We know it’s important for you to get the money you’ve worked hard to earn on Upwork. If an issue arises, we want to make sure it’s resolved quickly.
I’m unable to withdraw my earnings
There are a number of factors that could be preventing you from withdrawing your earnings:
- Have you set up a payment method and entered your tax information? We need this information in order to process your earnings.
- Has your payment method been in place for more than three days? For security reasons, your payment method can’t be used for three calendar days.
- Have you checked your Transaction History report to see when your funds will be available? All earnings on Upwork are subject to review and security periods before that date. Are there any restrictions on your account? You may need to resolve any temporary hold or suspension in order to withdraw your earnings. Did you receive an error message when trying to withdraw your money? Check here to see if it’s an issue with our site. If there are no site issues, please contact support so we can help you.
IMPORTANT:
Agencies are responsible for all payments to the freelancers who are part of the agency. Payments from agencies to agency members are not protected or managed by Upwork. Please contact your agency owner to resolve any payment issues.
I was able to withdraw my earnings, but I have not received them in my bank, PayPal, etc. account
If your withdrawal was successfully processed and has not been received, we want to help. Please look below for your payment method to see how and when we can step in.
Note:
Public holidays in the U.S. and your own country can delay withdrawals. Click here for further information.
Direct to Local Bank withdrawal requests are processed within one business day. Payments should arrive at your bank within four business days.
We can trace a missing payment for you at no charge. However, you must wait eight full business days after the withdrawal date to initiate the trace. To request a payment trace, please contact support and include a screenshot of your bank statement or online transaction history from the time the withdrawal was made up to the time you submit the request.
We process ACH Direct to U.S. Bank deposit requests within one business day. ACH payments should arrive at your bank within two to five business days. Some banks impose a waiting period on funds from incoming transfers. Please ask your bank how long it will take for your funds to clear.
Upwork can trace a missing ACH payment for you at no charge, however, you must wait five business days after the withdrawal date to request the trace. If your funds have not arrived after this period, please contact support to request a payment trace.
We process wire transfer requests the next business day.
If the transfer is successful, the funds could hit your account within minutes of being processed. However, depending on the country and bank, it could take several days to arrive because of banking complexities. Some banks impose a waiting period on funds from incoming (and especially international) wire transfers. Please ask your bank how long it will take for your funds to clear.
Upwork can trace a missing payment for you at no charge, however, you must wait eight full business days after the withdrawal date to initiate the trace. If your funds have not arrived after this period, please contact support to request a payment trace.
If you haven't already, please check that your PayPal account is fully activated and verified. You can verify by linking your credit card, debit card, or bank account to your PayPal account. Please log in to your PayPal account and follow the instructions to complete the verification process. You are responsible for making sure that PayPal provides the services you need before you transfer money.
In most cases, your withdrawal from Upwork will transfer to your PayPal account immediately. However, there are occasions when it may take up to 24 hours. If it has been more than 24 hours, please contact PayPal support and provide them with the email address that funds were sent to. If they are unable to locate the payment, please contact Upwork support for further assistance.
When you request a payment through Upwork to your Payoneer account, you should receive a notification from Upwork within 24 hours.
If you don't get an Upwork notification of your transaction in 24 hours:
- Log into your Payoneer account to confirm receipt of funds
- Check your email filters, such as your spam, trash and/or junk folders for these notifications and add both Payoneer and Upwork to your email contacts
- Check the email address connected to your Payoneer account for a notification that they have transferred the funds to your account
If the above steps did not resolve the issue, please contact Payoneer support and provide them with the email address that funds were sent to. If they are unable to locate the payment, please contact Upwork support for further assistance.
If you haven't already, please check that your M-Pesa account is fully activated and complete the necessary verification process. You are responsible for making sure that M-Pesa provides the services you need before you transfer money. Please note M-Pesa is currently only available to users in Kenya.
In most cases, your payment transfers immediately. However, there are occasions when it may take up to 5 business days to receive your payment. If it has been more than five business days, please contact us..
My withdrawal was returned
If your withdrawal fails and the funds are returned to your Upwork account, we will email you as soon as possible. And if it’s due to an error on our end, we will cover any fees resulting from the issue. If the transfer fails because you provided incorrect information, the funds will be returned to you minus the following costs:
- Original withdrawal fee
- Any return fees incurred by Upwork
- Any additional fees or penalties your provider may assess
If you returned a PayPal transaction back to Upwork and it's not showing in your Upwork account, that's because returned funds from PayPal don't automatically get routed to you. To remedy this problem, please contact support and provide the “Unique Transaction ID number” sent to you by PayPal when you sent your PayPal funds back to your Upwork account. We will trace your transaction and credit it back to your account. We can't return the PayPal transaction fee because that fee covers processing expenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lots of factors determine when you’ll receive the money you’ve earned. If you need payment, check your Transaction History report to see when your funds will be available.
