One of the thing to consider before you get serious with any online MLM program you're interested in joining is: how are you going to get paid?

You see, with online MLM programs of today, it's very possible that you may be the only person in your country joining a certain online MLM program and all your downlines reside in other countries across the globe. This holds especially true for some countries where internet access is not as common as in the US and most European countries.

In such condition, that certain online MLM program won't have a representative office in your country yet. This means your commisions will be paid directly from that online MLM company's head quarter.

Even if you live in the US or Europe and the online MLM company's headquarter is located in your country, it is still crucial to know the options you have in receiving the money you've earned as commision from them.

Generally speaking, there are four ways of online MLM commisions payments:

- Bank Transfer
- Pay Card
- Check
- Paypal and other "virtual money" forms

Let's take a closer look at each of these payment methods in order of flexibility:

1. Bank Transfer

This is by far the most flexible payment form of online MLM commision payment. With this method, the MLM company orders their bank to deposit your money directly into your bank account by means of bank transfer.

Typical processing time from payment until money can be used is two days until 1 week.

With this method, you will receive your money within 1 week after the payment. Since the money is in your local bank, you have the liberty of spending it any way you like, just like you would with your "normal" income.

If your online MLM has this payment option, it is best to check if they charge any bank transfer fee and whether or not they will deduct it from your payment.

Writer's suggestion: Go for this option even if you have many other payment options. This is the best.

2. Pay Card

With this method, the MLM company will send you a Pay Card that functions as an ATM card that can be used in any ATM machine in any country that supports Visa/Mastercard transactions.

The most important feature of this method is: there is no delay between payment time until money can be used. The minute your payment is done, you can retrieve your money from almost any ATM in the world. One drawback though: for every money withdrawal transaction there is a typical withdrawal fee of around US$3 (this may vary from country to country and from bank to bank).

Only big online MLM companies can afford to this method, as Visa/Mastercard only accept reputable companies as their partners.

Writer's suggestion: Choose this method only if you don't have Bank Transfer option.

3. Check

As "offline" as it may seem, check is still the most used form on online MLM commision payment until today.

With this method, your MLM company writes you a check for your commision payment and send it to you by postal service. If you live in a different country from the MLM company's headquarter and they send it using normal postage service, it can take anywhere from 2 - 8 weeks for the check to reach you.

When you finally receive the check, you must manually clear it at your local bank and that will take 1 to 6 weeks, depending on your country and your bank.

A typical case where you receive your check from another country is 3 weeks for delivery and 4 weeks for clearance. That leaves you with 7 weeks to live after payment before you can actually use your money.

Writer's suggestion: Avoid this method if you can. Its long and manual process doesn't make sense in the fast moving world of online MLM.

4. Paypal and other "virtual money" forms

If you have ever done transaction on eBay, then you must know what Paypal is. Paypal is an online payment method in which you can pay or receive "virtual money". To use this option you must have a paypal account, which can be opened at www.paypal.com. Paypal only accepts applications from a few countries in the world, so be sure to check whether or not your country is in their list of accepted countries before you try this option.

There are other "virtual money" payments than Paypa, but since they are more or less similar to Paypal, we will group them into this payment method.

With this method, your MLM company will send "virtual money" to your Paypal account on the payment date. The "virtual money" will arrive instantly in your account at the moment payment is sent.

If you plan to spend all of your commision payment online, then this payment option may be correct for you in some cases. You can use the virtual money money for shopping in online shops that receive Paypal.

This way you get to spend the money without having to cash it first. But if you want to use the money in cash, this method is even worse than check. Firstly, you have to notify Paypal that you want to cash the money and you they will send you a check with the amount of money in your Paypal account. The remaining steps are exactly as long and tedious as check payment described in point 3 above.

Writer's suggestion: Never use this option unless you want to spend all your commision money online in sites that accept Paypal.

Conclusion:

- Of all those online MLM payment options, Bank Transfer is the best because it allows you the greatest flexibility with moderate waiting time from payment until money can be used. Even if you plan to spend the commision money online again, it is better to do the online transaction with your credit card then pay the credit card company with the commision money sitting in your bank account.

- If you need cash, Paypal is the worst method of payment to choose. It is limited to several countries only, and the process of cashing the "virtual money" is even longer than checks issued directly by MLM companies.

Now that you know your options, choose carefully.

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