Upwork to Charge Fee for Direct to U.S. Bank Withdrawals
A new withdrawal fee reportedly targets freelancers outside the U.S. using services like Wise, starting September 1st.
The short versionUpwork is reportedly introducing a fee for Direct to U.S. Bank withdrawals for freelancers with a non-U.S. tax address. The change is said to take effect on September 1st. This will likely increase costs for international freelancers who use services like Wise to receive payments.
What changed
- A new fee is reportedly being added for Direct to U.S. Bank withdrawals.
- The change is said to apply to freelancers whose tax address is outside the United States.
- The fee is reportedly scheduled to begin on September 1st.
- The announcement was reportedly made via email to affected users.
What it means for freelancers
- International freelancers using this withdrawal method will see their take-home pay decrease.
- Freelancers relying on services like Wise to access U.S. banking details will be directly impacted.
- This adds another cost layer on top of existing Upwork service fees, squeezing margins further.
- It may push some freelancers to explore alternative, potentially cheaper, payment methods if available.
What to do now
- Check your email and Upwork account for the official policy update to confirm the exact fee amount.
- Calculate how the new fee impacts your net income based on your average withdrawal frequency and amount.
- Review Upwork's full list of withdrawal options to see if a more cost-effective method is available for your country.
- Factor this new cost into your future project bids and rate calculations to protect your earnings.
Live market context — Nov 2 – Nov 8, 2026
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$742avg fixed budget
$24/hravg hourly rate
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Based on reporting by r/Upwork (August 3, 2026). Analysis is SnipeWork's own; we do not reproduce source text. Spotted an error? Tell us at hello@snipework.com and we will correct it.