

Ask HN: Paying international employees in USD - payrollq

(I am a HN regular using a temp username so as not to reveal employee info.)<p>My US (tech) company has a South American employee who is suffering from a weakening of their local currency. We pay this person in their currency using an exchange rate from approximately a year ago. S&#x2F;he asked me (the manager) if there is anything we can do to help with the diminished purchasing power that has resulted.<p>We <i>could</i> adjust to exchange rate changes, but there are problems with this, not least that the exchange rate will continue to change, and changes might or might not be in the employee’s favor in the future. We don’t want currency markets to change their compensation all the time.<p>An alternative would be to pay them in USD. My question for HN is: what are the best mechanisms for this, and what are the legalities?<p>Pointers and personal experiences are welcome. I will not interpret answers as legal advice. Thanks.
======
facorreia
I am a remote employee based in Brazil and I receive payments in USD. In South
America, inflation is usually significant and payments in local currency are
increased regularly to stay at the same actual value. I think that paying the
employee in dollars is fair because it is a fixed expense for the company and
preserves the buying power i.e. real value for the employee. It is usually as
simple as a SWIFT transfer. The local receiving bank will do the conversion
according to the current exchange rates and following regulations. Of course
the particulars vary according to the country. It's true that there may be
fluctuations but in the long run exchange rates will reflect the actual value
in the local currency and keeping the rate frozen for a year will be like
paying an ever diminishing compensation.

