I got this great question from Jared:

“Thanks again for your emails with all of the tips and tricks!  I’m curious how you deal with things or services that need paid for like a service for your company or an item for your company online.  Do you pay all of those yourself with a credit card?  Do you get a prepaid card to your team member?  Do they have a corporate card with a limit?  Would love to know how you handle this.”

No, we don’t have a corporate card.

I remember years ago giving my credit card to people, and it wouldn’t work…probably because they’re in the Philippines so it gets declined.

For years I would do the sign up process and give my team the username and password. This always bugged me because I don’t like being involved in small things that they should be able to take care of.

Recently I’ve been giving my credit card again, and it’s working. I think because some of my team remember to use a VPN when purchasing. So when they buy something using my card, it doesn’t raise any red flags.

Sometimes when using my card, we coordinate schedules so we’re both online at the same time. If I need to send them a security code, they receive it right away. We do this with text (iMessage) or Voxer.

I know some services are now used to having VAs subscribe for their clients. This happens often enough that they make their check-out process easier.

For one time services where my OFS is having problems using my card (it happens sometimes), they sometimes use their credit card (not on subscriptions). They just send me the receipt, and I reimburse them.

Even if they don’t have a credit card, some services take online payments through PayPal or Payoneer. PayPal and Payoneer now have solid relationships with local banks and cash apps, so some Filipinos use this if they don’t have a credit card.

There are lots of options.  Ask your OFS how they’d like to handle it.

John