A guide to receiving money from abroad
Let me paint you a picture:
You invoiced your international client for $1,000. Wait three weeks for them to pay the invoice. Then spend another 3 days refreshing your banking app until the payment shows.
But when you see the money arrive, only $950 hits your account.
This isn’t an error. It is the time and financial cost of receiving money from abroad… if you’re using the wrong methods.
Over the years, the hidden fees rack up to thousands and cash flow is always an issue.
Fortunately, there’s a fix to all of this frustration. If you’re wondering about the best way to receive money internationally, then keep reading. Together, we’ll go through the key mistakes to avoid and the top platforms for receiving money from overseas.
Challenges of receiving money from abroad
Unlike a domestic transfer, there are multiple layers to negotiate with international payments.
The headache for most businesses is the chronic fees.
There may be a sender's fee when the payer's bank charges the sender. Then, as the money crosses borders, it goes through intermediary banks. These middlemen, known as correspondent banks, will take their cut for the pleasure of processing your cash. The recipient's bank may also charge a fee to process and receive the foreign payment.
That's all before factoring in currency conversion fees, aka the FX spread. This is perhaps the highest hidden cost. It's the margin a bank or a payment provider adds to the real conversion rate. You often won't see these on bank accounts or statements. It's all done out of sight. But the markup is often between 1% and 3% on the exchange rate.
Essentially, there are four or five different areas where the banking system will charge you for the pleasure of receiving money from abroad. And if you're just using traditional banks, there's not a lot you can do about it.
Once the money has been sent, it enters a black box of traditional payment rails, sometimes taking several days to arrive in your bank account.
Thankfully, it doesn't have to be this way.
There are several different options you can choose to receive money internationally. This offers its own complications in picking the best route for your payments. But with the right choice, you can save yourself fees and reduce time delays in receiving funds.
Best ways to receive money from overseas
Let's break down the most common and popular methods for receiving money from a foreign country. We'll also give you the pros and cons of each method.
1. Traditional bank and wire transfers
Traditional wire transfers, sending money from one bank account to another, are possible overseas. You will need extra information like SWIFT codes, IBAN numbers and BIC information. These are international banking numbers that help pinpoint accounts through international transfer messaging systems.
While it can be simple to initiate these direct bank transfers, they come with a number of problems.
Transfer speed is slow, typically 1-5 business days and often, you have no idea when the money will hit your account. So you end up frantically checking your account every morning to see if the money has actually arrived.
Fees are also the highest with traditional wire transfers. A receiver's bank might charge $20 or more, along with other intermediary fees and currency conversion rates. These fees can be added to the sender or hit you as the receiver.
On the plus side, the benefits of direct bank deposits are the security and trust. You get the built in robust fraud detection that comes with these traditional banking payment rails. So if that's of particular concern to you, then it could be a good option, particularly if you need stable banking systems for large amounts.
But honestly, for smaller or regular payments, it's expensive and slow, which is exactly why online money transfer systems have been developed.
2. Digital money and Fintech platforms
In response to the slow nature of traditional banking, there are dozens of online money transfer providers. You might have heard of some of them: Payoneer, PayPal, Wise and Acctual.
These have been designed to combat the exact issues with traditional banking.
The main bonus is speed. You can send money to other platform users or bank accounts almost instantly. For example, with PayPal, transferring money can happen at the click of a button for as long as both parties have a PayPal account.
They also tend to do a better job of tracking the amount of money you'll receive on completion of the transaction.
There are some drawbacks to these newer fintech platforms. Fees can still be hidden from plain view. One of the criticisms of PayPal in particular is its excessive fees.
Business users of PayPal can get hit with payment fees of 2-3%. In addition to this, there are FX currency markups which can cause costs to rocket over 5%.
And that's all before the worries of withdrawal to your bank account fees and delays.
Similar platforms like Wise offer the additional feature of multicurrency accounts, which have their own pros and cons.
3. Multicurrency and offshore bank accounts
As mentioned, many fintech platforms like Wise offer multicurrency accounts. Or you can open bank accounts in different countries to receive money, although local laws can make this tricky.
Holding multicurrency accounts has a clear benefit. If you have an account in the country you want to receive money in, you simply use your domestic bank details to receive funds. As it's a domestic payment, fees are usually low and speed is fast.
Here's where things get tricky. As a business, you might end up managing dozens of multicurrency accounts in every market that you operate.
Even if you use a fintech platform like Wise to receive payments for US dollars, euros, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, Chinese yuan and British pounds, it all creates an administrative headache.
You then need to ensure money is sitting in the right accounts to pay your bills, negotiate currency fluctuations and exchange fees.
Plus, local banking regulations in some countries might not even allow you to hold accounts from abroad.
One way around this is to use money transfer operators.
4. International money transfer providers
These are an important method for receiving cash, particularly in countries with limited banking infrastructure. You might have heard of companies like Western Union. This is exactly what they do.
It allows the sender to deposit cash in one country and the receiver to physically collect it in another. Someone in the UK could visit a branch of Western Union and deposit cash, while someone in Africa is able to withdraw that cash from their branch of Western Union.
It's a handy service and you can receive money the same day or even in minutes for certain providers. As the receiver, you don't tend to pay anything for collection, but the sender is the one who often faces high fees. So they might be frustrated with the payment or take it out of the amount you are receiving.
5. Cryptocurrency and stablecoin transfers
The more modern equivalent of international money transfers is cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins.
Instead of using a payment provider like Western Union, you use the internet and blockchain technology.
Here's how it all works. Using a stablecoin, which is a digital currency like USDT or USDC, these coins are pegged to the US dollar, meaning one coin is always worth one US dollar.
Any two people in the world can send or receive this digital currency in a peer to peer fashion. In theory, anyone can send you USDT directly to your crypto wallet from anywhere in the world. Whether that's $1 worth or a million dollars worth, all without intermediary banks, middlemen and added fees.
The real benefit is its speed and price. Transfers settle instantly and very cheaply, often for less than one cent. All you need is an internet connection and a phone or computer to receive funds into your crypto wallet.
On the downside, it is less widely accepted as a payment method. Even if you're happy to accept it, a payer might not be comfortable dealing in cryptocurrency.
In addition, converting funds from crypto into fiat currency can be tricky and expensive.
Fortunately, modern payment platforms like Acctual have all of this built into their systems. You can actually allow someone to send money in their preferred currency, like US dollars and you receive it in your preferred format, including crypto stablecoins, directly into your wallet.
Receiving large amounts of money from overseas
One thing you need to consider is how much money you need to receive from overseas. This is most important if you are expecting a large amount, perhaps an inheritance or gift from a family member. Or more commonly, a business accepting lots of large transactions.
Even if you're receiving a small amount, it's still worth checking out your options to make sure you don't lose most of your funds to fees.
Here are the key points to think about when receiving large sums of money internationally:
Limits and checks
There's no legal limit to how much money you can receive, but the higher the amount, the more stringent the checks from governments and banks are.
Generally, payments over $10,000 more commonly trigger anti money laundering regulations, which means banks and payment providers will monitor, analyze and report these transactions. Any flags mean transfer times can be slowed or payments are refused.
Source of funds
If the payment you're receiving is flagged, then it can be frozen until proof of funds is confirmed. This is more of an issue for the payer. Banks want to know where the money has come from to make sure it's not from an illegal source and is not being laundered.
While it's on the payer to prove this information, as the receiver of the money, you might need to provide details and be prepared for a longer wait.
Tax implications
Receiving money itself might not be a taxable event, but the nature of the funds dictates whether you pay tax. If you're receiving money from abroad in exchange for work or services, this counts as income. So you will need to declare it and pay tax on that income.
Income from inheritance, overseas investments and property is likely also taxable or at least needs to be declared to your local tax authority.
Cryptocurrency payments
Receiving cryptocurrency from abroad doesn't necessarily escape tax duties and other regulations. Often it can sit in a grey area, but you should do your best to keep full records and report transactions where legally required.
For example, if you receive payment for goods and services in stablecoins, this still counts as taxable income. Or if you receive a volatile asset like Bitcoin, this could still be classed as taxable income. Plus, any increase in value from the moment you receive it until you dispose of the Bitcoin could be liable for capital gains.
In many countries, centralized crypto exchanges will report large transactions to tax authorities.
Best practices for receiving money internationally
Let's go through some actionable tips to make sure you don't get hit with excessive fees, legal issues or the disaster of money going missing.
1. Double check all bank and payment details
Even a single typo on an IBAN number can cause a payment to be lost or rejected. For double security, confirm bank account numbers over a phone call, not just by email or use payment links directly from digital platforms.
2. Agree on the fees upfront
Discuss with the sender who is covering what fees. If this isn't clear from the start, they might deduct fees falling on their side from the overall payment, leaving the amount you receive less than you expected.
3. Check currency conversion fees
Before initiating any transaction, make sure you understand when, how and for how much the currency is being converted. Check the small print of your payment provider and banks to see what exchange rate they will quote you for receiving funds.
4. Keep detailed records
For all international payments, including the amount, the sender, the date and the purpose, plus all related documentation. This will help in any tax reporting and future questions about the source of funds.
Acctual helps you receive more of your money from abroad
Acctual is built to solve all your problems of receiving money from abroad.
You can ditch the problems of high currency markups, surprise middleman fees and days of waiting for money to hit your account. All these problems that eat your profits and hinder cash flow disappear with Acctual.
You don't even need to open and manage multicurrency accounts. Everything is handled automatically for a small 1% fee.
To receive money, you can easily create an invoice in just a few clicks. In seconds, you'll have a professional invoice with all the required business details.
Then things get clever. You can select payment methods for the sender's preferred currency while allowing yourself to receive money in your preferred format.
Here's an example: A client in the United States could make a payment in US dollars while you receive the money directly into your Euro bank account, all the same day, for just a 1% fee. No hidden costs or currency conversions.
Maybe you prefer stablecoins? Well, the process is exactly the same. Your client can pay you in US dollars and you could receive USDC stablecoin directly into your crypto wallet, all automatically handled behind the scenes.
There's no need to juggle different bank accounts, on/offramps or currency conversions. It's the fastest, most flexible way to receive money from abroad.
For businesses, it even integrates directly with your ERP or accounting system, like Xero or QuickBooks, so every payment is reconciled easily.
If that sounds useful, then take two minutes to open a free account with Acctual today.
FAQS
How to receive money from overseas without a bank account?
To receive money from overseas without a bank account, you either need to use an international transfer provider like Western Union and collect the cash. Or use a digital solution like a digital wallet or cryptocurrency.
Can I receive money from abroad into my bank account?
Yes, you can accept money from abroad into your bank account. It will be converted into your local currency before arriving, which is an expensive and slow method. Alternatively, you could use platforms like Acctual to handle the transfer faster and cheaper.
What is the safest way to receive money from overseas?
The most secure way to receive money from overseas is using traditional bank transfers or a trusted payments platform like Acctual. This will give you full regulatory protection for AML and KYC, plus ensure money arrives safely.
A guide to receiving money from abroad
Let me paint you a picture:
You invoiced your international client for $1,000. Wait three weeks for them to pay the invoice. Then spend another 3 days refreshing your banking app until the payment shows.
But when you see the money arrive, only $950 hits your account.
This isn’t an error. It is the time and financial cost of receiving money from abroad… if you’re using the wrong methods.
Over the years, the hidden fees rack up to thousands and cash flow is always an issue.
Fortunately, there’s a fix to all of this frustration. If you’re wondering about the best way to receive money internationally, then keep reading. Together, we’ll go through the key mistakes to avoid and the top platforms for receiving money from overseas.
Challenges of receiving money from abroad
Unlike a domestic transfer, there are multiple layers to negotiate with international payments.
The headache for most businesses is the chronic fees.
There may be a sender's fee when the payer's bank charges the sender. Then, as the money crosses borders, it goes through intermediary banks. These middlemen, known as correspondent banks, will take their cut for the pleasure of processing your cash. The recipient's bank may also charge a fee to process and receive the foreign payment.
That's all before factoring in currency conversion fees, aka the FX spread. This is perhaps the highest hidden cost. It's the margin a bank or a payment provider adds to the real conversion rate. You often won't see these on bank accounts or statements. It's all done out of sight. But the markup is often between 1% and 3% on the exchange rate.
Essentially, there are four or five different areas where the banking system will charge you for the pleasure of receiving money from abroad. And if you're just using traditional banks, there's not a lot you can do about it.
Once the money has been sent, it enters a black box of traditional payment rails, sometimes taking several days to arrive in your bank account.
Thankfully, it doesn't have to be this way.
There are several different options you can choose to receive money internationally. This offers its own complications in picking the best route for your payments. But with the right choice, you can save yourself fees and reduce time delays in receiving funds.
Best ways to receive money from overseas
Let's break down the most common and popular methods for receiving money from a foreign country. We'll also give you the pros and cons of each method.
1. Traditional bank and wire transfers
Traditional wire transfers, sending money from one bank account to another, are possible overseas. You will need extra information like SWIFT codes, IBAN numbers and BIC information. These are international banking numbers that help pinpoint accounts through international transfer messaging systems.
While it can be simple to initiate these direct bank transfers, they come with a number of problems.
Transfer speed is slow, typically 1-5 business days and often, you have no idea when the money will hit your account. So you end up frantically checking your account every morning to see if the money has actually arrived.
Fees are also the highest with traditional wire transfers. A receiver's bank might charge $20 or more, along with other intermediary fees and currency conversion rates. These fees can be added to the sender or hit you as the receiver.
On the plus side, the benefits of direct bank deposits are the security and trust. You get the built in robust fraud detection that comes with these traditional banking payment rails. So if that's of particular concern to you, then it could be a good option, particularly if you need stable banking systems for large amounts.
But honestly, for smaller or regular payments, it's expensive and slow, which is exactly why online money transfer systems have been developed.
2. Digital money and Fintech platforms
In response to the slow nature of traditional banking, there are dozens of online money transfer providers. You might have heard of some of them: Payoneer, PayPal, Wise and Acctual.
These have been designed to combat the exact issues with traditional banking.
The main bonus is speed. You can send money to other platform users or bank accounts almost instantly. For example, with PayPal, transferring money can happen at the click of a button for as long as both parties have a PayPal account.
They also tend to do a better job of tracking the amount of money you'll receive on completion of the transaction.
There are some drawbacks to these newer fintech platforms. Fees can still be hidden from plain view. One of the criticisms of PayPal in particular is its excessive fees.
Business users of PayPal can get hit with payment fees of 2-3%. In addition to this, there are FX currency markups which can cause costs to rocket over 5%.
And that's all before the worries of withdrawal to your bank account fees and delays.
Similar platforms like Wise offer the additional feature of multicurrency accounts, which have their own pros and cons.
3. Multicurrency and offshore bank accounts
As mentioned, many fintech platforms like Wise offer multicurrency accounts. Or you can open bank accounts in different countries to receive money, although local laws can make this tricky.
Holding multicurrency accounts has a clear benefit. If you have an account in the country you want to receive money in, you simply use your domestic bank details to receive funds. As it's a domestic payment, fees are usually low and speed is fast.
Here's where things get tricky. As a business, you might end up managing dozens of multicurrency accounts in every market that you operate.
Even if you use a fintech platform like Wise to receive payments for US dollars, euros, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, Chinese yuan and British pounds, it all creates an administrative headache.
You then need to ensure money is sitting in the right accounts to pay your bills, negotiate currency fluctuations and exchange fees.
Plus, local banking regulations in some countries might not even allow you to hold accounts from abroad.
One way around this is to use money transfer operators.
4. International money transfer providers
These are an important method for receiving cash, particularly in countries with limited banking infrastructure. You might have heard of companies like Western Union. This is exactly what they do.
It allows the sender to deposit cash in one country and the receiver to physically collect it in another. Someone in the UK could visit a branch of Western Union and deposit cash, while someone in Africa is able to withdraw that cash from their branch of Western Union.
It's a handy service and you can receive money the same day or even in minutes for certain providers. As the receiver, you don't tend to pay anything for collection, but the sender is the one who often faces high fees. So they might be frustrated with the payment or take it out of the amount you are receiving.
5. Cryptocurrency and stablecoin transfers
The more modern equivalent of international money transfers is cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins.
Instead of using a payment provider like Western Union, you use the internet and blockchain technology.
Here's how it all works. Using a stablecoin, which is a digital currency like USDT or USDC, these coins are pegged to the US dollar, meaning one coin is always worth one US dollar.
Any two people in the world can send or receive this digital currency in a peer to peer fashion. In theory, anyone can send you USDT directly to your crypto wallet from anywhere in the world. Whether that's $1 worth or a million dollars worth, all without intermediary banks, middlemen and added fees.
The real benefit is its speed and price. Transfers settle instantly and very cheaply, often for less than one cent. All you need is an internet connection and a phone or computer to receive funds into your crypto wallet.
On the downside, it is less widely accepted as a payment method. Even if you're happy to accept it, a payer might not be comfortable dealing in cryptocurrency.
In addition, converting funds from crypto into fiat currency can be tricky and expensive.
Fortunately, modern payment platforms like Acctual have all of this built into their systems. You can actually allow someone to send money in their preferred currency, like US dollars and you receive it in your preferred format, including crypto stablecoins, directly into your wallet.
Receiving large amounts of money from overseas
One thing you need to consider is how much money you need to receive from overseas. This is most important if you are expecting a large amount, perhaps an inheritance or gift from a family member. Or more commonly, a business accepting lots of large transactions.
Even if you're receiving a small amount, it's still worth checking out your options to make sure you don't lose most of your funds to fees.
Here are the key points to think about when receiving large sums of money internationally:
Limits and checks
There's no legal limit to how much money you can receive, but the higher the amount, the more stringent the checks from governments and banks are.
Generally, payments over $10,000 more commonly trigger anti money laundering regulations, which means banks and payment providers will monitor, analyze and report these transactions. Any flags mean transfer times can be slowed or payments are refused.
Source of funds
If the payment you're receiving is flagged, then it can be frozen until proof of funds is confirmed. This is more of an issue for the payer. Banks want to know where the money has come from to make sure it's not from an illegal source and is not being laundered.
While it's on the payer to prove this information, as the receiver of the money, you might need to provide details and be prepared for a longer wait.
Tax implications
Receiving money itself might not be a taxable event, but the nature of the funds dictates whether you pay tax. If you're receiving money from abroad in exchange for work or services, this counts as income. So you will need to declare it and pay tax on that income.
Income from inheritance, overseas investments and property is likely also taxable or at least needs to be declared to your local tax authority.
Cryptocurrency payments
Receiving cryptocurrency from abroad doesn't necessarily escape tax duties and other regulations. Often it can sit in a grey area, but you should do your best to keep full records and report transactions where legally required.
For example, if you receive payment for goods and services in stablecoins, this still counts as taxable income. Or if you receive a volatile asset like Bitcoin, this could still be classed as taxable income. Plus, any increase in value from the moment you receive it until you dispose of the Bitcoin could be liable for capital gains.
In many countries, centralized crypto exchanges will report large transactions to tax authorities.
Best practices for receiving money internationally
Let's go through some actionable tips to make sure you don't get hit with excessive fees, legal issues or the disaster of money going missing.
1. Double check all bank and payment details
Even a single typo on an IBAN number can cause a payment to be lost or rejected. For double security, confirm bank account numbers over a phone call, not just by email or use payment links directly from digital platforms.
2. Agree on the fees upfront
Discuss with the sender who is covering what fees. If this isn't clear from the start, they might deduct fees falling on their side from the overall payment, leaving the amount you receive less than you expected.
3. Check currency conversion fees
Before initiating any transaction, make sure you understand when, how and for how much the currency is being converted. Check the small print of your payment provider and banks to see what exchange rate they will quote you for receiving funds.
4. Keep detailed records
For all international payments, including the amount, the sender, the date and the purpose, plus all related documentation. This will help in any tax reporting and future questions about the source of funds.
Acctual helps you receive more of your money from abroad
Acctual is built to solve all your problems of receiving money from abroad.
You can ditch the problems of high currency markups, surprise middleman fees and days of waiting for money to hit your account. All these problems that eat your profits and hinder cash flow disappear with Acctual.
You don't even need to open and manage multicurrency accounts. Everything is handled automatically for a small 1% fee.
To receive money, you can easily create an invoice in just a few clicks. In seconds, you'll have a professional invoice with all the required business details.
Then things get clever. You can select payment methods for the sender's preferred currency while allowing yourself to receive money in your preferred format.
Here's an example: A client in the United States could make a payment in US dollars while you receive the money directly into your Euro bank account, all the same day, for just a 1% fee. No hidden costs or currency conversions.
Maybe you prefer stablecoins? Well, the process is exactly the same. Your client can pay you in US dollars and you could receive USDC stablecoin directly into your crypto wallet, all automatically handled behind the scenes.
There's no need to juggle different bank accounts, on/offramps or currency conversions. It's the fastest, most flexible way to receive money from abroad.
For businesses, it even integrates directly with your ERP or accounting system, like Xero or QuickBooks, so every payment is reconciled easily.
If that sounds useful, then take two minutes to open a free account with Acctual today.
FAQS
How to receive money from overseas without a bank account?
To receive money from overseas without a bank account, you either need to use an international transfer provider like Western Union and collect the cash. Or use a digital solution like a digital wallet or cryptocurrency.
Can I receive money from abroad into my bank account?
Yes, you can accept money from abroad into your bank account. It will be converted into your local currency before arriving, which is an expensive and slow method. Alternatively, you could use platforms like Acctual to handle the transfer faster and cheaper.
What is the safest way to receive money from overseas?
The most secure way to receive money from overseas is using traditional bank transfers or a trusted payments platform like Acctual. This will give you full regulatory protection for AML and KYC, plus ensure money arrives safely.
A guide to receiving money from abroad
Let me paint you a picture:
You invoiced your international client for $1,000. Wait three weeks for them to pay the invoice. Then spend another 3 days refreshing your banking app until the payment shows.
But when you see the money arrive, only $950 hits your account.
This isn’t an error. It is the time and financial cost of receiving money from abroad… if you’re using the wrong methods.
Over the years, the hidden fees rack up to thousands and cash flow is always an issue.
Fortunately, there’s a fix to all of this frustration. If you’re wondering about the best way to receive money internationally, then keep reading. Together, we’ll go through the key mistakes to avoid and the top platforms for receiving money from overseas.
Challenges of receiving money from abroad
Unlike a domestic transfer, there are multiple layers to negotiate with international payments.
The headache for most businesses is the chronic fees.
There may be a sender's fee when the payer's bank charges the sender. Then, as the money crosses borders, it goes through intermediary banks. These middlemen, known as correspondent banks, will take their cut for the pleasure of processing your cash. The recipient's bank may also charge a fee to process and receive the foreign payment.
That's all before factoring in currency conversion fees, aka the FX spread. This is perhaps the highest hidden cost. It's the margin a bank or a payment provider adds to the real conversion rate. You often won't see these on bank accounts or statements. It's all done out of sight. But the markup is often between 1% and 3% on the exchange rate.
Essentially, there are four or five different areas where the banking system will charge you for the pleasure of receiving money from abroad. And if you're just using traditional banks, there's not a lot you can do about it.
Once the money has been sent, it enters a black box of traditional payment rails, sometimes taking several days to arrive in your bank account.
Thankfully, it doesn't have to be this way.
There are several different options you can choose to receive money internationally. This offers its own complications in picking the best route for your payments. But with the right choice, you can save yourself fees and reduce time delays in receiving funds.
Best ways to receive money from overseas
Let's break down the most common and popular methods for receiving money from a foreign country. We'll also give you the pros and cons of each method.
1. Traditional bank and wire transfers
Traditional wire transfers, sending money from one bank account to another, are possible overseas. You will need extra information like SWIFT codes, IBAN numbers and BIC information. These are international banking numbers that help pinpoint accounts through international transfer messaging systems.
While it can be simple to initiate these direct bank transfers, they come with a number of problems.
Transfer speed is slow, typically 1-5 business days and often, you have no idea when the money will hit your account. So you end up frantically checking your account every morning to see if the money has actually arrived.
Fees are also the highest with traditional wire transfers. A receiver's bank might charge $20 or more, along with other intermediary fees and currency conversion rates. These fees can be added to the sender or hit you as the receiver.
On the plus side, the benefits of direct bank deposits are the security and trust. You get the built in robust fraud detection that comes with these traditional banking payment rails. So if that's of particular concern to you, then it could be a good option, particularly if you need stable banking systems for large amounts.
But honestly, for smaller or regular payments, it's expensive and slow, which is exactly why online money transfer systems have been developed.
2. Digital money and Fintech platforms
In response to the slow nature of traditional banking, there are dozens of online money transfer providers. You might have heard of some of them: Payoneer, PayPal, Wise and Acctual.
These have been designed to combat the exact issues with traditional banking.
The main bonus is speed. You can send money to other platform users or bank accounts almost instantly. For example, with PayPal, transferring money can happen at the click of a button for as long as both parties have a PayPal account.
They also tend to do a better job of tracking the amount of money you'll receive on completion of the transaction.
There are some drawbacks to these newer fintech platforms. Fees can still be hidden from plain view. One of the criticisms of PayPal in particular is its excessive fees.
Business users of PayPal can get hit with payment fees of 2-3%. In addition to this, there are FX currency markups which can cause costs to rocket over 5%.
And that's all before the worries of withdrawal to your bank account fees and delays.
Similar platforms like Wise offer the additional feature of multicurrency accounts, which have their own pros and cons.
3. Multicurrency and offshore bank accounts
As mentioned, many fintech platforms like Wise offer multicurrency accounts. Or you can open bank accounts in different countries to receive money, although local laws can make this tricky.
Holding multicurrency accounts has a clear benefit. If you have an account in the country you want to receive money in, you simply use your domestic bank details to receive funds. As it's a domestic payment, fees are usually low and speed is fast.
Here's where things get tricky. As a business, you might end up managing dozens of multicurrency accounts in every market that you operate.
Even if you use a fintech platform like Wise to receive payments for US dollars, euros, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, Chinese yuan and British pounds, it all creates an administrative headache.
You then need to ensure money is sitting in the right accounts to pay your bills, negotiate currency fluctuations and exchange fees.
Plus, local banking regulations in some countries might not even allow you to hold accounts from abroad.
One way around this is to use money transfer operators.
4. International money transfer providers
These are an important method for receiving cash, particularly in countries with limited banking infrastructure. You might have heard of companies like Western Union. This is exactly what they do.
It allows the sender to deposit cash in one country and the receiver to physically collect it in another. Someone in the UK could visit a branch of Western Union and deposit cash, while someone in Africa is able to withdraw that cash from their branch of Western Union.
It's a handy service and you can receive money the same day or even in minutes for certain providers. As the receiver, you don't tend to pay anything for collection, but the sender is the one who often faces high fees. So they might be frustrated with the payment or take it out of the amount you are receiving.
5. Cryptocurrency and stablecoin transfers
The more modern equivalent of international money transfers is cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins.
Instead of using a payment provider like Western Union, you use the internet and blockchain technology.
Here's how it all works. Using a stablecoin, which is a digital currency like USDT or USDC, these coins are pegged to the US dollar, meaning one coin is always worth one US dollar.
Any two people in the world can send or receive this digital currency in a peer to peer fashion. In theory, anyone can send you USDT directly to your crypto wallet from anywhere in the world. Whether that's $1 worth or a million dollars worth, all without intermediary banks, middlemen and added fees.
The real benefit is its speed and price. Transfers settle instantly and very cheaply, often for less than one cent. All you need is an internet connection and a phone or computer to receive funds into your crypto wallet.
On the downside, it is less widely accepted as a payment method. Even if you're happy to accept it, a payer might not be comfortable dealing in cryptocurrency.
In addition, converting funds from crypto into fiat currency can be tricky and expensive.
Fortunately, modern payment platforms like Acctual have all of this built into their systems. You can actually allow someone to send money in their preferred currency, like US dollars and you receive it in your preferred format, including crypto stablecoins, directly into your wallet.
Receiving large amounts of money from overseas
One thing you need to consider is how much money you need to receive from overseas. This is most important if you are expecting a large amount, perhaps an inheritance or gift from a family member. Or more commonly, a business accepting lots of large transactions.
Even if you're receiving a small amount, it's still worth checking out your options to make sure you don't lose most of your funds to fees.
Here are the key points to think about when receiving large sums of money internationally:
Limits and checks
There's no legal limit to how much money you can receive, but the higher the amount, the more stringent the checks from governments and banks are.
Generally, payments over $10,000 more commonly trigger anti money laundering regulations, which means banks and payment providers will monitor, analyze and report these transactions. Any flags mean transfer times can be slowed or payments are refused.
Source of funds
If the payment you're receiving is flagged, then it can be frozen until proof of funds is confirmed. This is more of an issue for the payer. Banks want to know where the money has come from to make sure it's not from an illegal source and is not being laundered.
While it's on the payer to prove this information, as the receiver of the money, you might need to provide details and be prepared for a longer wait.
Tax implications
Receiving money itself might not be a taxable event, but the nature of the funds dictates whether you pay tax. If you're receiving money from abroad in exchange for work or services, this counts as income. So you will need to declare it and pay tax on that income.
Income from inheritance, overseas investments and property is likely also taxable or at least needs to be declared to your local tax authority.
Cryptocurrency payments
Receiving cryptocurrency from abroad doesn't necessarily escape tax duties and other regulations. Often it can sit in a grey area, but you should do your best to keep full records and report transactions where legally required.
For example, if you receive payment for goods and services in stablecoins, this still counts as taxable income. Or if you receive a volatile asset like Bitcoin, this could still be classed as taxable income. Plus, any increase in value from the moment you receive it until you dispose of the Bitcoin could be liable for capital gains.
In many countries, centralized crypto exchanges will report large transactions to tax authorities.
Best practices for receiving money internationally
Let's go through some actionable tips to make sure you don't get hit with excessive fees, legal issues or the disaster of money going missing.
1. Double check all bank and payment details
Even a single typo on an IBAN number can cause a payment to be lost or rejected. For double security, confirm bank account numbers over a phone call, not just by email or use payment links directly from digital platforms.
2. Agree on the fees upfront
Discuss with the sender who is covering what fees. If this isn't clear from the start, they might deduct fees falling on their side from the overall payment, leaving the amount you receive less than you expected.
3. Check currency conversion fees
Before initiating any transaction, make sure you understand when, how and for how much the currency is being converted. Check the small print of your payment provider and banks to see what exchange rate they will quote you for receiving funds.
4. Keep detailed records
For all international payments, including the amount, the sender, the date and the purpose, plus all related documentation. This will help in any tax reporting and future questions about the source of funds.
Acctual helps you receive more of your money from abroad
Acctual is built to solve all your problems of receiving money from abroad.
You can ditch the problems of high currency markups, surprise middleman fees and days of waiting for money to hit your account. All these problems that eat your profits and hinder cash flow disappear with Acctual.
You don't even need to open and manage multicurrency accounts. Everything is handled automatically for a small 1% fee.
To receive money, you can easily create an invoice in just a few clicks. In seconds, you'll have a professional invoice with all the required business details.
Then things get clever. You can select payment methods for the sender's preferred currency while allowing yourself to receive money in your preferred format.
Here's an example: A client in the United States could make a payment in US dollars while you receive the money directly into your Euro bank account, all the same day, for just a 1% fee. No hidden costs or currency conversions.
Maybe you prefer stablecoins? Well, the process is exactly the same. Your client can pay you in US dollars and you could receive USDC stablecoin directly into your crypto wallet, all automatically handled behind the scenes.
There's no need to juggle different bank accounts, on/offramps or currency conversions. It's the fastest, most flexible way to receive money from abroad.
For businesses, it even integrates directly with your ERP or accounting system, like Xero or QuickBooks, so every payment is reconciled easily.
If that sounds useful, then take two minutes to open a free account with Acctual today.
FAQS
How to receive money from overseas without a bank account?
To receive money from overseas without a bank account, you either need to use an international transfer provider like Western Union and collect the cash. Or use a digital solution like a digital wallet or cryptocurrency.
Can I receive money from abroad into my bank account?
Yes, you can accept money from abroad into your bank account. It will be converted into your local currency before arriving, which is an expensive and slow method. Alternatively, you could use platforms like Acctual to handle the transfer faster and cheaper.
What is the safest way to receive money from overseas?
The most secure way to receive money from overseas is using traditional bank transfers or a trusted payments platform like Acctual. This will give you full regulatory protection for AML and KYC, plus ensure money arrives safely.
A guide to receiving money from abroad
Let me paint you a picture:
You invoiced your international client for $1,000. Wait three weeks for them to pay the invoice. Then spend another 3 days refreshing your banking app until the payment shows.
But when you see the money arrive, only $950 hits your account.
This isn’t an error. It is the time and financial cost of receiving money from abroad… if you’re using the wrong methods.
Over the years, the hidden fees rack up to thousands and cash flow is always an issue.
Fortunately, there’s a fix to all of this frustration. If you’re wondering about the best way to receive money internationally, then keep reading. Together, we’ll go through the key mistakes to avoid and the top platforms for receiving money from overseas.
Challenges of receiving money from abroad
Unlike a domestic transfer, there are multiple layers to negotiate with international payments.
The headache for most businesses is the chronic fees.
There may be a sender's fee when the payer's bank charges the sender. Then, as the money crosses borders, it goes through intermediary banks. These middlemen, known as correspondent banks, will take their cut for the pleasure of processing your cash. The recipient's bank may also charge a fee to process and receive the foreign payment.
That's all before factoring in currency conversion fees, aka the FX spread. This is perhaps the highest hidden cost. It's the margin a bank or a payment provider adds to the real conversion rate. You often won't see these on bank accounts or statements. It's all done out of sight. But the markup is often between 1% and 3% on the exchange rate.
Essentially, there are four or five different areas where the banking system will charge you for the pleasure of receiving money from abroad. And if you're just using traditional banks, there's not a lot you can do about it.
Once the money has been sent, it enters a black box of traditional payment rails, sometimes taking several days to arrive in your bank account.
Thankfully, it doesn't have to be this way.
There are several different options you can choose to receive money internationally. This offers its own complications in picking the best route for your payments. But with the right choice, you can save yourself fees and reduce time delays in receiving funds.
Best ways to receive money from overseas
Let's break down the most common and popular methods for receiving money from a foreign country. We'll also give you the pros and cons of each method.
1. Traditional bank and wire transfers
Traditional wire transfers, sending money from one bank account to another, are possible overseas. You will need extra information like SWIFT codes, IBAN numbers and BIC information. These are international banking numbers that help pinpoint accounts through international transfer messaging systems.
While it can be simple to initiate these direct bank transfers, they come with a number of problems.
Transfer speed is slow, typically 1-5 business days and often, you have no idea when the money will hit your account. So you end up frantically checking your account every morning to see if the money has actually arrived.
Fees are also the highest with traditional wire transfers. A receiver's bank might charge $20 or more, along with other intermediary fees and currency conversion rates. These fees can be added to the sender or hit you as the receiver.
On the plus side, the benefits of direct bank deposits are the security and trust. You get the built in robust fraud detection that comes with these traditional banking payment rails. So if that's of particular concern to you, then it could be a good option, particularly if you need stable banking systems for large amounts.
But honestly, for smaller or regular payments, it's expensive and slow, which is exactly why online money transfer systems have been developed.
2. Digital money and Fintech platforms
In response to the slow nature of traditional banking, there are dozens of online money transfer providers. You might have heard of some of them: Payoneer, PayPal, Wise and Acctual.
These have been designed to combat the exact issues with traditional banking.
The main bonus is speed. You can send money to other platform users or bank accounts almost instantly. For example, with PayPal, transferring money can happen at the click of a button for as long as both parties have a PayPal account.
They also tend to do a better job of tracking the amount of money you'll receive on completion of the transaction.
There are some drawbacks to these newer fintech platforms. Fees can still be hidden from plain view. One of the criticisms of PayPal in particular is its excessive fees.
Business users of PayPal can get hit with payment fees of 2-3%. In addition to this, there are FX currency markups which can cause costs to rocket over 5%.
And that's all before the worries of withdrawal to your bank account fees and delays.
Similar platforms like Wise offer the additional feature of multicurrency accounts, which have their own pros and cons.
3. Multicurrency and offshore bank accounts
As mentioned, many fintech platforms like Wise offer multicurrency accounts. Or you can open bank accounts in different countries to receive money, although local laws can make this tricky.
Holding multicurrency accounts has a clear benefit. If you have an account in the country you want to receive money in, you simply use your domestic bank details to receive funds. As it's a domestic payment, fees are usually low and speed is fast.
Here's where things get tricky. As a business, you might end up managing dozens of multicurrency accounts in every market that you operate.
Even if you use a fintech platform like Wise to receive payments for US dollars, euros, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, Chinese yuan and British pounds, it all creates an administrative headache.
You then need to ensure money is sitting in the right accounts to pay your bills, negotiate currency fluctuations and exchange fees.
Plus, local banking regulations in some countries might not even allow you to hold accounts from abroad.
One way around this is to use money transfer operators.
4. International money transfer providers
These are an important method for receiving cash, particularly in countries with limited banking infrastructure. You might have heard of companies like Western Union. This is exactly what they do.
It allows the sender to deposit cash in one country and the receiver to physically collect it in another. Someone in the UK could visit a branch of Western Union and deposit cash, while someone in Africa is able to withdraw that cash from their branch of Western Union.
It's a handy service and you can receive money the same day or even in minutes for certain providers. As the receiver, you don't tend to pay anything for collection, but the sender is the one who often faces high fees. So they might be frustrated with the payment or take it out of the amount you are receiving.
5. Cryptocurrency and stablecoin transfers
The more modern equivalent of international money transfers is cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins.
Instead of using a payment provider like Western Union, you use the internet and blockchain technology.
Here's how it all works. Using a stablecoin, which is a digital currency like USDT or USDC, these coins are pegged to the US dollar, meaning one coin is always worth one US dollar.
Any two people in the world can send or receive this digital currency in a peer to peer fashion. In theory, anyone can send you USDT directly to your crypto wallet from anywhere in the world. Whether that's $1 worth or a million dollars worth, all without intermediary banks, middlemen and added fees.
The real benefit is its speed and price. Transfers settle instantly and very cheaply, often for less than one cent. All you need is an internet connection and a phone or computer to receive funds into your crypto wallet.
On the downside, it is less widely accepted as a payment method. Even if you're happy to accept it, a payer might not be comfortable dealing in cryptocurrency.
In addition, converting funds from crypto into fiat currency can be tricky and expensive.
Fortunately, modern payment platforms like Acctual have all of this built into their systems. You can actually allow someone to send money in their preferred currency, like US dollars and you receive it in your preferred format, including crypto stablecoins, directly into your wallet.
Receiving large amounts of money from overseas
One thing you need to consider is how much money you need to receive from overseas. This is most important if you are expecting a large amount, perhaps an inheritance or gift from a family member. Or more commonly, a business accepting lots of large transactions.
Even if you're receiving a small amount, it's still worth checking out your options to make sure you don't lose most of your funds to fees.
Here are the key points to think about when receiving large sums of money internationally:
Limits and checks
There's no legal limit to how much money you can receive, but the higher the amount, the more stringent the checks from governments and banks are.
Generally, payments over $10,000 more commonly trigger anti money laundering regulations, which means banks and payment providers will monitor, analyze and report these transactions. Any flags mean transfer times can be slowed or payments are refused.
Source of funds
If the payment you're receiving is flagged, then it can be frozen until proof of funds is confirmed. This is more of an issue for the payer. Banks want to know where the money has come from to make sure it's not from an illegal source and is not being laundered.
While it's on the payer to prove this information, as the receiver of the money, you might need to provide details and be prepared for a longer wait.
Tax implications
Receiving money itself might not be a taxable event, but the nature of the funds dictates whether you pay tax. If you're receiving money from abroad in exchange for work or services, this counts as income. So you will need to declare it and pay tax on that income.
Income from inheritance, overseas investments and property is likely also taxable or at least needs to be declared to your local tax authority.
Cryptocurrency payments
Receiving cryptocurrency from abroad doesn't necessarily escape tax duties and other regulations. Often it can sit in a grey area, but you should do your best to keep full records and report transactions where legally required.
For example, if you receive payment for goods and services in stablecoins, this still counts as taxable income. Or if you receive a volatile asset like Bitcoin, this could still be classed as taxable income. Plus, any increase in value from the moment you receive it until you dispose of the Bitcoin could be liable for capital gains.
In many countries, centralized crypto exchanges will report large transactions to tax authorities.
Best practices for receiving money internationally
Let's go through some actionable tips to make sure you don't get hit with excessive fees, legal issues or the disaster of money going missing.
1. Double check all bank and payment details
Even a single typo on an IBAN number can cause a payment to be lost or rejected. For double security, confirm bank account numbers over a phone call, not just by email or use payment links directly from digital platforms.
2. Agree on the fees upfront
Discuss with the sender who is covering what fees. If this isn't clear from the start, they might deduct fees falling on their side from the overall payment, leaving the amount you receive less than you expected.
3. Check currency conversion fees
Before initiating any transaction, make sure you understand when, how and for how much the currency is being converted. Check the small print of your payment provider and banks to see what exchange rate they will quote you for receiving funds.
4. Keep detailed records
For all international payments, including the amount, the sender, the date and the purpose, plus all related documentation. This will help in any tax reporting and future questions about the source of funds.
Acctual helps you receive more of your money from abroad
Acctual is built to solve all your problems of receiving money from abroad.
You can ditch the problems of high currency markups, surprise middleman fees and days of waiting for money to hit your account. All these problems that eat your profits and hinder cash flow disappear with Acctual.
You don't even need to open and manage multicurrency accounts. Everything is handled automatically for a small 1% fee.
To receive money, you can easily create an invoice in just a few clicks. In seconds, you'll have a professional invoice with all the required business details.
Then things get clever. You can select payment methods for the sender's preferred currency while allowing yourself to receive money in your preferred format.
Here's an example: A client in the United States could make a payment in US dollars while you receive the money directly into your Euro bank account, all the same day, for just a 1% fee. No hidden costs or currency conversions.
Maybe you prefer stablecoins? Well, the process is exactly the same. Your client can pay you in US dollars and you could receive USDC stablecoin directly into your crypto wallet, all automatically handled behind the scenes.
There's no need to juggle different bank accounts, on/offramps or currency conversions. It's the fastest, most flexible way to receive money from abroad.
For businesses, it even integrates directly with your ERP or accounting system, like Xero or QuickBooks, so every payment is reconciled easily.
If that sounds useful, then take two minutes to open a free account with Acctual today.
FAQS
How to receive money from overseas without a bank account?
To receive money from overseas without a bank account, you either need to use an international transfer provider like Western Union and collect the cash. Or use a digital solution like a digital wallet or cryptocurrency.
Can I receive money from abroad into my bank account?
Yes, you can accept money from abroad into your bank account. It will be converted into your local currency before arriving, which is an expensive and slow method. Alternatively, you could use platforms like Acctual to handle the transfer faster and cheaper.
What is the safest way to receive money from overseas?
The most secure way to receive money from overseas is using traditional bank transfers or a trusted payments platform like Acctual. This will give you full regulatory protection for AML and KYC, plus ensure money arrives safely.
Blog
Love you, pay me
Get paid “same day” by sending customers the most flexible invoice on the planet.
Love you, pay me
Get paid “same day” by sending customers the most flexible invoice on the planet.
Love you, pay me
Get paid “same day” by sending customers the most flexible invoice on the planet.
Love you, pay me
Get paid “same day” by sending customers the most flexible invoice on the planet.
