The four main ways companies outside the US receive dollars from American clients, what each costs in time and money, and how to choose.
If your clients are in the United States and your company is not, every invoice raises the same question: how does the money actually reach you? American companies are used to paying domestic suppliers by ACH or wire. Many of them hesitate, or simply take longer, when the invoice shows a foreign bank and a SWIFT code.
There are four common ways to solve this. Each has a different trade-off between cost, speed and how much control you keep.
1. International wire to your local bank
Your client sends a SWIFT wire to your bank at home. It works almost everywhere, but it is the slowest and least predictable option. The payment can pass through one or more correspondent banks, each of which may deduct a fee, and your bank converts the dollars at its own rate unless you hold a USD account.
- Typical arrival: one to five business days, sometimes longer.
- Costs: sending fee for your client, intermediary deductions, receiving fee and conversion margin for you.
- Friction: some US clients' accounts payable teams are slow to add foreign beneficiaries.
2. Freelance and marketplace platforms
If your work comes through a marketplace, the platform pays you and you withdraw to a payment service or bank. This is convenient for small amounts but rarely suits direct client relationships, and the platform's fees can be significant.
3. Payment agencies and intermediaries
An intermediary gives your client US bank details, receives the money into its own account and then pays you, often in crypto. This can be fast when it works. The risk is that your money sits in someone else's account, released on their schedule, and you have no way of tracking it or anyone obliged to answer you.
4. US account details in your own company's name
Regulated providers can now issue US account and routing numbers in the name of a non-US business after business verification. Your client pays you by ACH or wire exactly as they would pay a US supplier, and the funds are held for you, not for an intermediary.
With HermodPay, those account details are provided through Bridge, a Stripe company. Each payment that arrives is converted to USDC or USDT and delivered to your wallet, and you can follow every step from received to delivered.
How to choose
| Option | Speed | Control | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| International wire | Slow, variable | High | Occasional large payments |
| Marketplace payout | Depends on platform | Low | Platform-based work |
| Intermediary | Fast to very slow | Low | Short-term workarounds |
| Account in your name | Same day to 2 business days | High | Regular client payments |
What your client needs from you
- The beneficiary name, exactly as it appears on the account.
- Account number and routing number, and whether they should use ACH or wire.
- A reference to include, usually your invoice number.
- Your business address, which some accounts payable systems require.
Sending all of this in one clean document saves days of back-and-forth. Where third-party payments are available for your account, HermodPay generates a payment details PDF for this purpose, and payment requests match each incoming payment to an invoice by its reference.
Get US account details in your company's name.
See how it worksThis article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Services described are provided by Bridge, a Stripe company, and availability depends on your country and account.