Payoneer, the leading cross-border payments platform for businesses, announced that the number of Ukrainian freelancers working with clients abroad has increased by 31% in the past two years.
Ukraine is one of the largest markets of freelancing in the world, placing fifth in a ranking of countries where freelancers’ incomes are growing the fastest.
Freelancers based in Dnipro earned the most during the first quarter of 2021, followed by Kharkiv, Lviv, Kyiv and Odesa.
U.S.-based company Payoneer is becoming an increasingly popular international payment service in Ukraine, and 55% more freelancers have opened a Payoneer account in 2019-2021, according to the company’s press release.
Igor Kovaliov, Payoneer’s general manager in Ukraine and Belarus, said that freelance jobs that can be done remotely help regions to grow, encouraging the local people to get a job somewhere or even start their own business.
“This (remote freelancing) can become a good alternative for those considering to look for a job in larger cities or abroad,” Kovaliov said.
Data shows the number of freelancers in Kharkiv and Dnipro, two cities in eastern Ukraine, has almost doubled since 2019. Other large Ukrainian cities have also experienced growth but on a lesser scale when comparing the first quarters of 2019 and 2021.
Odesa has seen the third-largest growth in the number of freelancers – 35%, followed by Kyiv – 23% and Lviv – 12%.
As freelancing becomes popular and became a viable way to make a living in Ukraine, the average income of individuals earning money on a per-job or per-task basis has also increased by 18%. The company didn’t disclose the exact amount.
Freelancers’ incomes grew by 33% in Lviv, while those in Kyiv experienced the least increase of 5%.
Payoneer is one of the most widely used online payment systems among freelancers in the world and the most popular in Ukraine.
Unlike many other platforms such as MoneyGram, Payoneer account holders can register for the Global Payment Service, which allows them to open a local receiving account in different currencies, which they can share with clients when requesting a payment.
The receiving accounts in multiple currencies work as if the users had real local bank accounts, enabling clients to make payments through domestic bank transfers.
All the money received from various clients across the world goes directly into a Payoneer account, which can then be transferred to a local Ukrainian bank account for a standard 2% commission.
Payoneer has also partnered with thousands of digital marketplaces, including freelance site Upwork, where Payoneer users can easily withdraw the money earned into their account for a small fee.
