Wise
Best default for cross-border contractor payments. Real mid-market FX, batch payments, clean receipts. Weakness: not a merchant processor.
Stripe
Best for accepting payments from customers. Subscriptions, invoicing, disputes management. Weakness: expensive for outbound cross-border pay.
PayPal
Still useful where recipients insist on it. Consumer-friendly, higher FX costs, dispute logic favors payers.
How I combine them
Wise for outbound pay. Stripe for inbound revenue. PayPal only when the recipient insists.