Whats best way to Receive payment from USD?

MangyDog
MangyDog Posts: 26 Forumite
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edited 9 August 2018 at 11:29AM in Small biz MoneySaving
Im currently in negotiation to do a short bit of online work. And the employer is going to pay me in USD.

They originally suggested to do it through PayPal. But I'm trying to find out if there is a better option.

I even checked my banks website, but the only information I could seem to find is about buying currency not exchange on receiving it.

So i need some advice and help, What is the best low cost option? As it appears PayPal charge 2 quid + 3% + 20p+1%? on what ever exchange rate they have picked to use for the day (which I'm almost certain would be favourable to them compared to the xe.com rates)...

Whats my best option?

Comments

  • Futuristic
    Futuristic Posts: 1,127 Forumite
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    The best option is TransferWise.

    Sign up to business account, create a USD borderless account. You get US bank details, they can send funds "locally" to you, then you can exchange to GBP or hold/use the USD.

    https://transferwise.com/gb/borderless/#get-paid
  • fewgroats
    fewgroats Posts: 774 Forumite
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    Why not try to get them in pound sterling? They're the ones employing you.
    Advent Challenge: Money made: £0. Days to Christmas: 59.
  • scaredofdebt
    scaredofdebt Posts: 1,640 Forumite
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    Payoneer don't charge anything as far as I am aware, I get paid in USD by Appen via that.
    Make £2018 in 2018 Challenge - Total to date £2,108
  • martindow
    martindow Posts: 10,213 Forumite
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    scaredofdebt wrote: »
    Payoneer don't charge anything as far as I am aware, I get paid in USD by Appen via that.
    If they are not charging a fee presumably they are making money on the exchange rate they offer. They must be making money somehow!
  • paddyrg
    paddyrg Posts: 13,543 Forumite
    Revolut may be worth a look, too.
  • AlexBrian
    AlexBrian Posts: 1 Newbie
    I have used many services & local bank accounts and they all can work for you but if you're looking for an Online Payment transfer solution then I can suggest you to take a look at PayPal (the leading online payment processing platform and if this is not your choice you can also take a look at Payoneer (closest alternative to PayPal but its fees are more than PayPal and also issues a Free MasterCard. Please take a look at its fees here. However there are some more services as well such as PayZa, TransferWise & Skrill that can work the same as above-two-mentioned services work.
  • novelty-socks
    novelty-socks Posts: 271 Forumite
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    I recently used Transferwise to transfer the proceeds of selling some US$ shares into £. It was a really easy, quick process with minimal fees.

    I used to be freelance and the borderless account would have been great for my overseas clients.
  • anandp
    anandp Posts: 279 Forumite
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    paddyrg wrote: »
    Revolut may be worth a look, too.

    Was going to suggest Starling Bank as well. No charges - just the market rate for conversion into GBP.
    Interested in property investment, web tech, social media, forex, equities. Also a proud father & entrepreneur of sorts.
  • Man_in_a_Suitcase
    Man_in_a_Suitcase Posts: 54 Forumite
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    Futuristic wrote: »
    The best option is TransferWise.

    Sign up to business account, create a USD borderless account. You get US bank details, they can send funds "locally" to you, then you can exchange to GBP or hold/use the USD.

    https://transferwise.com/gb/borderless/#get-paid

    You get Australian, GB, European and US account numbers with a borderless Transferwise account. Wouldn't it be best for a receiver in the UK to give someone in the US their GB account details. There wouldn't be a conversion fee then.
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