New Western Union payment method

We’re excited to tell you that we're offering a new payment method for some countries. If you're located in Argentina, Chile, China (Mainland), Colombia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, or Romania, you can now sign up for Western Union Quick Cash, a new form of payment that lets you receive your AdSense payments in cash using the worldwide Western Union money transfer service. Payments will be available for pickup at your local Western Union agent the day after they are issued, according to our normal payment schedule.

It's free to receive your AdSense payments by Western Union; you'll no longer need to wait for a check to arrive in the mail. this choice can also cut down on bank fees and long clearing times associated with depositing checks.

Before you sign up, please keep these important points in mind:

• As mentioned above, Western Union Quick Cash is only available in Argentina, Chile, China (Mainland), Colombia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, and Romania. We'll be sure to let you know if we're able to offer new payment options to additional publishers.
  
• This payment method is currently only available to individual payee names; we can’t offer it to businesses.
  
• You'll need to bring your government-issued ID to pick up your payment, so please make sure that your AdSense account payee name exactly matches that of your ID. Please contact us if you need to update the payee name in your account.
  
• Payments must be picked up within 35 days of issuance or they will expire. If this happens, a payment hold will be placed on your AdSense account and the payment will be credited back to your account.
  
• Payments will be made in US dollars, but depending on your local Western Union agent, they may be picked up in your local currency.

If you're ready to begin receiving your AdSense payments by Western Union Quick Cash, just followthese instructions. If you have additional questions before getting started, please review the information in our Help Center.

Posted by Suzie Rha - AdSense Publisher Support

A taxing day of holiday shopping

It's Black Friday, so a number of our U.S. publishers are probably burning off last night's turkey right now by running around the mall looking for deals.

If you find time to log in to your AdSense account between holiday shopping trips, please be sure to check that your address and tax information are up-to-date and accurate. This way, we can properly prepare any tax form you're eligible to receive.

You can resubmit or update your tax information by following these steps:

1. Log in to your AdSense account
2. Click the My Account tab
3. Click the Tax information link
4. Follow the instructions on the Tax information page to update your current form, or to submit a new form.

In the meantime, if you'd like to avoid the crowds at the mall, why not try shopping on Google Checkout?

Posted by Korey Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

A few payments announcements

We'd like to notify you about two issues related to November checks and phone verification.

November checks
If you were issued a check at the end of November, you may have noticed the following message printed on the paystub:

CREDIT NOTE -VAT OVERCHARGE BETW.
1 JAN 2004 & 22/11/07 IF YOU NEED
DETAILS OF THIS VAT PLEASE EMAIL
GOOGLE@BDOSX.IE WITH CUSTOMER REF

However, the paystub should have read:

THIS CHECK IS FOR YOUR EARNINGS AS
PART OF THE GOOGLE ADSENSE PROGRAM.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE
EMAIL ADSENSE-SUPPORT@GOOGLE.COM

Please be assured that the November payment you received is for your AdSense earnings and is not a VAT credit note. In addition, this printing error will not affect your ability to deposit your AdSense earnings as usual.

Phone verification
We're currently experiencing difficulty with our phone verification system, but our engineers are working as quickly as they can to resolve the issue. If you see a prompt in your account asking you to verify your phone number, we ask that you hold off on attempting to do so for the time being. We'll be sure to post a follow-up here on the blog when we have more information for you. 

We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion caused by these two issues. Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

Posted by Dan Marcus - AdSense Publisher Support

Phone verification fixed

Our engineers have now resolved the phone verification issue we reported on Tuesday. If your account is still on a phone verification hold, please feel free to retry the verification process. For instructions on removing any holds on your account, visit your Payment History page and look for a 'Required Actions' box at the top of the page.

As always, we appreciate your patience. 

Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

Add taxes to your task list

To all our US publishers: before you spend the holidays gorging on sugar-coated culinary delicacies and spending quality time pelting your loved ones with snowballs, please take a moment to update your AdSense account tax information so we can issue your tax form for 2007. Verifying that your tax info is up to date now helps ensure that earnings won't be withheld from you later. You'll receive a tax form 1099-MISC if you meet the following requirements:

• You submitted a Form W-9, are not a corporation, and were paid at least US $600 in 2007 OR
• You indicated that you are subject to backup withholding and had taxes withheld

For those publishers whose earnings are reported, please note that payments dated in 2007 will be reported in 2007. This means that unpaid earnings from 2007 that are rolled over to 2008 (for example, December 2007 earnings paid in January 2008) will not be included.

To resubmit or update your tax information, please follow these steps:

1. Log in to your AdSense account
2. Click the 'My Account' tab
3. Click the 'Tax information' link
4. Follow the instructions on the 'Tax information' page to update your current form, or to submit a new form.

Don't forget to add "update AdSense tax information" to your to-do list! 

Posted by Korey Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

In good (tax) form

With tax season looming, we'll begin sending eligible publishers a Form 1099-MISC on January 31st. If you're eligible to receive one, you can expect it to arrive in the mail by the second week of February.

We'll send you this tax form if:

• You submitted a Form W-9, are not a corporation, and were paid at least US $600 in 2007, OR
• You indicated that you are subject to backup withholding and had taxes withheld 

If you happen to have your earnings reported on this form, keep in mind that payments dated in 2007 will be reported in 2007. This means that unpaid earnings from 2007 that are rolled over to 2008 won't be included. For example, December earnings which are paid in January won't be included as earnings for 2007.

Whether you're new to AdSense or just find it hard to keep tax details straight, please remember that all publishers are responsible for paying any taxes resulting from participating in the AdSense program. We recommend checking your account to ensure your tax information is up to date.

Posted by Korey Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

Pinning it down (to $10)

As part of our efforts to make sure that the AdSense account details publishers provide are valid and correct, we do a couple types of validation that you may be aware of: the Personal Identification Number (PIN) program and, in some locations, phone number verification. One or both of these verification methods is required in order to ensure the security and accuracy of your information so you can receive payments from AdSense.

In the past, our system would ask you to verify your information when your earnings reached $50. However, we've recently changed the threshold to $10. This lowered amount means many of you may see a PIN arrive in your mailbox soon, as well as a prompt in your account to verify your phone number. For more information about these holds, visit the links in the 'Required Actions' box on your Payment History page.


(Psst: If your all-time earnings are between $10 and $50, this might be a good time to learn all about PINs so you'll know what to expect. Or, if you prefer surprises, you can remain blissfully ignorant till a PIN mailer pops up in your mailbox. Just be sure you don't pitch it in the trash!)

Posted by Julie Beckmann - AdSense Publisher Support

Lucky number ten

Two weeks ago, we let you know that the PIN and phone verification processes would be automatically triggered at $10, rather than $50. Along those same lines, we've also updated how it works to choose a form of payment and enter tax information in your account. Because we don't pay out earnings of less than $10, you'll only be able to choose a form of payment and enter your tax info once your earnings reach $10. When you first sign up for AdSense and log in to your account, these options won't be available yet.

So when it comes to payments, consider 10 your new lucky number. Once you receive your PIN or a notice to verify your phone number, you'll know it's also time to head to your account and enter your tax information and select your form of payment. Then you'll be on your way to receiving your first payment -- lucky you! 

Posted by Julie Beckmann - AdSense Publisher Support

In for a penny, in for a pound key

As more publishers are being asked to complete the phone verification process, we've received a number of puzzled emails from our international community asking about the prompt to 'press the pound key'. To clarify, the 'pound key' refers to the '#' symbol (also known as the hash key), and not the '₤' symbol. The pound/hash key can typically be found below the '9' key.

We're working on perfecting our non-US English, and we apologise for any confusion caused ;)

Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

Payment holds, held up

We've heard from a few of you that even though you've already reached $10 in earnings, you're not seeing the prompt to remove payment holds on your account. So we turned to our payments specialist Dan Marcus:

"Every day, our system runs a check to determine which accounts have reached $10 for the first time within the last 24 hours. Since there are a large number of accounts around the world that exceed the $10 threshold each day, our system sometimes doesn't immediately pick up all qualifying accounts. These accounts should be identified after 48 hours, but in rare cases, it can take a bit longer."

If it's been more than a week since you reached $10 and you still don't see a prompt on your Payment History page to select a form of payment, enter your tax information, or view the date your PIN was sent, let us know and we can investigate further. For more information about removing the holds on your account, feel free to visit our Help Center.

Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

PIN without the pain

As you may know, we'll send you a Personal Identification Number (PIN) by standard mail when your account first reaches $10 in earnings. This PIN is used to help verify publisher accounts and addresses for security purposes. We often receive messages from publishers concerned about what to look for in the mail, and when they can expect to receive it. In response, we've created the short video below which we hope will help address these issues. It might not be a Hollywood production but hey...even the greats started small ;)



If you don't receive your first PIN, you can still request up to two more. Please note that aside from verifying your PIN, other holds may apply to your account -- you'll need to remove all holds and generate $100 in earnings before a payment can take place.

Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

EFT launched in Hungary and Hong Kong

We're happy to announce that publishers located in Hungary and Hong Kong can now sign up to receive payments by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). With EFT, your earnings will be directly deposited into your bank account so won't need to wait for checks to arrive in the mail and clear at the bank. Signing-up for EFT is a simple process, and just involves entering your bank account information, then verifying a small test deposit. Please keep in mind that all EFT payments will be made in your local currency, and the exchange rate is determined at the time of payment.

While EFT is currently only available in a limited number of countries, we're working on expanding our payment options and will announce any updates right here on the blog.

UPDATED for accuracy

Posted by Elodie Bodet - AdSense Publisher Support

Western Union expanded to additional countries

Last October, we introduced Western Union Quick Cash as a new payment method for a number of countries. We're excited to let you know that we've now expanded this payment method to Bulgaria, Egypt, Lithuania, Morocco, and Taiwan. If you're located in one of these countries, you'll be able to pick up your AdSense payments in cash at your local Western Union agent. This payment method is free, and you'll no longer need to wait for checks to arrive in the mail or to clear at the bank.

Please keep in mind that in order to pick up your payment, you'll need to present a government-issued ID that matches your AdSense payee name. If you need to update or correct the payee name listed in your account, please fill out our online form. In addition, we'd like to note that payments by Western Union Quick Cash are only available to individual payee names, but not to businesses.

Signing up for payments by Western Union is a quick process - just follow these instructions. For more information about this payment method, including exchange rates and how to pick up your payments, we recommend visiting our Help Center. 

Posted by Korey Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

Don't get held up by expired check holds

Whether it's your high school yearbook, the ticket stub from a movie you saw with your first sweetheart, or the lock of hair from your child's first trim, we all have mementos that we like to keep around. However, we hope that your AdSense check isn't one of them!

As a friendly reminder, AdSense checks expire after 6 months, so once you get your check in the mail please don't forget to deposit it.

If you're holding onto to a check and it expires, your account will be placed on hold and you'll need to re-select a form of payment to resume payments the next time you've crossed the US $100 threshold. For many of you, you may consider trying EFT, Western Union, or local currency checks if they're available in your country. If you don't yet see your preferred payment option for your country yet, please know we're working hard to add additional forms of payment in the future.

So no lolly-gagging! Once you've got your payments, it's off to the bank with you to count all your ad-dollars and ad-cents!

Posted by Elizabeth Ferdon - AdSense Publisher Support

Western Union launched in Panama

Following our announcement a few weeks ago, we're happy to announce that Western Union is now offered as a payment method for publishers located in Panama. To sign up for payments by Western Union, sign in to your account and follow these instructions. Please also keep in mind that we're only able to make Western Union payments to individual payee names, but not to businesses.

Not located in Panama? We've been reading your comments on our other recent payment-related posts, and understand that many of you are looking forward to new payment options in additional countries. Please know that we aren't able to provide details about when new options may become available, as setting them up can take time due to factors like compliance with local laws and tax regulations. However, we're working hard to find more convenient ways to send you your earnings, and we'll definitely announce any new options here. In the meantime, please feel free to keep leaving your feedback, and we appreciate your patience!

Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

Turkeys, thanks, and taxes

This Thanksgiving weekend, we'd like to take a moment to ask our U.S.-based publishers to spend a little post-turkey time (when you're not watching football or taking advantage of those Black Fridaybargains) to review your AdSense tax information. 

Tax season is just around the corner and we want to make sure that we give the IRS the most accurate information. So please pay a quick visit to your AdSense account, and double-check your payee name -- that's the name that we send payments to --and the tax information you've provided, especially your Social Security or Employer Identification Number. 

Does the info in your account correspond exactly to the info in your tax documents? If not, you may want to consider updating your payee name so that everything matches up.

You can resubmit your tax information by logging in and following the steps in our Help Center. Keep in mind that we'll be sending out tax forms to publishers who qualify during the month of January.

Western Union payment updates

Do you use Western Union as your payment method? If so, we've just made a couple minor updates that we'd like to let you know about. 

Expiration date extended

We've now extended the deadline to pick up your Western Union payments from 35 days to 60 days. If you haven't picked up your payment within 60 days of issuance, the payment will be credited back to your account and a payment hold will be placed on your account. You'll then see a notice in your account with more details on how to proceed. 

Split payments

As you may know, Western Union has specific payout limits depending on location. In the past, if your payment amount exceeded the Western Union payout limit in your country, we'd send your payment by secured express delivery check instead. Unfortunately, this would also incur a delivery fee, so we're happy to let you know that this is now no longer the case. 

Now, if your payment exceeds the maximum payment amount, we'll divide up the amounts but still send them via Western Union. For instance, if the payout limit in your country is $3,000 USD and your payment for the month is $5,000 USD, we'll send you two payments: one for the limit of $3,000 USD and another for the remainder of $2,000 USD. If you're sent multiple Western Union payments, you'll see multiple 'Payment issued' lines on your Payment history page, each with the corresponding MTCN associated with it. Depending on your local Western Union agent, you may need to pick up multiple payments on subsequent days. We recommend consulting your local Western Union agent for further details. 

Payment by Western Union is currently available in a limited number of countries, but we're working on expanding the countries we support, and we'll keep you posted with any updates.

Posted by Deborah Chang - AdSense Payments Team

Update on US tax forms for 2008

This is a friendly reminder that we're currently preparing and mailing tax forms to eligible U.S. publishers and will be sending them out by the end of January. Please keep in mind that not all U.S. AdSense publishers will receive a tax form from Google.

How do you know whether to expect a tax form? We'll send you one if:

• You submitted a Form W-9, are not a corporation, and were paid at least US $600 in 2008, OR
• You indicated that you are subject to backup withholding and had taxes withheld

If you qualify for a tax form, you can expect it to arrive at the address listed in your account by early February. We recommend checking your account to ensure that your mailing address is up-to-date; you can make any necessary updates by following the instructions in our Help Center. Please note that payments dated in 2008 will be reported in 2008. This means that unpaid earnings from 2008 that are rolled over to 2009 (for example, December 2008 earnings paid in January 2009) will not be included.

If you won't be receiving a tax form, but you still have questions on how to report the payments you received from AdSense, please consult your local tax advisor.

Posted by Elizabeth Ferdon - AdSense Payments Team

Payments by Western Union now available in Indonesia

We're excited to introduce Western Union Quick Cash as a new payment method for Indonesia. If you're located in Indonesia, you can now sign up to receive your AdSense payments in cash using the worldwide Western Union money transfer service. This payment method is quick, easy, and free -- that means no more waiting for checks to arrive in the mail or to clear at the bank.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Payments follow our normal payment schedule and will be available for pickup at your local Western Union agent the day after they are issued.
  
• You'll need to present a government-issued ID that matches your AdSense payee name when picking up your payment. If you need to update or correct the payee name listed in your account, please follow the instructions listed in our Help Center.
  
• Payments by Western Union are currently only available to individual payee names, but not to businesses.
  
• Payments must be picked up within 35 days of issue or they'll expire. If this happens, a payment hold will be placed on your AdSense account and the payment will be credited back to your account.
  
• Payments will be made in US dollars, but depending on your local Western Union agent, they may be picked up in your local currency.

Follow these instructions if you're interested in signing up for payments by Western Union. You can also find useful information in our Help Center about exchange rates and other countries where this payment method is available. We hope you enjoy using this new payment option in Indonesia!

Posted by Deborah Chang - AdSense Payments Team

From blues to blooms with Blue Dart

As we roll into a brand new financial year in India, we're happy to let publishers located in India know that all standard checks will be sent via the Blue Dart courier service at no additional cost. Because Blue Dart is the Indian domestic carrier for DHL, you'll no longer have to pay expensive courier fees. In addition, please be aware that you'll no longer see Secure Checks as a payment option in India. For more information on Indian payment methods, visit our Help Center.

We'd also like to remind you that your checks will arrive faster if your address is up-to-date, so please take a moment to review the information listed in your account and make any necessary updates. We wish you a productive and profitable year ahead!

Posted by Sayed Meera - AdSense India Payments Specialist

More countries go Western Union

Good news! We’ve expanded Western Union Quick Cash as a payment method to 7 new countries: Barbados, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nepal, Uruguay, and Vietnam. If you live in any of these locations, you can now sign up to receive your AdSense payments from your local Western Union agent. With Western Union, you’ll receive your earnings sooner, since you won't have to wait for checks to arrive in the mail or clear at the bank. Plus, AdSense won't charge you a fee to use this payment method.

Please keep in mind these important points:

• Payments will continue to follow our normal payment schedule and will be available for pickup at your local Western Union agent the day after they're issued.
• You'll need to present a government-issued ID that matches your AdSense payee name when picking up your payment. If you need to update or correct the payee name listed in your account, please follow the instructions in our Help Center.
• Right now, only individual payee names can receive payments by Western Union, not businesses.
• Payments must be picked up within 60 days of issue or they'll expire and be credited back to your account.
• Payments will be made in US dollars, but depending on your local Western Union agent, they may be picked up in your local currency.

These instructions will help you to sign up, and our Help Center has more info about picking up your payments and other countries where Western Union payments are currently available. We're working towards making this payment option available to publishers in additional countries, and we'll be sure to announce any updates here on the blog.

Posted by Deborah Chang - AdSense Payments Team

In North America? We recommend EFT for your next payment

We want to get you paid by the fastest means possible. As many of you know, we offer Western Union in 23 countries and courier service in many other countries. 

We'd like to take a minute to remind our North American publishers that the fastest way for you to receive your payments is via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). EFT is quick and easy to set up. When payments are issued, there's no need to wait for the delivery in the mail -- the funds appear in your bank account shortly after they're issued. That means if we processed a payment for you this month, your earnings would be in your bank account already. 

Also, EFT is good for the environment, since a check doesn't need to take a ride by sea, plane, or land to reach you. In available locations, it's the Google-recommended form of payment, so we hope you won't hesitate to sign up. You can learn more in our Help Center. 

To our publishers in regions where we don't offer EFT yet, please know that we're always working towards expand our payment options, so stay tuned to Inside AdSense to learn when new forms of payments launch in your location. 

Posted by Elizabeth Ferdon - AdSense Payments Team

Western Union launched in South Korea

We're happy to announce that publishers located in South Korea can now receive payments via Western Union Quick Cash. You won't need to wait for your checks in the mail, and AdSense won't charge you any fees to use this payment method. Please note that payments can only be picked up at the International Bank of Korea (IBK) and are only available in South Korean Won (KRW) currency.

Sign up for payments by Western Union today by following these instructions. Two important things to remember: we can only send Western Union payments to individual publishers at this time, and the payee name on your account must exactly match the government issued ID card that you'll bring to pick up your payments. We also encourage you to review the information in our Help Center for more details about this payment method, including how you can pick up your payments and whenyou'll need to pick them up by.

Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

EFT available in Greece

We're excited to announce that publishers based in Greece can now receive their AdSense payments via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). You'll need to ensure that you're opted into local currency reporting in order to sign up for this payment method.

Selecting EFT as your payment method will allow you to receive your payments more quickly. Rather than waiting for checks to arrive in the mail and clear in your bank account, your earnings will be deposited directly into your bank account. We're fans of EFT, and so our teammates Vijay and Elizabeth have created a video about it. Have a peek:

Finally, if you're located in a country where EFT isn't yet available, rest assured we're working hard to offer additional payment options. Stay tuned to Inside AdSense, where we'll be sure to announce any new payment methods.

Posted by Jagoda Sobolewska - AdSense Payments Team

Western Union launched in new countries

We're excited to announce the launch of Western Union payments in the following new countries:

Puerto Rico
Jamaica
Virgin Islands (British)
Ecuador
Costa Rica
Paraguay

Western Union Quick Cash payments will reach you much faster than checks, and they're free of charge. A couple things to note: we can only send Western Union payments to publishers that have an Individual account at this time, and the payee name on your account must exactly match the government issued ID card that you'll use while picking up your payments. 

For more information on how to sign up to receive Western Union payments, and instructions on how to pick up your payments please visit our Help Center.

Posted by Deborah Chang - AdSense Payments Team

Update your tax forms this holiday weekend

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Here in the U.S., we on the AdSense Team are spending the Friday after Thanksgiving enjoying holiday shopping, American football, and leftovers.

On this vacation day, we'd like you to remind you that tax season is approaching quickly, so you may wish to take a moment to review your address information and even re-submit your tax informationto make sure it reflects your most current tax standing.

If you haven't entered tax information before, you can choose a form directly or follow our handy tax wizard within your account. If you're updating your tax information, feel free to click the 'change your tax information' link. 

In addition, now would be the perfect time for our publishers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to verify their bank accounts for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments. If you're eligible for a payment at the end of December, you have until December 15, 2009 to select your bank account for payment, so we hope you give it a try!

Posted by Elizabeth Ferdon - AdSense Payments Team

More countries go Western Union

Good news! We’ve expanded Western Union Quick Cash as an AdSense payment method to 10 new countries: Saudi Arabia, Croatia, Iceland, United Arab Emirates, Latvia, Lebanon, Slovenia, Tunisia, Moldova and Malta. If you live in any of these locations, you can now sign up to receive your AdSense payments from your local Western Union agent. With Western Union, you’ll receive your earnings sooner, since you won't have to wait for checks to arrive in the mail or clear at the bank. Plus, AdSense won't charge you a fee to use this payment method.

Please keep in mind these important points:

• Payments will continue to follow our normal payment schedule and will be available for pickup at your local Western Union agent the day after they're issued.
• You'll need to present a government-issued ID that matches your AdSense payee name when picking up your payment. If you need to update or correct the payee name listed in your account, please follow the instructions in our Help Center.
• Right now, only individual payee names can receive payments by Western Union, not businesses.
• Payments must be picked up within 60 days of issue, or they'll expire and be credited back to your account.
• Payments will be made in US dollars, but depending on your local Western Union agent, they may be picked up in your local currency.

These instructions will help you to sign up, and our Help Center has more info about picking up your payments and other countries where Western Union payments are available. 

Posted by Deborah Chang - AdSense Payments Team

AdSense Facts & Fiction Part II: Electronic Funds Transfer

Fiction: Google doesn’t support Electronic Funds Transfer in my country because they don’t like me!

Fact: There are many factors we have to consider when launching EFT in new countries. In the meantime, please know that we’re always working towards expanding our payment options for publishers in all regions. 

Where we can provide in-country EFT depends on a number of factors. Whenever we launch Electronic Funds Transfer, our fastest payment method, in a new country, we hear a number of requests to launch it in even more countries. Don’t worry -- we hear you! We’d like to launch EFT in as many countries as possible, but there are many things that we need to take into consideration before launching it, including legal and banking restrictions.

We’re working constantly to overcome the hurdles to launch EFT in more countries, so thanks for being patient with us. We also know that you are the local experts -- if there are payment methods that we don’t offer, but would work well for you otherwise, please leave us a comment! We’d love to have good suggestions from those who know best.

Posted by Posted by Elizabeth Ferdon - AdSense Payments team