International Payment Methods

Topics for Discussion
Currency Exchange Rates
Payment Methods
Assessing your specific needs
© Eve Bodeux 2010 ~ all rights reserved

Currency
Decide which currencies you accept
Exchange rates vary per method
Exchange rates vs fees (!!!!!)
You want to control transaction timing
Currency-specific bank accounts

Payment Methods
Payment methods
Check
Direct deposit (domestic and international ACH or EFT)
Wire transfer
Paypal and similar
Travelex, AMEX FX, XE, currencyonline…
Prepaid debit cards
Credit cards
Slide

Checks
Common for US domestic payments
Can use to pay overseas (?)
Online bank bill pay
Even domestically, there are alternatives
Slow and high risk.

Direct deposit (ACH/EFT)
ACH – Automatic Clearing House
EFT – Electronic Funds Transfer
Otherwise known as direct deposit
Consider currency
Consider fees
Domestic or foreign bank receiving funds?
1-5 days and low risk.
Slide

Wire transfers
Expensive.
High fees to client.
High fees to you.
Fees that no one claims (!)
Unfavorable exchange rates.
Slide

Paypal
Not a bank – facilitates intl transactions
You do not exchange rate control when you send or receive funds
Exchange rate is not good (very bad)
Per transaction fees + % of sale possible
Low risk (mostly)
Rapid

Travelex, AMEX FX, XE, etc.
Not a bank - facilitates int’l transactions.
Low currency exchange rates.
Low(er) fees.
USD to USD ~ EUR to USD ~ USD to EUR or other currency combinations
american.express.com/ip
xe.com
Travelex.com
currencyonline.comn

Prepaid Debit Cards
Prepaid debit cards
International payments to vendors by prepaid MasterCard (or other)
Convenient and inconvenient
Internationally focused (vendors and clients)
High fees (up front, ATM withdrawal, non-usage)
Low risk (it’s prepaid)

Credit Cards
Accepting credit cards for payment with certain client types – merchant account
Minimizes “bounced check risk” – can verify fund up front / pre-authorize
Payment in advance
Think about making payment due in YOUR currency
Can do online-only processing (less fees)
Monthly fee, percentage transaction fee, batch fee
Domestic & international?
Merchant service providers: Costco, many others

Customize your payment method strategy
Types of clients
Amount of funds
EUR versus USD versus other currency
Payment terms (when payment received)
Who are you customers?
Be sure to consider accounting/tax issues

Resources
Payment Methods Podcast
http://speakingoftranslation.com/2009/10/09/episode5/
Great article on best practices for invoicing clients:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/11/05/invoice-like-a-pro/
Dillon Slattery’s article on getting paid across border:
http://www.dillonslattery.com/2009/11/getting-paid-across-borders.html
Links at www.bodeuxinternational.com/ata51

Thank you!
Eve Lindemuth Bodeux
[email_address] [email_address] bodeuxinternational.com adventuretranslators.com
speakingoftranslation.com

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International Payment Methods

by ebodeux on Nov 03, 2010

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International Payment Methods — Presentation Transcript