
Ask HN: Getting payed internationally as a freelancer - 0xsven
We are a group of freelancers from Europe that regularly work for US companies. Every time we send them an invoice there is a huge discussion about how to send the money starting. Somehow the Americans don&#x27;t like wire transfer in Euros and so they always try to send us checks, which is something that doesn&#x27;t really exist here. Our best guess is that nobody wants to pay conversion and transfer fees.<p>So my question: How to transfer the money from US to Europe? What is the cheapest way?
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mtmail
I'm very happy with [https://transferwise.com/](https://transferwise.com/)

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0xsven
This looks like what we need. thank u :)

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codegeek
"Note: Our fees below do not include charges that your bank or intermediate
banks involved in SWIFT transfers may levy."

This could be tricky for US banks. Make sure you ask your bank about SWIFT
charges before sending money otherwise you could end up paying additional for
a SWIFT transfer.

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wkubiak
"Somehow the Americans don't like wire transfer in Euros"

I'm really not surprised. It's the same with EU countries having to wire money
to some non-euro currency.

Why not setup a US dollar account? After receiving payment in your client's
currency, you can rather cheaply convert it to your own currency.

In my experience, US companies are interested in PayPal or TransferWise or
other such methods only when for some reason wire transfer is not an option. I
don't think you are in such a situation. Depending on the amount, using those
services could be more expensive than handling a US dollar wire transfer with
SHA (shared costs).

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jakobegger
I just invoice US clients in USD, and tell them to wire the money. My bank
account is in Euro, so my bank converts the USD payment to Euro. Conversion +
fees are usually around 1%.

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eswat
I’ve used Stripe or TransferWise with my US clients – I’m in Canada – with the
former usually being less hassle for me and the client if we’re dealing with
small amounts.

A few clients also wanted to send me cheques. But you can convince them that
these other options are better for your working relationship. As their trusted
contractor you’re expected to deliver results and not skimp on details or make
compromises. You should expect the same from your client, including their
accounting department, and working with cheques cross-border is a compromise
in the working relationship.

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wayn3
get a multi currency account from a singaporean bank.

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0xsven
How much would be the conversion fees? Do you know?

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wayn3
Usually a flat fee plus forex. Insubstantial if you deal in thousands of
dollars.

