Whether you’re part of, or running, a finance team at a major corporation, an SME, or a freelancer with international clients, using a bank for regular global payments could mean losing 3% or more through bad deals with banks handling international transactions.
Borderless business accounts, global payment gateways and the ability to work within an existing accounting structure is important for many businesses, whatever their size. Working with an international finance specialist provides:
Ability to manage, plan for and mitigate against currency risk
Receive regular international payments into stores, through payment invoices or through marketplaces
Make batch payments to staff and suppliers around the world
Manage expenses across different workflows and currencies, including with virtual or physical multi-currency cards
Automate parts of businesses with APIs
Airwallex covers most bases within the business money transfer space. The company offers exchanges from 0.5% and no fees on transfers. There’s also the benefit of APIs, multi-currency cards and an easy to use platform.
We recommend comparing based on the specific needs of a business, but if you’re likely for a nice all-rounder, Airwallex is a great place to start.
Picking the right partner
Each business is different, and each company provider's cross border services are also a little different. Here’s what to look out for:
Account management does not come as standard with all accounts, so if you want ongoing support ensure you work with someone that provides it. Many offer dev support for APIs as well.
Local and IBAN accounts are different, but serve similar purposes. If you want account details, like an account number and sort code in the UK and routing number in the US, you will need local accounts.
Expense management is often advertised as a standard where you can have multiple virtual cards, but there are different levels. Some options are more evolved than others. Airwallex as an example allows for custom budgets for team members and receipt uploads, whereas others just allow for card spending to be seen per card.
Accounting software integration can be achieved through APIs or pre-built plugins. There is common support for Xero, but even Sage and Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be hard to find standard integration for.
Virtual and physical cards are offered in different ways per provider. Some offer no charge on either, some will charge per virtual card issuance and others for physical only. There’s also often high ATM fees, so avoid using machines where possible.
International payment gateways have different international transaction costs (upwards of 2%), settlement timeframes and refund costs.
Fees are often listed in different ways, these could be monthly, annual fees, card fees and sending fees to name a few. Companies will provide a fee schedule upon sign up to their services.
Currency risk, also known as exchange rate risk, is the potential for financial loss due to fluctuations in the exchange rate between two currencies, affecting profits, or costs when dealing in foreign markets.
Business providers
General, all-rounders
Company | Offering | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
TorFX | Currency Risk, Large Transfers, Pay Suppliers, Forward contracts | No fees and exchange rate quoted per transfer - get a quote |
Wise | Pay Invoices, Virtual Cards, Accounting Integration, Batch Payments (1,000), 10 local accounts | Mid-market rate, 0.33% fee on transfers - open an account |
Embedded finance
Company | Offering | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
Airwallex | Full service offering, API, Expense Management, Batch payments (1,000), Custom Workflows, 14 local accounts | From 0.5% per transfer - open an account |
3S Money | Dedicated account manager, Multi-currency accounts, Batch payments, Custom API | Fees and rates agreed per plan - get a quote |
Equals Money | 38 IBAN accounts, Xero integration, Batch payments through the API | Fees and rates agreed per plan - get a quote |
Currency risk
Company | Offering | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
OFX | Forward contracts, Currency Audit, 24/7 Support | No fees, exchange rates from 0.7% - open an account |
MoneyCorp | Forward contracts, Currency stategy, 24/7 Support + account manager | Fees and rates agreed per plan - get a quote |
Freelancers
Company | Offering | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
Payoneer | Marketplace integration, Ecommerce integration, Virtual cards, P2P network | From 2% exchange rate - open an account |
Alternative options
Good alternatives
Decent options and alternatives are often found for one off transfers. Companies like TorFX or Regency FX can help with this and still aid in mitigating currency risk.
Not so good alternatives
Avoid using a standard bank account for business transactions, or PayPal. Both are expensive and could end up costing you a lot in the long run.
