Gig platforms offer seamless checkout for buyers, but emerging market payouts remain broken for workers.
When representatives from more than 180 countries convened in Geneva, Switzerland, for the June International Labour Conference (ILO), they delivered a landmark win for gig workers.
The first international labor standard specifically covering platform workers was negotiated and voted on by the roughly 5,700 delegates representing governments, employers, and unions from the ILO’s 187 member states.
But while policy progress is being made on paper, the everyday financial reality for gig workers in emerging markets remains complex.
To understand why payout infrastructure remains the “last mile” hurdle for gig platforms, Global Finance spoke with Carlos Menendez, Chief Operating Officer of dLocal, a cross-border payments platform. Before joining dLocal, Menendez spent 14 years at Mastercard—most recently as President of the Global Commercialization Office—and 14 years in senior leadership roles at Citi. Here, he breaks down why paying global gig workers is harder than it looks, and how technology can bridge the gap.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Global Finance: What does a typical payment delay look like for a gig worker in an emerging market?
Carlos Menendez: Imagine a freelance developer in Lagos, who successfully completes a project for a client in London on Upwork. While the client’s payment is secured instantly, the developer faces a mandatory five-day security hold on their funds, followed by conversion to Naira at unfavorable rates, and fees of up to $20 per withdrawal, all eroding a significant portion of their earnings.
GF: What’s really at stake for workers when payments are delayed or eroded by fees?
Menendez: Beyond a minor inconvenience, these issues can mean not eating or paying rent for some who live day to day. As a result, workers switch to whichever platform pays fastest, while platforms face churn and risk their local reputations.
GF: If ride hailing apps or platforms like Upwork offer such strong income opportunities, what’s the catch? And beyond instability, what’s the core challenge these platforms face with workers?
Menendez: Ride hailing apps or Upwork for freelancers are a great opportunity for second or even primary incomes. However, while these companies provide seamless purchasing opportunities for their services, when it comes to paying workers in emerging markets, they have largely not adapted their payout structures.
Beyond the lack of stability and control that could come with side hustles, workers getting paid simply and on time proves to be a challenge for many gig platforms.
Funds get stuck between payer and recipient as they navigate local currencies across fragmented banking and mobile money ecosystems, compliantly and at speed. For all the sophistication of modern payments infrastructure, the last mile of the payout stack remains one of the most technically underserved problems in the industry.
dLocal
GF: Why is paying gig workers across emerging markets so complicated?
Menendez: Paying is harder than it looks. There are dozens of local currencies, many with volatile exchange rates, and limited convertibility. In order to pay in a timely, consistent manner, platforms must have local liquidity ready to go, which can be cumbersome when applied globally. Compliance complexities, such as know your consumer (KYC) and AML requirements vary by region, while worker classification and tax withholding obligations differ.
GF: Why can’t platforms just rely on standard bank transfers?
Menendez: Bank accounts have low penetration in some regions. According to the World Bank Global Findex 2025 report, 79% of adults globally have a bank account. Many of those who don’t are in countries such as Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Many workers rely on being paid via mobile money such as M-Pesa in Africa, digital wallets and cash-out networks. Without payouts in local payment options, platforms will limit the pool of potential workers that they can select from.
GF: What does it mean that there are “no dominant payout rails”?
Menendez: No dominant payout rails means there isn’t one payment method that rules the Global South. A platform operating in Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil and Colombia is working with M-Pesa, bank transfers, PIX, and PSE simultaneously. Each comes with unique settlement times, failure rates and reconciliation requirements. These issues result in delays, unfavorable exchange rates and high cash-out fees that are all absorbed by workers.
GF: How do these inefficiencies affect platforms at scale?
Menendez: Marginal inefficiencies, such as failed transaction fees, can add up significantly for platforms such as Rappi and Glovo which process millions of transactions per week. Additionally, they can create large volumes of manual reconciliation work for internal finance teams.
GF: What solutions are platforms currently exploring?
Menendez: Platforms are exploring multiple solutions for workers’ payment issues in emerging markets. Aggregator models with multiple partners is one model that helps, but simultaneously increases operation overheads, with ongoing liquidity issues. Local wallets that are pre-funded require capital and incur high management costs, making them a barrier of entry for small to medium businesses. Earned wage access ensures workers are paid on time, however don’t resolve fees. Partnerships with local in-market banks provide faster settlements, with platforms owning compliance and currency conversions.
GF: How does a single-API approach compare to these other models?
Menendez: Single APIs may represent an increase in cost for platforms, however take on the complexities of local rails, currencies, payment methods, and compliance across multiple markets, making it seamless for platforms to pay workers with minimum overhead.
GF: What’s the bigger takeaway for platforms scaling gig work in emerging markets?
Menendez: It can’t be denied that side jobs and flexible working is an attractive opportunity for many, particularly in emerging markets. However, delayed payouts for workers who live paycheck to paycheck is one practical aspect that impedes on a stable standard of living and erodes trust. Those looking to expand their billion-dollar businesses must ensure that the experience is seamless not only for the customer, but for all parties involved.
