If you train AI for Mercor, Ethos or DataAnnotation from outside the US, your pay starts in US dollars: Mercor contracts are in US dollars, and the other two list their rates in dollars. The cheapest way to keep more of it is usually to receive the dollars into Wise USD account details, which is free for an ACH payment, and convert them yourself when you choose.
Wise, formerly TransferWise, is a money app that gives you local account details in several currencies and converts at the mid-market rate with the fee shown upfront. This guide follows the payout from the platform to your bank: who pays through what, how to set it up, how to avoid losing money to an early conversion, and what it costs.
Last checked 2026-10-19. DigiNo earns a referral if you join Mercor or Ethos through our links, and the Wise buttons are affiliate links.
How AI Training Platforms Pay
Each platform picks its own payout service, so start with yours. Mercor pays through Stripe Connect or Wise, and Ethos through Revolut or Wise.
Mercor does not support PayPal, Payoneer or crypto payouts, and Stripe holds your first Mercor payout for 7 days. DataAnnotation pays only through PayPal.
For pay schedules and tax, see Getting Paid and Taxes as an AI Training Contractor.
Sources: Mercor payments, Mercor time tracking and pay, Ethos privacy policy, DataAnnotation FAQ.
What Is Wise (Formerly TransferWise)?
Wise is a payments company that launched in 2011 as TransferWise. It changed its name to Wise in February 2021, and existing accounts and logins stayed the same.
A Wise account holds balances in many currencies at once. For each currency where Wise offers account details, you get local bank details that a sender can pay like a domestic transfer, so a US platform can pay you as a domestic US payment.
If you followed an older DigiNo link to TransferWise (affiliate link), it opens the same Wise account.
Sources: The story of Wise, Wise: what payments can I receive in each currency.
Set Up Wise for AI Training Pay
Mercor requires the payout bank account to be in your own legal name, so open Wise in the same name you use on the platform.
Sources: Mercor payments, Ethos privacy policy, Wise: can I get USD account details.
That button is a DigiNo affiliate link.
Avoid the Early Conversion Loss
The biggest hidden cost is converting too early. If dollars are paid into an account in pounds or euros, they are converted before they reach you, at whatever rate that service uses.
- Mercor contracts are in US dollars, and Stripe or Wise converts them to your local currency at payout.
- PayPal charges no fee to receive a payment with no currency conversion, but in the UK it converts a balance at 3% above the base exchange rate.
- Wise converts at the mid-market rate, with the fee shown before you confirm.
Where a platform lets you pick the payout currency, pick US dollars and send them to your Wise USD details. UK trainers on Reddit ask how to stop PayPal turning their dollars into pounds automatically, which is the same problem in another app.
To see what each route costs on your own payout, use the AI training payout calculator.
Sources: Mercor payments, PayPal consumer fees (UK), Wise pricing.
How I Use Wise From the UK
I'm Jason, and I run DigiNo from the UK as a self-employed person. Platforms give you several ways to get paid: bank transfer, Wise, Revolut, PayPal and Payoneer. Pay attention to the specifics, because PayPal and Payoneer carry fees.
Be wary of conversions too. In my experience, most companies pay out in US dollars. If you request the money into your Wise GBP balance, the dollars get converted to pounds before they reach you, at a worse exchange rate, so you end up with less.
What I do instead is have US dollars sent to my Wise account, which has US bank details inside the app. I receive dollars there, and when I want pounds, I convert them inside Wise at a much more favorable rate.
If you want to keep it in dollars, you can hold it in your Wise account and only convert when you need to. I do the same for my other freelance work, not just AI training.
For tax, speak to an accountant rather than taking financial advice from me. I'm not an accountant, so check with an expert how it suits your situation.
Wise Fees for Receiving AI Training Pay
| What you do | Wise fee (checked 2026-10-17) |
|---|---|
| Domestic USD payment into US account details (ACH or domestic wire) | Free |
| USD wire or Swift payment | Fixed fee of 6.11 USD per payment |
| Converting USD to another currency | Varies by currency, from 0.23% |
| Converting USD to GBP and sending it to a UK bank | 0.33% plus 0.59 USD (Wise price data) |
| Converting USD to EUR and sending it to an Irish bank | 0.29% plus 0.53 USD (Wise price data) |
Fees change, so check the live pricing page before a large conversion.
Sources: Wise receive pricing, Wise pricing.
Who Can Get Wise USD Account Details?
It depends on the country of your address, not your nationality. People living in the UK and EU countries can get them; neither appears on Wise's exclusion list.
Wise does not offer USD account details to addresses in some countries, including Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine. The full list is on its help page.
If you cannot get USD details, Wise lets you receive US dollars through your GBP account details over Swift. The USD wire and Swift fee then applies.
Sources: Wise: can I get USD account details, Wise: what payments can I receive in each currency.
Is Wise Safe for Receiving Pay?
In the UK, Wise is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority as an electronic money institution, firm reference 900507.
Customer money is safeguarded: kept separate from Wise's own funds and held with banks. Wise balances are not covered by the FSCS.
Posts on Reddit's work-from-home boards also describe Wise pausing an incoming payment while it runs a check, so finish verification well before your first payout.
Sources: Wise safety and security (UK).
Wise or Revolut for AI Trainers?
| Wise | Revolut | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays through it | Mercor (in some regions) and Ethos | Ethos |
| Receiving a bank transfer | Free for domestic USD payments | Free |
| US account details | In many countries, by address | UK customers only |
| Converting dollars | Mid-market rate, fee shown upfront, any day | Own rate; 1% over 1,000 GBP a month and at weekends on Standard |
If Ethos is your platform and you already bank with Revolut, it works too. The Revolut guide for AI trainers has the detail.
Sources: Mercor payments, Ethos privacy policy, Wise receive pricing.
- ✓Know which payout service your platform uses
- ✓Wise verified, USD balance open, account details copied exactly
- ✓Payout account in the same legal name as your platform profile
- ✓Currency set to US dollars where the platform gives a choice
- ✓A record of every payment for your tax return
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Wise FAQ for AI Trainers
Can Mercor pay me through Wise?
Mercor pays through Stripe Connect or Wise, using Wise where Stripe Connect does not support payouts. It assigns the provider by region, so you cannot choose.
Does Wise charge to receive AI training pay in US dollars?
Not for a domestic USD payment such as ACH into your USD account details. A USD wire or Swift payment has a fixed fee of 6.11 USD (Wise pricing, checked 2026-10-17).
Should I receive AI training pay in dollars or my own currency?
If the platform pays in US dollars and lets you choose, receiving dollars into USD account details avoids a conversion at the sender's rate. You can then convert inside Wise when you choose.
Is Wise the same as TransferWise, and is it safe?
Yes, TransferWise changed its name to Wise in February 2021. In the UK, Wise is authorized by the FCA as an e-money institution and safeguards customer money with banks. It is not FSCS covered.
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