Every publisher wants to be paid on time, no matter where in the world they might be. And every affiliate manager, whether in a CPA network, a merchant or an affiliate network knows that paying publishers promptly on a worldwide basis is fraught with problems and dangers. So what’s a company to do? What are the options? If you think that PayPal is the only answer, you need to read on.

 Here’s the problem: unless you’re very careful, it is all too easy to pay out money in commissions that is not recoverable if the relevant traffic is subsequently found to be fraudulent. What is worse, some of the most widely used methods of paying international publishers are some of the most vulnerable to fraud. PayPal is the 800 lb gorilla in the space with their “Mass Pay” offering. It’s cheap at a maximum cost of $1 per payment and has a decent set of developer tools using the MassPay API. It’s a popular service. The problem is that fraudsters love PayPal too.

The reason is that PayPal accounts are incredibly easy to set up from anywhere in the world and, even if a network or merchant insists that accounts be “verified” it doesn’t safeguard against the use of stolen identities which are widely available within the criminal fraternity. As a result there are many networks that have learned to simply refuse to provide PayPal as a payment method.

Direct wire transfers are another popular way to go within the USA, with ACH (automated clearing house) bank-to-bank payments being quick and reliable, but sending wire transfers internationally is prohibitively expensive for all but the biggest publisher payments and can be prone to mistakes and delays in the transfer process.

As a consequence of these problems, international payment solutions focus on three main options: prepaid or “virtual” Visa or MasterCards; checks issued in local currency from local banks; and local electronic funds transfer (EFT).

Of these two offerings, general opinion leans towards checks drawn locally as being not just the safest option – they need to be mailed to a physical address and will be subject to local bank identity checks upon being cashed – but also the most attractive for publishers in a wide variety of foreign countries. Local EFT is not far behind but prepaid and virtual cards don’t offer genuine publishers the same sense of security that a check drawn on a proper bank does. Not only that, but they do offer fake affiliates opportunities to once again use false or stolen identities.

There are a number of solution-providers in this sector each with their own set of offerings. Check issuing companies include CHEXX, PacNetServices and WebmasterChecks. CHEXX claims to provide checks in virtually any currency in the world, while PacNet covers around 40 countries and WebmasterChecks restricts itself to US dollar and Euro checks. Companies such as Payoneer and Entropay focus primarily on virtual and prepaid cards – although CHEXX offers these as an option too.

Affiliate commissions are the most obvious application for these kind of mass payment solutions, but product refunds, incentives, prizes and rebates are all uses that can come in handy once a solution is in place. The important thing is to be sure that you know who you wish to pay and where they are located, and then understand the risks that are involved. Once you have that understanding, you should be able to select the right solution-provider for your needs.