Veem is a digital payment processor that allows customers to send and receive domestic and international payments. Think of it as an alternative to traditional wire transfers, with some added features that will make the financial operations in your business easier.
Veem works well for any size business that collects payment primarily through invoicing. Although there are other solutions available to send payments for free, Veem goes one step further and allows businesses to accept certain local (domestic) and cross-border (foreign) transactions for free. You’ll be able to avoid bank inefficiencies and unnecessary fees for both you and your international customers.
How does Veem work?
Veem is a secure payment network that streamlines the wiring process not only to speed it up but also to cost you less.
Using multi-rail technology, Veem can process payments safely and securely through a digital ledger of transactions. This effectively eliminates the intermediary banks — and their corresponding fees — that are used in the traditional wiring process.
In addition to speeding up payments and making them less costly, Veem integrates with QuickBooks Online, Xero and NetSuite. This means your Veem payments and invoices will automatically load into your business’s accounting software.
Add in invoicing, unlimited accounts payable and accounts receivable management, sophisticated workflows, and 1099 tracking, and for a low monthly fee, Veem is a full payments management solution for your business.
How much does Veem cost?
To get the full range of payments, workflow management and bookkeeping features, users need to purchase Veem’s Premium Plan for $14.99 per month. Veem also offers a free (Basic) plan, but that won’t allow you free bank transfers between the U.S. and Canada or many of the workflow management and bookkeeping perks.
Whereas a traditional bank wire typically costs anywhere from $15 to $49, transfers made through Veem are mostly free (outside of the monthly subscription fee). Veem is transparent about the few exceptions:
- 2.9% for credit card transactions. Veem was designed for electronic bank transfers. You do have an option to send payments via credit card, but a 2.9% transaction fee applies.
- 1% for global instant deposit. Most payments made through Veem will land in your bank account within three business days. If you want your money instantly deposited to a debit card, you'll pay a 1% transaction fee. A $1.50 minimum fee applies.
- $29 for international payments in USD. If you're paying someone outside of the United States who wants to receive their payment in U.S. dollars, you'll pay a fee of $29. However, if you and your payee both use Veem Wallet, this fee is waived. Your payee can then withdraw funds from their Veem Wallet to their bank account in their local currency at a competitive foreign transaction fee.
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Benefits of Veem
Benefits of Veem for both payers and payees include:
- Accounts payable and accounts receivable management. When your business uses Veem's paid Premium Plan, you get access to customizable invoicing, payment links and the ability to make multiple payments all at once. You also get a dashboard to help you track payments made or received through Veem, even those that are still in transit.
- Free payment availability. It bears repeating that Veem payments are almost entirely free after the monthly subscription fee. Just remember to avoid the $29 charge that Veem will apply to your international payments by asking the recipient to either accept payment in their local currency or use Veem Wallet.
- Competitive foreign exchange rates. Veem offers stellar foreign exchange rates. If you’re invoicing an international customer or paying an international vendor, Veem will be able to convert your currency at some of the fairest rates around.
- No additional hardware or complicated setup necessary. Veem is unique in that it won’t require your business to invest in any additional hardware in order to process payments. Other payment processing services might require your business to buy smart devices, card readers or countertop displays. Your business will simply need internet access to send and receive Veem payments. Also, the effort necessary to set up your Veem account is nominal; an account can be set up in under five minutes.
Drawbacks of Veem
There aren’t many drawbacks to using Veem, but there are a few:
- Veem’s recently updated pricing structure may be costly for some businesses. In addition to the monthly subscription fee, businesses requiring fast (within one business day) bank transfers or global instant deposits will want to pay attention to the additional fees that Veem charges for these services. As a percentage of the total transferred — 0.5% for expedited bank transfers and 1% for instant deposits — these fees could amount to a sizable sum.
- Veem isn’t 100% available in every country. Although Veem gives you the ability to complete transactions in over 80 currencies and to more than 110 countries, some countries are set up only to receive payments. Your customer might not be able to send you money through Veem.
- Your customers pay more to pay you by credit card. Some customers prefer to pay using a credit card, but additional fees to pay that way can be a turnoff. Veem charges the payer 2.9% per transaction to pay by credit card, something you’ll want to keep in mind before sending a Veem payment link to your customers. Additionally, if you need a point-of-sale credit card processing system, you'll need to use a more traditional payment processor.
Alternatives to Veem
Melio is Veem’s closest competitor. Melio offers the same features and benefits as Veem — including mostly free payments — with two notable exceptions:
- Melio supports limited countries outside the U.S. (currently, just Canada, the U.K. and the European Union).
- Melio currently syncs only with a limited number of accounting software products, including QuickBooks Online.
Additions to Veem in your tech stack
You might find that Veem meets most of your needs but that you need a bit more. The following solutions are great add-ons to your payment-processing tech stack.
Square
Square offers a multitude of ways to convert your business’s smart devices into powerful, comprehensive POS systems.
With Square’s affordable hardware and software options — its free magstripe reader and the free Square Point of Sale app — your business will be able to accept card payments, offer recommended tip options, capture signatures and send receipts. And you’ll be able to do it all from a smartphone, tablet or iPad.
Note that, unlike Veem payment processing, Square’s payment processing won’t be free — you’ll have to pay a Square fee that starts at 2.6% plus $0.10 for non-manual card transactions.
Then, should your business need to send or receive wires, you can turn to Veem for free payments and invoicing.
Clover
For a more traditional, hardware-based payment processing system, you can look to Clover.
Like Square, Clover allows your business to accept in-person card payments using a personal device or hardware designed for that purpose.
Clover’s processing fees start at 2.3% plus $0.10 per transaction, but should you need to run a large payment, you could opt to do it for free through Veem.
PayPal
PayPal allows you and your customers to pay using either a credit card or an electronic funds transfer. PayPal’s payment processing rates range from 1.9% to 3.5% of each transaction, plus a fixed fee ranging from $0.05 to $0.49. International transactions cost more. PayPal could replace Veem for both sending and receiving payments, but the costs might outweigh the benefits.
A version of this article was first published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.
