Paying with your Contra Wallet balance when hiring
If you both earn and hire on Contra, whether you're an Independent hiring additional support or a Studio staffing a project, you can now pay and hire Independents using the funds already sitting in your Contra Wallet. No need to withdraw from your bank and pay via card back through Contra. Your wallet balance is a payment method.
Why pay from your wallet
As an Independent or Studio hiring on Contra, it’s common to earn funds, withdraw them to an external account, and then fund new projects using a credit card. In that flow alone, you can lose 2.9–5% in fees.
Instead, you can use your Contra wallet balance with a simple 1.5% processing fee. Funds clear instantly, and the freelancer you’re hiring receives the payment directly in their wallet, just like any other Contra payment.
Here's how the processing fees compare for a $1,000 hire:
Contra Wallet balance: 1.5% flat ($15)
Credit card: 2.9% + 30¢ (~$30)
ACH: 0.8% capped at $5
SEPA: 0.5% + 30¢ capped at $6
How to pay with your wallet balance
First, you will need to hold a wallet balance in your Independent workspace
From your hiring workspace, check out for an invoice, project, or payment link
Select your wallet balance as the payment method and click "pay"
Who this is best for
This payment method is built for the people on Contra who do both sides of the platform: Independents who subcontract, Studios that hire collaborators, and anyone running their freelance business through their Contra wallet end-to-end. If that's you, paying from your balance is faster, cheaper, and keeps your money inside Contra's commission-free flow instead of bouncing it through a bank and a card processor on the way back.
For setup, fund statuses, and withdrawal mechanics, see Your Contra Wallet and How to Process Payouts on Contra.