Hi all.
Sorry for the delayed reply - I posted here (and linked the other duplicate threads into this one) just before finishing work last night.
To be clear: the old Elements Payout system was no longer fit for purpose. It restricted us to only paying via PayPal and Payoneer, required a significant amount of work to process each month’s earnings, and could not be expanded to add new payout methods without essentially building and maintaining new systems to operate in parallel with it. As we saw last month, even that dedicated Payoneer integration was still vulnerable to downstream issues, which led to delays receiving May payouts through the old system.
The new system uses the Bank Transfer method as a generic/universal option, as this is flexible enough to handle any new payment methods. That means you now have multiple Receiving Account options instead of being forced to use Payoneer (for example, we’ve had hundreds of authors request WISE over the last few years). It also enables Local Currency payments, which are faster, and often significantly cheaper than the SWIFT bank transfers available on Market.
With access to more options, you are able to choose payment methods that better suit your needs. Sticking with the same option used previously may not be the most cost effective, depending on your payout amounts and your location. I recommend looking at some alternatives, to see if there are options that can save you some fees each month.
All payments are still sent at the same cadence: Author Earnings are paid every month, at the same time as before (Elements Earnings are paid on the 16th, or the next available business day).
Depending on the specific payout method you are using, you may see a delay before the money arrives in your payout account. However, any processing times should be consistent for that specific method. If you continue using that payout method, you should continue to see money land in your account on the same day next time.