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Ask HN: How can we pay Ukrainians to work for us?

19 points by dgreisen ↗ HN
Our US-based non-profit, Open Law Library, would like to offer positions to Ukrainian developers. We would ideally like to pay for services weekly in advance, rather than arrears, to assist with immediate cash flow needs.

Does anybody have suggestions on the best way to provide payment? I understand Ukrainian banks are still up for now, so are wire transfers the most reliable, or should we use visa/master card e-gift cards? Something else?

Aside from the "who is hiring" posts tomorrow, are there any boards or services we should be posting to?

Thank you!

David Greisen dgreisen@openlawlib.org

10 comments

[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 31.3 ms ] thread
jacquesm
Right now there is no problem, so if you have an existing relationship you could simply pre-pay for a year or so. You would obviously take some risk. You could also pre-pay to one individual that you trust and pay them, and then they can disburse as needed.

But regardless, with the war going on the future is very much fluid and whatever you choose may not end up working for much longer, besides that the people you want to hire may not be able to work for you for very long or even at all. But it certainly won't hurt to try, just make sure that your funds do not end up seized by invaders at some point.

dgreisen
That is good to know. Unfortunately, we do not have any existing relationships.
jacquesm
Ok, ask around if someone else, possibly right here on HN has a relationship with someone in Ukraine that they would trust with that kind of arrangement. I wished your post would get some more exposure that would help to maybe locate someone.
muzika
Right now it is near impossible for people to take out cash in many parts of Ukraine. In some areas debit cards work, in a few others cash only.
jacquesm
Yes, this is true. I was mostly thinking about being able to get the funds to show up in a Ukranian account. The bigger - and more urgent - problem is that from what I read food and fuel are running out.
version_five
This caught my interest, I hire freelancers (normally North American) and if it would help someone I would consider hiring Ukrainians (wherever they are). It seems like it would be tough to confirm that the people you are hiring are actually those in need, and any confirmation process would be most burdensome on the people who actually need it.

One think we can do it lobby the government to accept Ukranian refugees / immigrants, so they can work here (wherever here is, the west).

dgreisen
We've been thinking about that, and decided to err on the side of too lax than too stringent for exactly this reason. Wires to Ukrainian bank would be strong evidence. Red Cross paperwork or refugee visa also seems good enough. Honestly, we're considering simply a signed affidavit (notary paid for by us).
ratg13
You can always ask the developer how they prefer to be paid.

Most will just want the money sent straight to their bank account.

To save money on transfer costs you can use services like wise.com

simne
Hello, I'm Ukrainian developer looking for work, and I have experience with using different payment services.

I will write you email nearest hours.

Thank you!

egorfine
You can wire a regular bank transfer to their bank account or directly credit their Mastercard/Visa. No problem here: Ukrainian banking is well-connected with SWIFT and no disruptions are expected.