Payment Methods for Employers
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- What payment methods does oDesk accept?
- How do I add a credit card?
- How do I verify my credit card?
- What happens if I don't verify my credit card?
- I received a message that you need to verify the billing phone on file. Why?
- How can I (and why should I) add a back-up credit card?
- How can I edit my billing information?
- How do I remove my credit card?
- How do I apply to pay by check?
- How is paying by check different than paying by credit card?
- How do I pay for my contracts?
- My company requires PO numbers on all invoices. How do I add those?
oDesk accepts Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit cards. Employers in the USA who intend to spend at least $500 per week may apply to pay by check. Virtual card numbers, gift cards and prepaid cards are not accepted.
At this time, employers cannot pay with PayPal, Western Union or any other online payment vendor. But please check back periodically as we're continuously working to expand the options for our users.
oDesk contractors are welcome to use oDesk earnings to pay for contracts as employers - but you are still required to add and verify a payment method. The oDesk Debit MasterCard powered by Payoneer cannot be used as a payment method.
All employers need to add and verify a payment method to pay for their contracts. In addition, any new credit cards added to an account also need verification. The verification process begins as soon as you submit the credit card form.
- Go to Payments > Payment Methods. Select the Payments tab.
- Press the Add & Verify Credit card button in the Actions column. If asked, enter your password. This is an added security measure.
- Enter the Card Number and Expiration Date.
- Enter your credit card's CVV2 code. To find it, look on the front of the American Express Card, or on the back of the Visa or MasterCard. For assistance, click Where do I find this?.
- Enter the name of the credit cardholder, their billing address and their current telephone number. It is important to enter a number where we can reach the credit cardholder, because oDesk may need to call to complete the verification.
- Press the Submit button to authorize oDesk to verify the credit card. A pending credit of $10 will appear on the Payments > Financial Activity page to show the refund of the two verification charge amounts.
- Next, oDesk will immediately submit two small charges that add up to exactly $10, to verify the credit card. Any active job posts will be marked with Payment Method Verification in Progress.
- Confirm the two small charges with your credit card company and complete verification.
Most employers can complete verification within a few hours by calling the number on the back of their credit card to confirm the charges.
- To complete the verification process, just gather the exact amount of each small charge. Then, return to the Payment Methods page and enter them into the verification form. For faster access to the two charge amounts, check the online credit card statement or call the card issuer.
- Go to Payments > Payment Methods. Select the Payments tab.
- Press the Verify button in the Actions column. If asked, enter your password. This is an added security measure.
- Enter the two amounts exactly as posted on the credit card account and press the Submit button.
- The verification process is complete and any active job posts will be marked as Payment Method Verified.
Read more about credit card verification, including helpful tips on speeding up the process, on our blog.
International users are welcome to enter the amounts in their own currency or in U.S. Dollars as shown in the transaction memo. Do not attempt to convert the charges from your own currency back into U.S. Dollars.
A pending credit for $10 appears on your financial account as soon as you initiate the verification process. The $10 is immediately credited against your negative balance or refunded when you verify the two small charges. If 7 days pass and you have not yet verified, oDesk will automatically refund the $10 - but you may still complete the verification process at your convenience.
If you have any difficulty verifying, please use the link on the verification page to file a ticket. Give the support team the charges exactly as they appear on your statement (including the amounts and transaction memos). Entering the wrong amount three times will place your card on hold until you complete verification with the support team.
If your credit card hasn't been verified within 7 days, the verification charges will be automatically refunded. You can still complete the verification process even after the charges are refunded.
Getting an error message while trying to verify the charge amounts? Use the link on the verification form to contact Customer Support. You'll need to provide the charges exactly as they appear on your statement (including the amounts and transaction memo).
You may hire a contractor for an contract (except fixed-price with upfront payment) during the verification process, but you cannot pay without a verified payment method. An unverified credit card will not be charged resulting in a balance due on your account. Your account and contracts will be suspended until you pay the balance due. Your contractors may see a pending payment from you, but we cannot release the funds until you complete verification and pay the balance due.
We do this for the protection of our users and to prevent stolen credit cards from being used.
A representative may call you to verify the phone number is valid and ensure you are the rightful owner of the credit card entered. This will be a very short call and will only be done when necessary. If we cannot reach you or we find the number is not valid, your account may be temporarily placed on hold. The phone verification will come from the phone number 650-853-xxxx. We will typically call you when a new credit card is entered or when payment is initiated on the system. If we can't get through to you on the phone, you may receive an email requesting a valid phone number and time when you can be reached.
If you ever have any concerns about the validity of this request you can contact security@odesk.com.
Your primary credit card will be charged whenever you have a negative balance in your oDesk account. If payment fails, we will charge the backup credit card. We recommend adding a backup just in case there's ever a problem with the primary credit card (declined, expires, etc.). A backup credit card (and additional credit cards, if you wish) are added and verified the same as your primary credit card.
When you have multiple credit cards verified, you can change which one is primary and which is backup at any time. (More about editing your billing information.)
You can edit your billing information (expiration date, credit cardholder name, address, phone number, credit card status) at any time.
- Go to Payments > Payment Methods. Select the Payments tab.
- Identify the credit card you want to update. Press the Edit button in the Actions column. You may be asked to enter your password for security reasons.
- Set the credit card as your Primary, Backup or neither.
- Update the expiration date, credit cardholder name, address and phone number, if necessary.
- Enter your credit card's CVV2 code. This security code is 4 digits on the front of your American Express or 3 digits on the back of your Visa or MasterCard. Click Where do I find this? for assistance.
- Press the Submit button when you're done making changes. You can make changes as often as necessary.
You cannot edit the credit card number. The new number will require you to add and verify a new credit card.
Employers must have a verified payment method on file at all times. If you need to change credit cards, add the new one first. You must verify and set the new credit card as primary before removing the old credit card. Employers with multiple credit cards on file can remove all but the last remaining verified credit credit card.
Employers based in the USA who intend to spend at least $500 per week may apply to pay by check.
- Go to Payments > Payment Methods. Select the Payments tab.
- Press the Set Up button in the Actions column.
- Confirm the primary contact's name, telephone number and time zone. The primary contact is always the company owner. The company's contact information can be edited by an admin in Username dropdown > Account & Profile Settings > Settings > My Company Profile.
- Press the Submit Request button. An oDesk representative will contact the primary contact to evaluate whether or not they qualify for check payments and to set up terms.
An account screening interview and security deposit (minimum $2000) will be required before you can start paying by check.
International employers who otherwise meet the criteria for check payment should contact Customer Support. We will attempt to accommodate you.
Paying your contractors and being invoiced for those charges is the same no matter what payment method you use. The difference is in how you are billed for those charges.
While a credit card is simply charged whenever you have a balance on your oDesk account, paying by check will require setting terms on your account (net 14, net 28, etc.).
- You will discuss and agree to terms during your application screening interview.
- Your security deposit will be based on those terms.
- Each invoice must be paid according to the agreed terms.
- Check payments received are always applied to the earliest balance on your account. You cannot specify payment (or non-payment) of a specific invoice or contract.
- You will be contacted to update your terms if you pay late or your spending has increased.
While paying with a credit card does not not require funds to be held in your account, paying by check requires oDesk to hold a security deposit to verify and guarantee your account.
- The security deposit is held separately from your payment transactions and allows us to maintain our payment guarantee.
- It is calculated based on your terms and average weekly spending (minimum $2000).
- Each week we will recalculate your deposit based on the previous 6 weeks' spending. You will be contacted to update your terms if it appears your deposit needs to be increased.
- You may contact Customer Support to receive a refund of your security deposit (thereby ending your check payment agreement).
Average weekly spending * Term in weeks = Security Deposit (minimum $2000)
If an employer has net 28 terms and spends about $1000 per week, their security deposit will be $4000.
$1000 per week * 4 weeks = $4000
If an employer has net 14 terms and spends about $750 per week, their security deposit will be $2000
$750 per week * 2 weeks = $1500 This is less than the minimum security deposit of $2000.
Checks must be written in $USD from a US bank account to:
oDesk Corporation, Post Office Box 49337, San Jose, CA 95161-9337 (This is a check processing service, do not send other mail there).
oDesk Corporation, Post Office Box 49337, San Jose, CA 95161-9337 (This is a check processing service, do not send other mail there).
Employers paying by check must hire primarily for hourly jobs. Failure to maintain sufficient funds in your account or withholding payments for work will result in suspension or termination. If a check is returned for insufficient funds, oDesk will recover any bank fees incurred and may suspend the account and/or increase the security deposit. oDesk reserves the rights to decline to extend terms, to revoke check payment privileges and to adjust the security deposit and check payment calculations on a case by case basis.
Once you've verified your payment method, posted a job and hired a contractor, it's time to start working and paying for services rendered. On an hourly contract, logged time is automatically charged weekly (see the weekly pay schedule). Other types of payments (bonus, milestone, etc.) are submitted manually and charged upon submission of payment (learn more about making payments.)
Some companies require PO numbers on all invoices. oDesk can accommodate this, but you'll need to tell us the PO number prior to being invoiced. (More about adding PO numbers to invoices.)
