Pakistan is the Best Performing Freelance Market in Asia for Revenue Growth: Report

Payoneer facilitates thousands of organizations and millions of professionals in more than 200 countries through their cross-border payments platform.

Since one of Payoneer’s missions is to eliminate border barriers for freelancers across the world and it facilitates billions of dollars in transactions each year, the company has a finger on the pulse of the global gig economy.

Recently, it launched the Global Gig-Economy Index, which is based on the data of more than 30,000 freelancers, service providers and other professionals. The report delves deep into the gig economy and provides insights, broken down by geography and demographic trends.

The second-quarter report on the Global Gig-Economy Index for 2019 showcases growth in the overall industry. Pakistan is ranked number 4 in the list of countries which posted the highest growth in yearly revenues and it was only outranked by the US, UK and Brazil.

Here are the other countries in the top 10 list.

Perhaps most importantly for Pakistan is the fact that most of the countries in the list are far more developed economies. What makes Pakistan competitive is the sheer size of its youth population – over 70% of the people in Pakistan are under the age of 30. And the gig economy is where they’re turning in the absence of jobs in the market amidst a struggling economy. Just in Q2 2018, the number of freelancers in the country surged by 42%.

Over 77% of Pakistan’s freelancers fall under the age of 35. Here’s a more detailed breakdown, courtesy of Payoneer’s Index Report.

  • 57.6% between the ages of 25-34
  • 19.7% between the ages of 18-24

Freelancing is also being promoted by the government of Pakistan so the gig economy in the country and Payoneer’s importance is facilitating it are both set to grow. The Digiskills program aims to empower over 10 million people in Pakistan with digital skills to make them competitive in the global economy. For a country struggling with maintaining foreign reserves, this means millions of dollars flowing in for services rendered.

“One of the most important parts of my job is staying proactive and going beyond the scope of every project I work on. Not only does this help me get repeat work from the same employer, but also leads to positive reviews and recommendations, which helps me branch out to new markets” says, Ayman Sarosh, a content writer and virtual assistant from Islamabad, Pakistan.

Mohsin Muzaffer, Head of Business Development for Pakistan, said, “Pakistan is ranked amongst the top 5 countries for freelancers. Payoneer has been the first choice for freelancers in Pakistan to withdraw their hard earned money and we want to build meaningful communities across platforms to help fuel further growth of the market. Payoneer is also investing and helping build and further strengthen the ecosystem.”

With Paypal recently refusing to start operations in Pakistan, the country’s existing and newly incoming freelancers can rest secured in the knowledge that Payoneer has their back.


  • … and here HBL denied a withdrawal from Payoneer after holding for 20 days saying that the owner of Payoneer is from Israel so we can’t process it.

    • I had the kinda same issue with another payment service. An officer at HBL main office in Saddar Rwp refused to accept the cheque. I politely asked him to write down the reason and his name. Somehow that got him scared and accepted the cheque. Never had any issues later. Don’t forget to put a complaint letter in the box available at the branch if he/she still refuse.

  • Never rely solely on Payoneer services for receiving your freelance / online payments. They can shut down your account anytime without giving any reason. They may ask for identification, put your account in review and finally terminate your account with them.

    You’ll have to wait for ages for getting back your pending payments. That happened to me (I have been with them for over two years) and others of acquaintance as well.

    I am not saying they are a scam, but their way of operation certainly is suspicious. Plus, Payoneer support is horrendous. So be cautious!

  • This post is more than obviously a sponsored post. Anyway, Payoneer is techncially involved in money laundering. They dont send dollars to Pakistan. Instead, they eat up our dollars and transfer funds to us through a random local Pakistani bank account. It also means we become liable to pay tax to FBR because that income can not be claimed as tax free IT freelancing income. I received audit notice from FBR and then money sent by Payoneer was construed as income from unexplained sources. I had to pay income tax and penalty to avoid jailtime.
    Dear PP. Please dont delete my post. Let people understand the negative implications of using Payoneer instead of Wire transfer etc.

    • It’s the banks here who are playing shaddy not payoneer. I have a detailed conversation with payoneer and the amount they send here in local bank accounts always comes from their main account and when they transfer sum amount in your account they issue a letter which explains the source of income and everything to the local banks. But Everytime you ask banks for that letter they say we are not allowed to disclose this or it’s internal matter. While payoneer says you can ask them for letter and they showed me the letter they transferred to a local bank. My issue was resolved when I made a call to bank mohtasib in front of remittance officer.

    • They send from local channel that’s why the payment reaches us. I recently requested withdrawal in USD and bank refused to process it after asking for invoices / proofs, etc. Reason they stated was that the owner of sending bank (Payoneer) is from Israel.

    • same issue here, they are not letting me withdraw my money and not even replying my requests. They disabled my account without giving any notice and explanation. I tried everything to prove my self right but they are not even listening now because there are thousands of dollars in my account. It’s been 7 months since my account got disabled

  • That’s great to hear but its sad that some banks like Standard Chartered don’t entertain freelancers. I went there the other day to get an account opened and lady on front desk said we don’t open accounts for freelancers and I was like what? She repeated no freelancers are entertained here, you could have called the helpline before coming, its the bank policy. I was carrying a letter from my remote employer in the US. We freelancers are bringing foreign remittance into Pakistan, we are helping to boost our economy and getting such a response. Its a shame.

  • many users have reported payoneer’s fraudulent activity. Whenever you get some huge amount in your account, they will disable it and freeze your balance for a year or forever. they are not letting me withdraw my money as well and not even replying my requests. They disabled my account without giving any notice and explanation. I tried everything to prove my self right but they are not even listening now because there are thousands of dollars in my account. It’s been 7 months since my account got disabled


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