How do I pay oDesk and my providers?
You make the full payment to oDesk, and oDesk pays your providers. The most common payment method is by credit card. Under some conditions, buyers may pay by check; see our Payment Methods page for information. When you pay for work, no costs are added to the rate you hired at; oDesk keeps 10% of the payment and passes 90% to the provider. This keeps the process simple, and the buyer’s paperwork to an absolute minimum — there’s no difference for the buyer between paying one provider in Miami or three in Mumbai, Manila and Munich. It’s also how we can make the oDesk guarantee, and to stand firmly behind our dispute resolution policy. Also note that you can set a limit on the number of hours your providers work, to help keep jobs within budget.
