and will provide you with all the needed documents to cash out.
Top platforms to make money online and get paid with PayPal
All the talk about making money directly to your PayPal wallet wouldn’t mean much without some examples. Below, I have compiled the top platforms that worked for me to get money into my PayPal instantly.
Fiverr
Fiverr is an immensely popular online marketplace built to enable freelancers to offer a variety of creative and professional services starting at $5 per gig. Signing up as a seller is easy and fast with basic registration details.
Freelancers can create smart profiles describing their professional background, specific service offerings via gigs, pricing packages, deliverables timeline and customer reviews or gig samples from previous orders. The platform allows vast global reach and flexibility to target buyers 24x7.
Interested customers can quickly browse through seller profiles and listings, place orders and pay Fiverr directly. Earnings above $30 are automatically transferred into sellers’ PayPal accounts weekly or any amounts can be manually withdrawn anytime.
The key strategies for making money successfully on Fiverr would be maintaining prompt customer communication, consistently delivering promised quality within the timeline, honouring revision requests politely and proactively asking buyers for reviews. Good ratings and positive feedback will attract more orders. By managing pricing, packages and promotions smartly, Fiverr freelancers can build a steady income stream.
Test IO
Test IO is a platform for quality assurance testing of various apps and computer programs. You complete a short training and then can start testing software. The more complicated tests you complete, the more credibility you'll get, and the bigger will be your earnings.
I was able to earn $100 per month with this platform. However, it might not be that easy for everyone since I had some informal training in QA software engineering.
Clickworker
Clickworker is a platform connecting freelance workers and companies in need of micro-tasks. These are tasks that don't require any specific training but are tedious and take time to complete.
Workers on this platform can choose how much they want to work. If you don't get bored quickly, you can earn up to $100 straight to your PayPal without much skills.
Upside
The Upside app is more of a cashback platform than something to earn additional income. However, it works so well that I decided to include it in the list anyway. I was able to earn almost $50 by just filling up my gas tank.
All you need to do is register on the app, claim offers, and simply purchase what you need. The money gets paid directly into your PayPal account.
Pawns app
Pawns is not just for sharing your bandwidth and getting paid, it’s also one of the top 10 best survey sites that pay through PayPal instant pay. The app works well, and the interface is easy enough for me to complete surveys while waiting in line or on a bus from work. On average, one survey takes around 15-20 minutes.
You can finish five surveys per day without much effort, which translates to $35 per month. Payments to PayPal are instant, and the withdrawal amount is as low as $5.
Additionally, there is an option to earn by sharing your unused bandwidth. It's all on the same app and takes just a press of a button to set up. Keeping one device on will earn you $9 per month.
Upwork
Upwork offers a more comprehensive freelance marketplace for serious expert professionals catering to long-term and high-value client relationships. The sign-up involves meticulous profile building showcasing skills, work history, client reviews, certifications, portfolio samples etc.
There may also be customized assessments to establish subject matter expertise before getting hired. Freelancers scout for relevant open client contracts in their domains and submit competitive proposals explaining project execution strategy and pricing for the same.
If they win, billing and payment will happen securely via Upwork upon achievement of milestones and final deliverables. Upwork places greater emphasis on understanding client objectives, communicating progress proactively, meeting timelines accurately and providing revisions or support if needed post-completion also.
Freelancers can build their professional reputation via rankings, accurate profile quality, repeat clients and positive feedback thereby attracting more lucrative and high-paying contracts over time. With meticulous effort and customer success focus, talented experts from any field like IT, accounting, academicians, human resource consultants etc. can establish a full-time freelancing career through Upwork directly being paid into their PayPal account seamlessly for each contract.
Final words
The internet is full of earning possibilities. You just need to know who to trust to actually pay you. PayPal is one of the best ways to ensure your payment arrives.