Almost half of Wales is self-employed – How are they getting paid?

• PayPal stands strong with 1660% more search volume than its competitors 
• Google Pay rises in the ranks with over 91,000 searches a month 

Freelancing isn’t as easy as a nine to five. Among problems like keeping up with clients and winning new business lies the issue of payment. ONS data shows that freelance work was popular during the pandemic, then decreased once restrictions were lifted. This data also shows that 46% of people are self-employed in Wales, this number includes freelancers and is the second highest percentage in the UK. There has been a 14% increase in the total number of freelance workers in the UK from January 2021 into March 2022 and the number is still rising.   

Despite recent setbacks, PayPal sits at the top with a staggering 2.5 million searches a month. The oldest app on our list, PayPal has been a part of online business since 1998. That search volume translates to a monthly average users (MAU) volume of 2.95 million in January 2021. PayPal has a dedicated business account type with over 20 million accounts and operates in more than 200 countries and regions across the globe.  

Starting in 2010, Stripe is a newcomer to the scene but has quickly made a name for itself. With a healthy 142,000 searches per month, Stripe is offered as a payment app in 47 countries around the world. Despite being one of the newest clients, Stripe has over 56,000 users in the UK alone and has over 3.1 million businesses using its services. 

Google first made steps into the payment services world in 2013 and despite being the most recent of the top three, it garners an impressive 91,000 searches a month. Available in over 70 countries, Google pay for business boasts over 10 million downloads of its app which is separate from the consumer version. 

Based in the UK and founded in 2011, GoCardless has a search volume of 44,000 per month. The app provides support for eight currencies (including USD and GBP) and operates in more than 30 countries world-wide. GoCardless has a MAU volume of over 70,000 businesses using the app. 

The second oldest payment solution on our list is Skrill. Formerly known as Moneybookers ltd and founded in 2001, Skrill has 25,000 searches a month and operates in more than 120 countries with support for over 40 different currencies. With over 120,000 merchant users, Skrill is growing fast among freelancers. 

CashApp is also a recent entrant into the digital payment space. Starting in 2013, the app provides both a business and personal account type though you are limited to only one which is linked to a phone number. CashApp is only available in the UK and the US, making its monthly search volume of 23,000 impressive compared to its competitors. In the UK, CashApp has an average of 10,000 monthly users. 

A spokesperson for Askgamblers says: “It’s so important in the digital age to have healthy competition and options. For freelancers, getting paid for the work you’ve done is often one of the hardest parts of the job. Being able to use payment apps that make it as simple as possible to get invoices processed can be hugely beneficial for freelancers, so they can spend more time developing their business, and less time chasing payment.”  

The research was conducted by Askgamblers.com, a leading online casino authority in the gambling industry which provides the latest information on online casinos, including the best casino reviews and ratings by both its team of experts and real casino players   

Source: www.askgamblers.com