How Online Brokers Pay Contractors Across Jurisdictions
· By Christian Görgen
1. Why online brokers pay contractors in many jurisdictions
Online brokers run global operations. A typical broker has offices in several jurisdictions, often holds more than one licence, and works with teams spread across time zones, with a mix of employees and contractors doing the work. That is the normal shape of a business that sells across borders and hires the same way, often faster than its back office can set up a way to pay contractors in each country.
That mix is where things get complicated. Each country has its own rules on who counts as an employee. In the UK, a person's employment status decides their rights and the employer's duties, and in the US the IRS asks whether the business controls how the work is done. Get it wrong, and the broker can owe back taxes and penalties. In our view, this is often the question brokers ask last, even though it costs the most.
ActivTrades shows what this looks like in practice. Its website lists offices in eight countries, from the UK and Portugal to Brazil, Mauritius and the UAE, each regulated by or registered with a local authority.
ActivTrades' offices and regulators. Source: activtrades.com, October 2026
Every one of those offices needs people, and every country adds its own contracts, payment routes and tax forms.
2. What contractor management, EOR and global payroll need to cover
So what does a broker actually need to keep this under control? FYI's online trading hiring report tracks which roles brokers recruit for each quarter, and once those people are on board, a few basics need to work in every country involved:
- Contracts that fit each country's rules, rather than one template for everyone.
- A clear view of who is a contractor and who is really an employee, because that line decides the tax and legal risk.
- Payouts in local currency, on a fixed day, through a method the contractor can actually use.
- Invoices and tax documents collected and stored in one place, so finance is not chasing paperwork.
- A path to employment: an Employer of Record, or EOR, becomes the legal employer in a country where the broker has no company of its own.
- Payroll for real employees: Global Payroll pays staff in countries where the broker already owns a company, such as its licensed home base.
Contractor Management is the tool that covers the first four points, and for most brokers it is the everyday need. EOR and payroll come in when a role turns into a job or the broker already has an entity in that country. Those six points are also the fairest way to compare the two platforms below.
3. Deel vs Remote: contractor management and EOR compared
Deel and Remote are both built for exactly this job: hiring, paying and managing people in many countries from one platform. Both cover the six points above, but they differ in reach, price and how much they publish about risk.
Deel and Remote for a broker paying global contractors
| For a broker | Deel | Remote |
|---|
| Contractor fee, monthly | From $49 | From $29 |
| Contractor countries | 150+ to 200+ | 190+ |
| Misclassification cover | Not stated | Up to $100K |
| EOR fee, monthly | From $599 | From $599 |
| EOR countries | 150+ | 90+ |
| Payroll fee, monthly | Quote-based | From $29 |
Starting prices per contractor or employee, from each vendor's own website. Misclassification cover means published cover; Remote's is per contractor, with its Contractor Management Plus tier. Deel's contractor page gives both 150+ countries and 200+ countries and jurisdictions.
Deel leans on reach. It lists more countries for contractor payouts and EOR hiring than Remote, names payout options such as Wise, Revolut and crypto, and advertises converting contractors to employees when a role becomes a job. Its payroll price is by quote.
For a broker with partner managers and support staff in many markets, that reach can matter more than a small difference in the monthly fee. One country a provider cannot cover is often what forces a second contract with a second vendor.
Remote takes a similar approach, with a lower published contractor fee and a published payroll price. Its Plus tier also states a cover limit for misclassification claims, which Deel does not publish on its contractor page.
The EOR starting price is the same at both, so the real differences sit in country reach, contractor and payroll fees, and how much each vendor publishes about risk.
4. Which contractor payment platform suits an online broker best
For most brokers with contractors spread across many countries, we think Deel is the better fit. The reasons are its wider coverage and the option it advertises to convert contractors to employees in 110+ countries.
Remote is the better fit for a broker that works in fewer, well-covered countries and wants the lowest published contractor price with written misclassification cover. Either way, a demo with the broker's own country list is the quickest way to check.
Common questions
Is Deel or Remote better for contractors?
It depends on the country list. Deel lists more countries for contractor payouts and EOR hiring and advertises converting contractors to employees. Remote has the lower published contractor fee, from $29 a month against $49, and publishes misclassification cover of up to $100K per contractor on its Plus tier.
What is an employer of record?
An Employer of Record, or EOR, becomes the legal employer in a country where the business has no company of its own. Deel and Remote both start EOR at $599 a month.
What is contractor misclassification?
Treating someone as a contractor when the law sees them as an employee. In the UK employment status decides rights and duties, and in the US the IRS asks whether the business controls how the work is done. Getting it wrong can mean back taxes and penalties.
What is the difference between EOR and global payroll?
EOR employs people in countries where the broker has no entity. Global Payroll pays staff in countries where the broker already owns a company, such as its licensed home base.
FYI is a Deel partner and may earn a commission from Deel. The prices and country figures come from Deel's and Remote's own websites.