Getting Paid via LFT

If you've been considering oDesk for a while now and wanting to give it a try, one of the many things that you probably want to know more about is how you will get paid once you get hired. It's EASY. If you have an existing bank account, you can get paid via LFT.

Local Fund Transfer (LFT) is a recent addition to the many different pay methods available to oDesk freelancers and is one of the easiest to set up.

You can get paid via PayPal, too, if you like or you can apply for Payoneer and get paid that way. Because I feel a little lazy right now and I just love, love, love using Awesome Screenshot, I took a shot of the available payment methods from oDesk's website, wrote a short summary at the bottom and inserted links pointing you to websites where the pay method is explained more clearly.

Here goes:

Skrill used to be Moneybookers. I've set up an account there once but their verification takes too long to complete, I'm not even sure it's worth it.

Direct Deposit is FREE to US banks. No charges whatsoever so if you have a US account in any of the 50 states, by all means, use it.

Wire Transfer, I think, is not something you want to be using either. $30 is too expensive a fee, you agree? You cannot afford to be throwing that kind of money everytime you make a withdrawal.

The last one that I will try to explain in the simplest, clearest way possible is payment via Local Fund Transfer using Unionbank's EON card. I have not tried any other banks for LFT but I am sure if you do a search, Google would be able to point you to other blogs detailing their experience with their bank of choice.

The good thing about Unionbank's EON card is the fact that it is both a bank account and a debit card. That's what makes receiving and withdrawing money easy. Plus it only charges Php350.00 for its annual fee with no maintaining balance.

Follow these 6 EASY STEPS if you're happy to try EON and use it for LFT:

1 Go to the nearest Unionbank branch. Bring two valid IDs. Fill out whatever form the bank peeps give you and then go to the next available counter to pay for the Php350 fee.

2 Return to the bank in 7 banking days and get your card.

3 Open your oDesk account, click 'Settings' on the upper right and then select 'Get Paid' on the left sidebar.

4 Click the green 'Set Up Payments' button and choose Local Fund Transfer as your payment method.

5 Next, enter Unionbank's BRSTN code which is 010419995. It is important that you enter this accurately. Double check the number before hitting 'Next'.

6 The last step is this form. Fill it out carefully. Like it says on the website: Entering the incorrect or mismatched account name and number can result in withdrawal delays and fees.

So, that's it. If you have questions, leave a comment or message me on Facebook.

Bye for now.