Are you struggling to accept payments in different currencies for your business? As the market for your products or services becomes increasingly global, it’s essential to have a payment system that accepts multiple currencies, including US dollars. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll go over six key providers that offer flexible and affordable payment processing.
Before we dive into each provider, let’s define some important terms you should be familiar with:
Payment system: A mechanism for transferring cash. Since you’re collecting US dollars, these payments will be online.
Presentment currency: The currency that the customer pays you in.
Settlement currency: The currency accepted by your account.
With these terms in mind, let’s take a look at the top six payment providers for businesses.
Airwallex
Airwallex is an international collections platform that lets you receive foreign currency payments as if they’re local, using the local clearing system. You can use their Global Account alongside their conversion engine and multi-currency wallet. They’re an excellent option for small businesses that deal with a larger number of multi-currency transactions.
Fees: None
Conversion rate: 0.5 per cent
Ideal for: Small businesses
GoCardless
GoCardless offers flexible payment processing and integrates with over 350 other systems, including Xero, Salesforce, and Sage. You’ll always get the real exchange rate based on currency conversion through Wise. They’re an excellent option for businesses that get a lot of recurring payments.
Fees: 2 per cent + 20p per transaction (conversion rate included); no monthly fee on Standard account
Conversion rate: N/A
Ideal for: Businesses with recurring payments
Braintree by PayPal
Braintree allows payments through Venmo, Google Pay, and Apple Pay, in addition to PayPal. You can have single or multiple currency set-ups. If you have a single currency account and someone makes a purchase in their local currency, the bank will convert the sum to GBP, subject to your bank’s currency conversion rate. You have the choice to present or settle in multiple currencies. If you want to accept different currencies as well as US dollars, you can put on additional merchant accounts in different currencies, and you can experiment with collecting various currencies in Braintree’s testing environments.
Fees: 1.9 per cent + 20p per transaction + 1.5 per cent multi-currency transaction fee
Conversion rate: In line with the bank’s conversion rate
Ideal for: Businesses who want to offer their customers multiple payment options
Wise for Business
Wise for Business claims to be 19x cheaper than PayPal. For example, if you’re receiving $2,000 in GBP, it’ll cost nothing on Wise compared to PayPal’s £66.88.
Fees: It costs £45 to open an account. Getting USD wire payments through to your account will incur a 4.14 USD charge.
Conversion rate: US dollars are free to receive, but holding limits apply
Ideal for: Freelancers and micro-businesses
Stripe
With Stripe, you can display currencies in your customer’s preferred currency and make global payments in over 135 currencies. If the charge currency differs from the settlement currency, Stripe converts the charge to your settlement currency. The good news is that you won’t be bundled with set-up fees, monthly fees or hidden fees. Stripe has multiple balances for different currencies so that your US dollars will automatically go into a different balance.
Fees: 1.4 per cent + 20p for UK cards (1.1 per cent for European Economic Area); 2.9 per cent + 20p for international cards
Conversion rate: 2 per cent
Ideal for: Online businesses who want to limit their fees
Payoneer
With Payoneer, you’re provided with a local receiving account so people can pay you as if you have a local bank account. You also have the option to accept payments via Payoneer networks for free and receive funds from Amazon, Wish, Rakuten, and more. They allow you to manage currencies and move them between balances for a flat fee of 0.5pc.
Fees: As mentioned, you can receive payments fee-free from other Payoneer customers and via receiving accounts. However, USD payments taken directly from your customers incur 3 per cent on credit card and 1 per cent through ACH Bank Debit. Fees on payments from marketplaces and networks depend on where the payment came from.
Conversion rate: It ranges from free to a small fee, depending on the country that it’s coming from.
Ideal for: Freelancers and service providers, online sellers, digital marketers, and holiday rental hosts.
Conclusion
Having a payment system that accepts multiple currencies, including US dollars, is essential for businesses that operate globally. Fortunately, providers like Airwallex, GoCardless, Braintree, Wise for Business, Stripe, and Payoneer offer flexible payment processing options with affordable fees and conversion rates. Choose the provider that best suits your business needs, and start accepting payments in different currencies today.
