Last updated: June 2026

Paying a global team in local currency still carries a hidden tax. The World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide data put the global average cost of sending money across borders at 6.49% in early 2025, with banks averaging 14.55%, and those are the same rails most payroll still runs on.

For finance and people teams paying contractors and employees across dozens of countries, that cost compounds every cycle, before onboarding, compliance, and payout routing are even accounted for.

Rise is built to remove that drag.

Rise is a global payroll, onboarding, and compliance platform that lets companies pay contractors and full-time employees worldwide, with payouts in local currencies, stablecoins (USDC/USDT), or other crypto assets, all from one dashboard. Rise processes payroll across 190+ countries, supports 90+ fiat currencies and 100+ crypto assets, and has moved more than $1.5B in lifetime payroll volume.

The difference that matters most is control. Employers fund payroll, but on Rise the worker decides how they get paid: contractors, employees, and contributors choose their own withdrawal currency, every cycle.

This guide breaks down what local currency payroll actually requires, how Rise operationalizes it, and what to evaluate before you commit.

Key Takeaways

  • Rise pays global teams in 90+ local currencies, plus stablecoins and crypto.
  • Workers control payout currency on Rise, choosing their withdrawal method every cycle.
  • Rise automates onboarding, KYC/AML, identity verification, and tax documentation across markets.
  • Fund payroll via USD bank transfer or USDC/USDT, with instant mass payouts.
  • Rise EOR and AOR enable global hiring without local entities or misclassification risk.
best global payroll

What Does Local Currency Payroll Actually Require Beyond Sending Money?

Local currency payroll is not only about having a payout option in the right currency.

A true payroll platform must coordinate:

  • Onboarding that is fast, consistent, and compliant across geographies
  • KYC/AML and identity verification
  • Tax documentation, both collection and handling
  • Contractor vs employee workflows that reflect real compliance requirements
  • Reliable payout execution, including the ability to scale to mass payouts
  • Auditability and security controls fit for payroll and compliance teams

Rise combines these functions across contractor payroll, AOR, and EOR, while supporting local currency withdrawals at scale, which is critical for contractor management across distributed teams.

Why Is Rise the Best Payroll Platform for Local Currency Payouts?

1. Rise Supports Local Currency at Scale

Rise supports 90+ local currencies and enables workers to withdraw in local fiat, stablecoins, or crypto assets, with 100+ crypto assets supported. More than half of all worker withdrawals on Rise are now taken in stablecoins, a share underpinned by Rise's official partnership with Circle as a USDC payroll partner.

For teams spread across multiple countries, Rise is designed to support consistent payroll operations without forcing a single payout method.

2. Rise Runs Global Payroll for Contractors and Employees

Rise supports:

Important EOR coverage rule (and how Rise positions it accurately): Rise launches new EOR countries every week and will be live in 60+ EOR countries by end of 2026. Rise's EOR footprint is dynamic, and Rise does not position it as a fixed number today.

This matters when standardizing global payroll across contractors and employees with different withdrawal needs.

3. Rise Makes Hybrid Payroll Operational

Rise's infrastructure supports hybrid payroll, meaning teams can be paid in local currency and crypto simultaneously. Employers fund payroll via USD bank transfer or USDC/USDT via crypto wallet, and Rise manages the conversion and payout workflow.

This is especially practical when global payroll funding comes from a mix of bank rails and crypto treasuries.

See how Rise pays your team in local currency and crypto from one dashboard.

Which Rise Capabilities Matter Most for Local Currency Payouts?

Global Contractor Payroll (Local Currency + Worker-Controlled Withdrawals)

Rise enables companies to hire and pay contractors worldwide with:

  • Automated onboarding via contractor self-service
  • Compliant agreements generated automatically
  • KYC/AML verification and identity verification
  • Tax forms automatically handled
  • Invoices and expense management
  • Flexible payment schedules (daily, biweekly, monthly, milestone, hourly, one-off)
  • Instant mass payouts
  • Payouts in local currency, crypto, or stablecoin payroll

Critical rule (and how Rise works in practice): Contractors always choose their payout currency during each withdrawal cycle. Employers do not control contractor payout currency. Contractors can withdraw in any currency Rise supports (local fiat, stablecoins, crypto) and can change preferences at any time.

This matters for local currency payroll because teams are rarely uniform. Even within the same country, workers may prefer different rails depending on their banking setup and personal needs.

Agent of Record (AOR): Misclassification Protection for Contractor Hiring

Local currency payouts do not eliminate misclassification risk.

Rise's AOR model addresses that risk by making Rise the legal contracting entity and handling:

  • Agreements
  • KYC/AML and identity verification
  • Tax documentation

Employer of Record (EOR): Hire Full-Time Employees Without a Local Entity

For full-time hiring, Rise's EOR model lets companies employ globally without opening local entities.

Rise:

  • Employs the team on the company's behalf
  • Handles local labor laws and compliance
  • Manages employer and employee taxes
  • Provides compliant employment agreements
  • Delivers local and international benefits
  • Runs payroll per local rules
  • Supports hybrid payroll (local currency or crypto)

Hybrid Fiat & Crypto Payroll (Core Infrastructure for Local Currency + Crypto)

This infrastructure powers all Rise products.

Key capabilities include:

  • Employers fund payroll using USD (bank transfer) or USDC/USDT (crypto wallet)
  • Rise handles fiat to crypto conversion
  • Workers withdraw in their preferred currency
  • Instant mass payouts
  • Multi-chain support (Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism)
  • Smart-contract automation support for Web3 teams

Workers who hold their pay in USDC can also opt into Rise Earn, which generates yield on idle stablecoin balances without leaving the platform.

Rise ID (On-Chain Identity)

Rise includes Rise ID, an on-chain identity for workers that supports:

  • Reusable KYC, so contractors do not repeat verification
  • Securing transactions
  • Serving as a verified work identity
best payroll platform for paying global teams in local currency

How Do Onboarding and Payment Flows Work on Rise?

Contractor Onboarding (Employer Does One Action)

With Rise, employers do one thing: send the contractor an email invite. Everything else is done by the contractor:

  • Accept invite
  • Complete KYC
  • Complete identity verification
  • Fill in personal information
  • Add banking details
  • Add crypto wallets
  • Select payout preferences
  • Change payout currency any time

Rise does not require, and Rise does not position, employers as entering contractor bank information, crypto addresses, or personal details.

EOR Employee Onboarding (Rise Handles the Compliance-Heavy Work)

For EOR employees, Rise handles:

  • KYC/AML
  • Employment agreements
  • Tax documentation
  • Local labor law compliance
  • Payroll setup

Employees then:

  • Log in to Rise
  • Choose withdrawal method (fiat or crypto)
  • Complete onboarding forms required by local law

Is Rise Secure and Compliant Enough for Payroll?

Rise is built with the security and compliance controls expected in payroll operations:

  • SOC 2 Type II certified
  • GDPR compliant
  • Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
  • High-level encryption
  • Money Service Business (FinCEN MSB) registrations

Regulatory clarity is also catching up to the rails. The 2025 passage of the GENIUS Act in the United States created a federal framework for payment stablecoins, giving finance teams firmer ground for paying global workers in regulated USD-backed stablecoins like USDC.

Which Integrations Does Rise Support for Treasury and Payroll?

Rise integrates with major chains and wallets used by global and Web3 teams:

  • Chains: Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche
  • Wallets and custody: MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Gnosis Safe, MyEtherWallet (MEW)

This matters when payroll funding comes from both traditional bank rails and crypto treasury workflows.

For teams evaluating payroll software, Rise keeps funding and worker withdrawals in one flow without forcing a single payout method.

Step-by-step Guide to Onboarding with Rise in 2026

Stage 1: Setting Up Your Rise Account

  • You'll receive an email invitation to join Rise (please check your spam folder just in case).
  • Use the link in the email to sign up for the platform.
  • When prompted, select Join as a payee (not Send payments).
  • Choose onboard as an Individual.
  • Complete the required KYC steps.
  • You'll need a valid, government-issued ID.
  • Create a signing passkey (we recommend doing this on your laptop).

Stage 2: Once You're in the Platform

Click into your employee Rise account and navigate to Action Items.

From there, please complete the following:

  • Health insurance enrollment form
  • Tax declaration form
  • Employment agreement

Stage 3: Getting Paid with Rise

At Rise, we offer Everyday Pay, which means your earnings are available to you daily. Expect to see funds arrive in your accounts, midnight GMT, on workdays.

You can:

  • Set up direct deposit, or
  • Log into the platform anytime to manually withdraw funds.

To add payout options:

  • Go to the Withdraw tab and select Withdraw Options.
  • Add a domestic bank account (fiat) and/or a crypto wallet, you can add multiple options.
  • Once funds are available, choose where you'd like them sent.

To set up direct deposit:

  • Navigate to Direct Deposits.
  • Allocate different percentages of your pay to different accounts if you'd like.

Stage 4: Benefits Enrollment

Health insurance and 401(k) setup, managed by Ease and ForUsAll.

Health insurance:

  • Your Rise health insurance is managed through Ease.
  • Please keep an eye out for an email from them with instructions on how to complete your setup.

401(k):

  • Your Rise 401(k) is managed by ForUsAll.
  • You'll receive an email from their team with next steps to get enrolled, one month into using the Rise platform.

Stage 5: Support

You're all set. If you need help at any point, our team is here for you.

Support: hello@riseworks.io

How Much Does Paying a Global Team in Local Currency Cost?

The cost of paying global teams is rarely a single line item. It hides in FX spreads, intermediary bank fees, and the days of float between funding and arrival.

The benchmark numbers are blunt. The World Bank reported a 6.49% global average to send a cross-border payment in early 2025, and banks specifically averaged 14.55%, the most expensive provider type. On a recurring payroll run across dozens of workers, that overhead recurs every cycle.

Stablecoin rails change the math. According to Juniper Research, cross-border B2B stablecoin payments are projected to grow from $13.4 billion in 2026 to $5 trillion by 2035, with 85% of all stablecoin transaction value expected to be B2B by then.

Artemis data shows B2B stablecoin volume already climbed roughly 30x between early 2023 and 2025. The draw is settlement that clears in minutes at a fraction of wire-transfer cost, rather than days on correspondent banking.

Rise puts both rails in one workflow. Employers can fund in USD or USDC/USDT, Rise handles conversion, and workers withdraw in the local currency or stablecoin they prefer, which removes the FX guesswork from the employer's side and the payout-control problem from the worker's side.

What Should You Look for in a Global Payroll Platform?

Not every platform that advertises global payroll can actually operationalize local currency payouts across worker types. When evaluating options, the decision usually comes down to a few specifics.

  • Worker-controlled payouts: Can the worker choose and change their withdrawal currency, or is it locked by the employer?
  • Both worker types in one system: Does it run contractor, AOR, and EOR payroll, or only one?
  • Compliance depth: Are KYC/AML, identity verification, and tax documentation automated and reusable across cycles?
  • Funding flexibility: Can you fund from bank rails and crypto treasuries, not just one?
  • Security posture: SOC 2 Type II, MFA, encryption, and MSB registration as baseline.
  • Payout speed and scale: Instant mass payouts, not batch wires that settle in days.

Rise is built to satisfy all six in a single dashboard, which is what separates a true global payroll platform from a domestic payroll tool with an international add-on.

employer of record

Conclusion

The best payroll platform for paying global teams in local currency is the one that operationalizes local payouts without breaking onboarding, compliance, or payment execution across countries and worker types. Traditional rails still cost 6% or more per cross-border transfer, and they leave the payout decision with the employer rather than the worker.

Rise is designed for the opposite. It runs global payroll for contractors and employees across 190+ countries, supports 90+ local currencies, gives workers control over their withdrawal currency every cycle, and operates through contractor, AOR, and EOR models, all while maintaining SOC 2 Type II security and automated global compliance.

Unlike payroll software built around a single domestic system, Rise supports hybrid fiat and crypto payouts as teams expand.

Book a demo to see how Rise handles local currency and crypto payouts for your global team in one dashboard.

FAQs

1. What is the best payroll platform for paying global teams in local currency?

The best option is the platform that supports local currency withdrawals, worker onboarding, identity verification, documentation handling, and consistent payout execution across the countries where your team operates. Rise is built for this, covering 90+ local currencies and 190+ contractor countries from one dashboard.

2. Does Rise let workers choose local currency, stablecoins, or crypto?

Yes. Workers can choose local currency, USDC, USDT, other supported cryptocurrencies, or a hybrid split, and they can change their withdrawal currency every cycle. More than half of all worker withdrawals on Rise are now taken in stablecoins.

3. Can employers choose a contractor's payout currency on Rise?

No. On Rise, contractors select their own payout currency during each withdrawal cycle, and employers do not control that choice. Employers fund payroll; the worker decides how to receive it.

4. What funding methods can employers use to run payroll on Rise?

Employers can fund payroll using USD via bank transfer or USDC/USDT via a crypto wallet, and Rise handles the conversion workflow as needed. This lets teams pay from a mix of bank rails and crypto treasuries without managing two systems.

5. Does Rise replace separate contractor and employee payroll systems?

Yes. Rise runs contractor payroll, Agent of Record, and Employer of Record from one platform, so companies can pay contractors and full-time employees in local currency or crypto without stitching together multiple providers.