#freelance-talk
Thread
Indian freelance friends: How are you accepting payments from international clients (specifically the USA)? I'd prefer to send payment links that allow clients to pay using credit/debit cards, but the fees on most platforms are abysmal.
Are y'all just taking it as a cost of doing business, or are there ways to cut down the fees? Any help appreciated 🙏
I am struggling with the same but for the ease of Customer experience, I use Paypal and bear the fees myself.
Stripe and Wise are put of option.
(Following the thread)
A lovely client of mine had agreed to include the platform fees as part of the invoice. I impressed upon them that even $20 month on month translates to a good sum in India.
Most of my international clients pay via bank transfer using different platforms, like Brex and Revolut. I just share my bank details with the SWIFT code.
Some also pay via Wise. Wise offers a better conversion rate and I haven't faced any issues that people generally face w PayPal, Payoneer.
@Takshi - LinkedIn Branding and Social Content Marketing Manager PayPal takes a chunk out of every invoice and with high amounts, it's basically not feasible. I've used Wise but they've limited their card options recently. I use Stripe now but I totally get it. Most options are not feasible because of the RBI regulations as well.
@Brinda Gulati That's great! I generally hesitate to pass of fees to the client since it's a cost of doing business. But I get what you mean.
@Shreelekha Singh I've been doing that, too, but payment cycles slow down significantly because of wire transfers. Some companies stretch the Net15/30 terms so I went back to using cards since it helps with cash flow. Have you noticed the same?
Also, Skydo offers a flat fee with a US bank account so that's a good option to consider!
Have you looked into Wise?
@Eric Doty (Superpath) Yes, yes. I do have an account, but for some reason, they've recently limited card payments on business accounts, so I can only rely on wire transfers for now. I'll just have to stick to wire transfer or accept the fee as a cost of doing business now 😅
Ah, annoying. Yeah I use Stripe for CCs and just accept that I'm going to have to pay a fee. The US <> Canada conversion makes it less painful.
Wise, Arbonum, Stripe
@Eric Doty (Superpath) thats me with Paypal - i have accepted their atrocities 😅
UK based but I use WISE.
Re. Revolut. In the UK they are not regulated with the Financial Conduct Authority. That means consumers have no rights. In Jan 2023, after using Revolut for 14 months and 3 overseas clients, they lost x2 transactions of mine, valuing £2,000. They lied to me, repeatedly.
I have records of my dealings with them. They are not to be trusted.
I am not Indian or freelance, but FWIW, whatever your land on, I'd strive to optimize for making it easy for clients to pay. I PROMISE that it will more than even out in the end, even if it seems injurious up front
IOW even if something like WISE takes 3% of the transaction, DO IT. Your long term cash flow and close rate will be far better for giving your clients an easy button for paying you
Thanks, @Indrajeet Deshpande! I have an account so I'll see what the conversion + fee comes up to 🙏
@Tanaaz Khan You should check
@Shahid Abbasi Will do. Thanks!
The people I work with just do a wire transfer through Wise, works fine.