So, I’ve been a member of Elance for over nine years now, and I typically receive my payments via electronic deposit. I stopped receiving them via check a long time ago because it took too long and I was always scared it would get lost.Anyhow, I recently noticed that I could apply for a debit card and decided to try it out.

Apparently Elance, through their partnership with Payoneer, now offers members the option of receiving their money through a paid debit card.It took about three weeks to get approved for the debit card, and I received it about a week after getting approved. The card was blue and had a fancy Elance logo.

It was pretty cool to see my name with Elance next to it. For a moment I imagined that I owned Elance and was a millionaire, and then I imagined that I was a corporate partner or an employee of Elance with corporate privileges. Heck, a girl can dream, can’t she?

Here’s what I found: Elance’s debit card deposit isn’t instant. In fact, it may be slower than bank deposits. Heck, it seemed to take longer for the money to credit Payoneer after Elance sends it to them. The delay is caused because you have to wait for Elance to send the money to Payoneer, then you have to go to Payoneer and release it to your Payoneer account. It then takes two to three days for the money to post there. This costs $1.50 extra that is debited from your account.

The only way to avoid this extra step is to make the release at Payoneer immediate. You’re then charged $4.50 every time, and the money is available within two hours.So, here’s what I think…the Payoneer Elance card is NOT faster than bank deposit and costs you more money, but I still like it for my IM business.

Here’s why: I use it to budget my IM costs. You see, every month, I set aside 30% of my freelance income to build my IM business. Therefore, I transfer 30% from Elance to Payoneer and then use the Elance Payoneer card to cover my IM costs. This way, I never go over my budget. I then transfer the remaining freelance funds for spending purposes. This method works for me and keeps me from overspending!

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