In the 21st century, work has been reimagined.
There are several telltale signs of this evolution.
Swathes of office space remain uninhabited.
Remote work has become a cultural mainstay.
Even the 9-to-5 workweek is being reconsidered.
Despite these changes, there’s an even bigger bellwether of change: the gig economy.
What began as an alternative to salaried work—a part-time zig to the full-time zag—has become a fixture of the modern world. Indeed, there are more than a few million freelancers forging a homemade career.
Today, there are over a billion contractors working around the world.
And though they operate in different industries, they all share one thing in common:
they want to get paid on time, and on their terms.
That’s why cross-border payments are essential in the gig economy. Without access to fast, affordable, and secure payments, gig workers will look for greener pastures and businesses will lose their competitive edge.
In the article ahead, we will explore the rise of the gig economy, the power of cross-border payments, and the challenges that only real-time payment rails can solve.
The Gig Economy: A New Era of Work
The part-time job.
The side-hustle.
The temp role.
These expressions tell a definitive story: the gig economy has been embraced as a viable alternative to the workaday world.
How do we know? Because there are over 1.57 billion freelancers internationally—nearly 47% of the global workforce.
In the U.S. alone, there are 76 million gig workers, many of whom work part-time for international employers.
In the recent past, such arrangements would have seemed impossible. Veteran workers often looked askance at freelancers, viewing them as part-time pariahs and rebels without “real” jobs.
It’s a different story today, where no one questions the validity (or the value) of gig workers.
In 2023, freelance workers contributed nearly $1.3 trillion dollars to the U.S. economy, a whopping 78% increase from 2014.
These trend lines show no signs of abating, as studies predict that 50% of the American workforce will be freelancing by 2027.
Still, even if gig workers were ostracized, they wouldn’t be bothered. After all, they eschewed the office cubicle for something money can’t buy: flexibility.
For the first time ever, workers of all economic origins can freely balance their personal and professional lives like patronized artists of the past. While selecting their projects and customizing their schedules, they can also pursue job opportunities anywhere in the world.
This is downstream of a larger trend: more U.S. workers are working overseas from the comfort of their American living rooms. According to CNBC, the number of U.S. workers hired by international companies jumped over 62% in 2023.
This trend isn’t local; it’s global.
That means competition is increasing: where copywriters in Qatar are sought by hiring managers in Bristol, where graphic artists in San Francisco are on-boarded by teams in Munich, and where software developers in Brisbane are utilized by fintechs in Chicago.
Such connectivity is easy to find.
After all, online freelance marketplaces like Behance, Toptal, and Upwork have connected gig workers and employers in 40 countries around the world, proving that remote talent is an international commodity.
The Challenge of Cross-Border Payments
The gig economy has expanded, but it has also exposed a vulnerability for many companies.
Here’s the problem: they can’t consistently pay their freelancers on time. And they certainly can’t do it without incurring unnecessary costs to their own business.
After all, companies with legacy payment methods are accustomed to writing bi-weekly checks for salaried staff, not paying contractors for one-off projects and overnight gigs.
The game has changed, and some businesses are getting left behind. These difficulties become especially pronounced when working with freelancers overseas, who often wait weeks (and sometimes months) to receive compensation.
Yes, traditional banking systems are cumbersome and costly, but that’s not the real reason they’re so punitive. Ultimately, payment delays are lethal for contractor churn rates.
Remember: 70% of gig workers are loyal to clients who offer same-day payments.
Therefore, in the digital economy, anything slower than the “speed of now” opens the door to missed deliverables, talent poaching, and caustic reviews on Glassdoor.
Why Efficient Cross-Border Payments Matter
Cross-border payments are essential to consistently attract and retain top talent.
Why?
For starters, because they honor financial agreements in real-time. Trust is worth a lot in the gig economy, especially between parties separated by time zones and cultures.
But cross-border payments do more than reliably arrive on time (often within minutes of origination). In many cases, they’re also delivered with zero cost to the recipient—a huge value-add for freelancers who lack the safety net of a salary.
Does that mean the cost of real-time payments is shouldered by the employer? Not at all.
Digital cross-border payments are highly cost-effective for all parties involved, not just the recipient.
Speed.
Affordability.
Reliability.
These are hallmarks of cross-border payments, the fuel source of the gig economy.
UniTeller: The Ultimate Business Payments Solution
Why UniTeller Cross-Border Send?
Because it unlocks the world’s most competitive payment network with a single API.
In other words, by partnering with UniTeller, you’ll be able to pay your freelancers and gig workers on time, every time.
But that’s only the beginning.
With UniTeller Cross-Border Send, you can complete P2P, B2C, C2B, and B2B transactions with real-time transaction status and zero hidden costs.
So wherever you’re based, our payment gateway gives your business a truly global presence in over 105 countries and more than 70 currencies.
And wherever your transactions are going, you can choose from over 200,000 payment points for cash pickup and over 4,200 banks for account credit (plus mobile wallets).
When you need to move money around the world in real-time, UniTeller is the answer.
Looking for payroll-specific B2B payments solutions?
Check out uLink Business, our subsidiary company that specializes in helping small businesses streamline their payments needs.
With uLink Business, you can easily:
- Pay invoices and suppliers.
- Pay international service providers.
- Buy inventory.
- Process international payroll.
It’s fast, affordable, and secure. And it’s perfect for paying your freelancers.
Go digital with uLink Business.
