US translators working with international clients: what currency and via what method? Thread poster: Elisa Lopez Schiaffino
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Question for translators in the US working with international clients: how do you get paid (in what currency and via what method)?
I live in the US, and so far I have been working with US clients. Every now and then I see job posts from other countries (China, Italy, Spain, Australia, Argentina, etc.). In some cases, the job post indicates they pay in euros, and I have never applied to those jobs because the Paypal international fees and the exchange rates seem a bit much.
... See more Question for translators in the US working with international clients: how do you get paid (in what currency and via what method)?
I live in the US, and so far I have been working with US clients. Every now and then I see job posts from other countries (China, Italy, Spain, Australia, Argentina, etc.). In some cases, the job post indicates they pay in euros, and I have never applied to those jobs because the Paypal international fees and the exchange rates seem a bit much.
But there are other job posts from non-US countries that do not specify the currency. Shall I look at the country in the post and assume they will pay in the currency of that country? Shall I apply anyway in case they pay in American dollars? Should I just accept the Paypal interational fees and move on with my life?
Could you share with me how you get paid by international clients: what currency and via what method (Paypal, wire transfer, etc.)? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Susan Welsh 
United States
Local time: 03:44
Russian to English
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| It depends... | Jun 23, 2019 |
on the client. I always quote in dollars unless the client specifies otherwise. Quoting in another currency does not save you anything, because that currency is still going to have to be converted into dollars before it goes into your bank account!
I always ask them to pay the money transfer fee, but they don't always agree. The cheapest way to transfer funds is TransferWise.com, which I recommend, but many clients have not heard of it or have not used it before and prefer to use t... See more on the client. I always quote in dollars unless the client specifies otherwise. Quoting in another currency does not save you anything, because that currency is still going to have to be converted into dollars before it goes into your bank account!
I always ask them to pay the money transfer fee, but they don't always agree. The cheapest way to transfer funds is TransferWise.com, which I recommend, but many clients have not heard of it or have not used it before and prefer to use the more familiar PayPal. Some have payment systems that are set up for PayPal. Larger clients will sometimes use bank transfer, which is fine with me because it doesn't cost me anything (with my particular type of bank account). ▲ Collapse
| | | | | TransferWise | Jun 23, 2019 |
It costs around 0.5% to change EUR to USD and vice versa with TransferWise, i.e. a good deal less than the 3%–3.5% PayPal takes (in addition to their huge transaction fees). It can cost a whopping 8% to receive payment via PayPal. Most clients will not pay it, but you can add 9% to your rates to compensate for the fee when you quote.
There is a small TransferWise fee for withdrawing money (less than $1).
I consider this negligible.
TransferWise allow you ... See more It costs around 0.5% to change EUR to USD and vice versa with TransferWise, i.e. a good deal less than the 3%–3.5% PayPal takes (in addition to their huge transaction fees). It can cost a whopping 8% to receive payment via PayPal. Most clients will not pay it, but you can add 9% to your rates to compensate for the fee when you quote.
There is a small TransferWise fee for withdrawing money (less than $1).
I consider this negligible.
TransferWise allow you to open 'virtual' bank accounts in USD, EUR, AUD, NZD and GBP. They give you 'local' bank account numbers with routing numbers/sort codes for the US, the eurozone, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Hence, if you work for clients in these countries/zones, you can simply ask them to wire money into your 'local' TransferWise 'bank' account (local to the client's countries), pay TransferWise 0.5% to change it to USD and withdraw it.
In many of the EU/EEA countries outside the eurozone, and Switzerland, the fees for paying into a euro account may be so low that that client does not see it as an issue.
But you would need to quote in the TransferWise currencies and keep an eye on the exchange rate fluctuations so you can adjust your local rates if necessary. Just as most US agencies would only accept quotes in USD, most eurozone agencies would only accept quotes in EUR. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 08:44
Member (2007)
English
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| Euro payment stream in PayPal | Jun 23, 2019 |
It's worth setting up a euro payment stream in PayPal. Only when you want to pay the money into your dollar bank account would additional fees be taken. You could receive €500 from a client, leave it in euros in Paypal, and then buy something online from a European or multi-currency website. That's what I do with occasional dollar payments. Sometimes I donate them to charity instead - I feel they're more expendable as they're not "real" money  ... See more It's worth setting up a euro payment stream in PayPal. Only when you want to pay the money into your dollar bank account would additional fees be taken. You could receive €500 from a client, leave it in euros in Paypal, and then buy something online from a European or multi-currency website. That's what I do with occasional dollar payments. Sometimes I donate them to charity instead - I feel they're more expendable as they're not "real" money  . ▲ Collapse
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Michele Fauble
United States
Local time: 00:44
Member (2006)
Norwegian to English
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| Euros and Dollars | Jun 23, 2019 |
I quote euros for clients in the euro zone and dollars for everyone else. I accept payment through Paypal for small amounts and wire transfer for larger amounts.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 09:44
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Elisa Lopez Schiaffino wrote:
Question for translators in the US working with international clients...
I'm not a US translator but I'd like to comment on some of what is written here.
Every now and then I see job posts from other countries. In some cases, the job post indicates they pay in [currency other than USD], and I have never applied to those jobs because the PayPal international fees and the exchange rates seem a bit much. But there are other job posts from non-US countries that do not specify the currency. Shall I look at the country in the post and assume they will pay in the currency of that country? Shall I apply anyway in case they pay in American dollars? Should I just accept the PayPal international fees and move on with my life?
Working with international clients means "just accepting" the fact that doing business internationally is more expensive than doing business locally. There will be extra costs involved (even if they pay USD), and you just have to be aware of these costs, and make provision for them in the rate that you quote. There are also more risks that you have to evaluate than with local clients. But if you're willing to consider working with international clients, it can open a range of opportunities for you.
So, yes, you should "just accept" the transfer costs of whatever transfer method is used. One thing you can do, is to raise your rate for international clients, to make up for the transfer costs. You can also try to convince the client to use a different payment method, if you know of one that is cheaper for both of you. Another thing you can do, is to tell clients that you charge a surcharge for PayPal payments (but some clients don't like surcharges -- they prefer just a rate). But on the whole, you may just have to accept that you'll end up getting paid less by international clients (the upshot being the potential for more work).
Clients who work internationally are aware that translators from other countries may not be happy with the local currency, and so many of them accept a "major currency" or work exclusively in a chosen major currency. In most cases (in my experience), such clients use USD as their currency. This means that if I get a query from an agency from India, China, Egypt, Kenia, Brazil or Mexico, and no currency is specified, I simply quote in USD, and write "or the equivalent in your currency".
When you first receive money in PayPal in a currency that is not your own, PayPal may ask if you wish to have that currency converted, or if you wish to keep the amount in the original currency. (It is my experience that PayPal applies your choice for that currency from that point onwards, i.e. if you chose to convert CAD to USD once, PayPal will always convert CAD to USD without asking, but if you choose to keep CAD as CAD, PayPal will always keep CAD as CAD without asking.) If you choose to have it converted, then PayPal will convert it using their own conversion rate, but (if I understand correctly) if you choose to keep it in the original currency, then your own bank's conversion rate will be used when you transfer it to your bank account.
Remember, even if you quote in USD and even if they pay in USD, there are still transfer costs to consider. And: even if you quoted in USD and they accepted your USD quote, they may still pay in their own currency as long as they believe that the money they pay you is equivalent to your invoice -- and then you'll be subject to currency conversion losses anyway. And intermediary banks take their share, too. With international clients, one often has to accept that the amount received will be less than the amount quoted and invoiced.
You'll have to find out from a tax advisor whether in the US (and in your state) you are required to put a dollar amount on your invoices. In my country of residence (in Europe), I'm not required to write invoices in euro. The invoice that I send to the client, can be in any currency, but for tax purposes in my bookkeeping I declare a euro amount on the date of the invoice. Then, when the money is actually paid, I compare the amount of euro that I actually got with the declared euro amount, and the difference is business costs. Well, there's going to be business costs anyway: transfer fees and intermediary bank fees.
Susan Welsh wrote:
Quoting in another currency does not save you anything, because that currency is still going to have to be converted into dollars before it goes into your bank account!
Yes, I have always assumed that this is how it works all over the world: if your bank account is in e.g. USD, and you receive an international payment in another currency, your bank will convert the amount for you, using the bank's conversion rate. Allowing a client to pay in his own currency is simply a courtesy towards the client (and such courtesies may lead to repeat business), but does mean that you are the one paying the conversion fee, instead of the client.
I always ask them to pay the money transfer fee, but they don't always agree. The cheapest way to transfer funds is TransferWise.com, which I recommend, but many clients have not heard of it or have not used it before and prefer to use the more familiar PayPal.
That is true, but what makes PayPal special is that with PayPal, the recipient pays the transfer fee, whereas with TransferWise, the sender pays it (unless he chooses otherwise).
I agree that it is a good idea to specify that the client should pay the transfer costs, but even if you do (and even if they seem to have agreed), some clients don't adhere to that, and sometimes there are intermediary bank fees that the client has no control over, even if he thinks that he had paid the transfer costs.
Thomas T. Frost wrote:
It can cost a whopping 8% to receive payment via PayPal.
Only 8%? (-: Try sending USD 1000's worth of BRL via PayPal... the transfer cost alone is USD 200.
Hence, if you work for clients in these countries/zones, you can simply ask them to wire money into your 'local' TransferWise 'bank' account...
Be careful with the word "wire". It does not mean the same thing everywhere. In some cases (some countries, some banks), "wire" means expedited transfer, i.e. a more expensive type of 1-hour bank transfer, as opposed to the usual 1-day, 3-day or 7-day bank transfers. Better ask them to "send" money.
Sheila Wilson wrote:
It's worth setting up a euro payment stream in PayPal. Only when you want to pay the money into your dollar bank account would additional fees be taken.
Yes, but remember to note the dollar equivalent in your bookkeeping on the day that you receive the money from the client, and not on the day that you transfer the money to your local bank account.
[Edited at 2019-06-24 07:16 GMT]
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Thank you, colleagues, for your input. I really appreciate it.
| | | | | Bank transfer fee/wire paid by client --no problem | Jun 24, 2019 |
Just posted this somewhere else, but it's brief! Just had a client recently contact me. I asked for payment in US dollars and then requested that they pay the bank fee for the wire transfer. They said "no problem," quickly and cheerfully. My bank charges the same fee ($15) no matter what the amount is. A bank clerk was the one who suggested just adding the fee on to my invoice.
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Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 09:44
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
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| Nice comments | Jun 26, 2019 |
Wow. Impressive paragraphing, Samuel.
Transferwise is the best thing since sliced bread. It gives you the mid-market exchange rate and charges a low commission. However, they might be starting to get too big for their britches. They upped their commissions a couple of weeks ago, just a little bit. I remember PayPal doing this when they were new and starting to catch on.
I work exclusively in dollars and... See more Wow. Impressive paragraphing, Samuel.
Transferwise is the best thing since sliced bread. It gives you the mid-market exchange rate and charges a low commission. However, they might be starting to get too big for their britches. They upped their commissions a couple of weeks ago, just a little bit. I remember PayPal doing this when they were new and starting to catch on.
I work exclusively in dollars and euros and have bank accounts in their respective domains. I have no particular preference in receiving payment, but when I pay out to others the exchange issues become relevant. I learned about Transferwise when I had to pay someone in England and he suggested using it convert euros into pounds. I've been a believer ever since. ▲ Collapse
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