Ask HN: How do you receive USD for work abroad without getting ripped off?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9071189

by waterlooalex • 11 years ago

13 33 11 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

To those that work for a US company (but live elsewhere), how do you get paid, and do you manage to avoid horrible fees?

therealmarv• 11 years ago

You mean bank transfer fees?! You cannot avoid them unless you also have an US bank account which you won't get if you are not living in the US. Private money transfer is pretty cheap with well known services like e.g. Paypal (I'm guessing this is one of the main reasons Paypal exists, easy and cheap).

waterlooalex11• 11 years ago

Yes, transfer fees etc. Also I found out my bank takes a cut on currency exchange!! Eg they take 2.5% vs the market rate. PayPal fees seem high.

benologist2• 11 years ago

Paypal's cheapness varies by country, here in Costa Rica they only work with one bank who charge 0.5% per transaction with a generous $11 minimum fee.

waterlooalex11• 11 years ago

Does PayPal also charge their international fee and currency exchange fee?

https://www.paypal.com/cr/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-xborde...

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/helpcenter/helphub/article...

seekingcharlie2• 11 years ago

You don't have to live in the US to set up a US bank account. You just need to physically be in the US.

That said, I think your resident country needs to have a relationship with the US. I was approved no problem as an Australian, but one of the devs I work with from Ukraine was declined.

khronnuz• 11 years ago

I've used Paypal because it was very simple to setup, until I realised how much I was losing, then I setup a bank to bank international wire, which took some time because most account managers I have talked had no idea how to do. It still takes some fees, but a lot less compared to Paypal.

waterlooalex11• 11 years ago

Wire transfers always seem to take so long. How long do they take for you?

toomuchtodo2• 11 years ago

Wire transfers should be instantaneous. ACH transfers take 2-5 days.

hackerboos2• 11 years ago

TransferWise.

waterlooalex11• 11 years ago

I read about them, they sound awesome. Is your employer happy to use them?

hackerboos2• 11 years ago

I just use it to send money to myself internationally.

PedroSena• 11 years ago

At least here in Brazil the best way is to convert the USD to Bitcoins and sell it in the local market, however not every company is willing to do so.

When there is no such option: Wire transfer

waterlooalex11• 11 years ago

Is it safe to use Bitcoin?

Someone1234• 11 years ago

No.

Bitcoin is very volatile, so you could lose or gain unknown amounts during the "transfer" (even if it is within a few minutes).

Additionally unlike a traditional wire transfer you cannot prove that you're transferring it to yourself (it is an anonymous currency by design after all) therefore they could come after you for tax (or worse accuse you of laundering).

Wires are a rip-off. However the costs are knowable and there is a very low risk of any misunderstanding from the big G in either country.

I use a company called XE, and to be frank it is a huge PITA. But at least all money is completely traceable/verifiable (the broker is almost too paranoid about fraud, that's why it is such a pain) and the fees are relatively low. It would be very easy to prove with XE that I sent it to myself.

donw• 11 years ago

I've got a business bank account with Chase, and they'll do currency conversions and international transfers, via online banking, with a minimum of fees.

They've also got a credit card (Sapphire Preferred, I believe) that has no currency exchange fees, and has both a chip (useful in Europe) and a magstrip (useful everywhere else).

If you set up a local bank account, keep the FBAR in mind.

seekingcharlie2• 11 years ago

I have a US bank account & use OzForex (you can use USForex as a US citizen). I've also used XE Trade in the past.

Transferwise is awesome (much better UI), but not as good as OZ/USForex or XE in terms of rates.

mdekkers2• 11 years ago

We use transferwise for almost all of our international payments. transferwise rocks. We used to use XETrade, but this isn't available to us where we currently live and work. Our bank(s) hate us for using transferwise, and actually try many different ways to stop us from using it (except for making the process cheaper - funny thing, that)

waterlooalex11• 11 years ago

I'm curious, are those payments for work you've done for a US company?

I do love what transferwise is doing, thats awesome that the banks are riled up about it :)

mdekkers2• 11 years ago

Yes, and we use it pay companies in the US that we use. Anything that annoys the banks is OK in my book :)

mobiplayer• 11 years ago

Can't recommend Transferwise enough! I've been using them at least once per month for two years now (GBP<->EUR) and they've been brilliant.

maguay• 11 years ago

Some banks—such as Thailand's Bangkok Bank—have a US branch just for receiving transfers. That way, you have a US routing number along with your normal local bank account number, and then can get your US pay despoiled just as if it were going to a US account. Fees tend to be lower than manually wiring money each month.

waterlooalex11• 11 years ago

Thats pretty slick.

anthony_barker• 11 years ago

A lot of this is dependent on where you live? Are you billing via a US/International LLC? Or is this a direct contract? do you spend USD in the current country or another currency?

canterburry• 11 years ago

Is no one here aware of WesternUnion? It's the oldest and largest money transfer company around.

ricardobeat• 11 years ago

Their standard products limit transfers to under US$3k, and the fees are not much lower than PayPal.

waterlooalex11• 11 years ago

https://transferwise.com/blog/2012-04/send-money-abroad-comp...

Ask HN: How do you receive USD for work abroad without getting ripped off?

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