By Gruv Editorial Team
You did it. You landed that big international client, poured your heart into the project, and delivered work you’re incredibly proud of. You send off your $2,000 invoice, hit refresh on your banking app, and a few days later, the payment lands.
But it’s not $2,000. It’s $1,915.
Where in the world did that other $85 go? It feels like it just vanished into a black hole of terrible exchange rates and a string of hidden bank fees. If that story makes you clench your jaw, trust me, you are not alone. It's a deeply frustrating, gut-wrenching moment that far too many of us in the freelance world have experienced.
Look, getting paid by clients in another country doesn't have to mean automatically sacrificing a chunk of your income to the traditional banking system. That's the old way. We’re here to talk about the modern way—a cheaper, faster, and more transparent method for managing your global earnings.
It’s time to stop letting banks and old-school payment platforms skim from your hard-earned money. Here’s what you need to know to get started:
Ever tried to follow the path your money takes during an international wire transfer? It's not a direct flight. It’s more like a cross-country road trip in a beat-up car, making a dozen unscheduled stops. And at every single stop, a stranger opens the glove box and helps themselves to a "service fee."
Let's pull back the curtain on this old, broken system.
The truth is, traditional banks were never built for the way we work today—across borders, with clients all over the world. They were built in an era of physical branches and paper ledgers. Their international systems are a clunky, expensive patchwork, and they profit directly from that complexity.
There are two main ways they skim from your hard-earned invoice.
First is the exchange rate shell game. When you look up the exchange rate on Google or Reuters, you're seeing the real one. It’s called the mid-market rate, and it's the true midpoint between what buyers and sellers are trading a currency for. It’s the only rate that matters. But it's not the rate your bank gives you. Instead, they offer you their own, less favorable rate and pocket the difference. It’s a massive hidden fee they hope you'll never notice.
But it gets worse.
The second hit comes from the transfer itself. That wire transfer from your client doesn't just magically appear in your account. It often has to hop between several intermediary banks on its way to you. Think of them as tollbooths on the financial highway. Each bank that touches the money takes a flat fee—maybe $15, maybe $25, maybe more. You have no idea how many there will be or who they are. They just take their cut before passing it along.
This is why you can get paid the same amount by the same client twice and receive two different final deposits. It's a system designed to be opaque. It leaves you with less money and makes it impossible to forecast your actual income.
So, what if you could give your client in New York a U.S. bank account number and your client in London a U.K. one, all without ever leaving your home office? This isn't some far-off fantasy. It's exactly how smart freelancers get paid today.
Let's talk about the real game-changer here: the multi-currency account.
Think of it like this. Instead of one bank account in your home country that gets confused by foreign money, a service like Wise, Payoneer, or Revolut gives you a set of virtual, local bank accounts in major economies around the world. Suddenly, you have a U.S. account with a routing number, a Eurozone account with an IBAN, and a British account with a sort code.
This is the magic ingredient. When you invoice that client in New York, you don't give them your complicated international SWIFT/BIC details. No. You just put your new U.S. account details on the invoice. To them, it's a simple, free, domestic bank transfer. They pay you like you're right next door.
The $2,000 they send lands in your U.S. dollar balance as… well, $2,000. The entire international wire transfer system, with all its mystery fees and terrible exchange rates, gets bypassed completely. You just sidestepped the whole mess.
And here’s the best part: you are now in total control. The money sits there, safe in its original currency. You can hold it, use it to pay for dollar-based business expenses, or you can watch the exchange rates and choose the perfect moment to convert it to your home currency. You decide. Not some bank algorithm designed to skim from your earnings.
Alright, let's get down to brass tacks. Theory is one thing, but what does this look like on your actual invoice? You've signed up for a multi-currency account, and you’re ready to bill that new client in London. How do you make sure you get every last pound you earned?
Good news: it’s surprisingly simple. This isn’t about learning complex financial jargon. It’s about clarity. It's about making it ridiculously easy for your client to pay you, which means you get your money faster and keep more of it. Let’s walk through it.
Step 1: Get Your "Local" Bank Details Once you’re set up with a service like Wise or Payoneer, your first move is to open currency balances for the markets you work in. Need to get paid in USD? Activate your dollar account. You’ll instantly be given a U.S.-based routing and account number. Billing someone in the Eurozone? Activate your EUR account to get an IBAN. Think of these as your personal financial embassies around the world. For your client, you’re no longer a foreigner; you’re just another local business that’s easy to pay.
Step 2: Build an Unmistakable Invoice This is where the magic happens. On your invoice, you need to be crystal clear. We've all received vague invoices, and they always get put at the bottom of the pile. Don't be that person. Clearly state the currency and amount due (e.g., Total: £1,500 GBP). Then, right below it, add a section for "Payment Details" and list the local bank information you just got.
For that client in London, it should look like this:
That’s it. To your client, this is a simple domestic bank transfer. No scary SWIFT codes, no intermediary bank fees, no "I'm not sure how to do this" emails. You’ve removed all their friction. And when there's no friction, you get paid. Fast.
Step 3: Hold and Convert on Your Terms A few days later, you get a notification. The £1,500 has landed in your multi-currency account. It’s sitting there, in pounds. Now, you have a choice—and this is a power you didn't have before. You don't have to convert it immediately. You can let it sit there while you wait for a more favorable exchange rate, or until you actually need the money in your home bank account.
When you’re ready, you initiate the conversion inside the platform. It will show you the real, mid-market exchange rate (the one you see on Google) and a small, transparent fee. You’ll know, down to the last cent, exactly how much will land in your local bank. You’re in the driver’s seat now, not just a passenger along for a very expensive ride.
Imagine your next international invoice. The full amount—every single dollar or euro you billed for—lands in your account. You, not a bank, decide what happens next. This isn't some far-off fantasy. You can make it your reality today.
Look, we get conditioned to accept certain things as "the cost of doing business." For too long, losing a slice of your pay to opaque fees and bad exchange rates has been one of them. But that stops now. Taking back control of your finances is one of the most powerful moves you can make as a freelancer. It’s a declaration that you've earned every penny on that invoice.
The best part? This isn’t some massive, complicated overhaul of your business. The first step is small, it’s simple, and it will literally pay for itself the very first time you use it.
Here’s how you start:
This is the first question everyone asks, and it's the right one to ask. The short answer is: Yes, they are safe.
Think of it this way: companies like Wise and Payoneer aren't scrappy startups running out of a garage. They are massive, publicly-traded financial institutions. They are regulated just like other financial companies and, in many places, are required by law to use a process called safeguarding.
Here’s what that means for you:
So while it feels new, the security behind it is robust and built on established principles.
Deep breath. It actually makes them easier.
Nothing changes about your responsibility to report your income. You still declare what you earn, just like you always have. The beautiful part is that these platforms are built for business. Unlike sifting through a personal bank account trying to remember what that random deposit was, you get crystal-clear reporting.
At the end of the month or year, you can download a clean statement that shows every single payment you received, from whom, in what currency, and on what date. No more guesswork. You just hand that simple, organized report to your accountant or plug it into your tax software. It’s a huge time-saver.
We’ve all been there. We started on PayPal because it was easy and everyone had it. But when it comes to receiving international payments, the answer is a resounding yes, this is almost always a much better deal.
The difference comes down to two things: fees and exchange rates.
PayPal is notorious for its high currency conversion fees. They don't just charge you a percentage to receive the money; they also give you a terrible exchange rate. They take the real, mid-market rate (the one you see on Google or Reuters) and build in their own profit margin before showing you the final number. It's a hidden fee on top of their stated fee.
Modern multi-currency platforms, on the other hand, build their entire business model on transparency. They proudly use the mid-market rate and charge a small, clear fee for the conversion. That $85 that vanished from your $2,000 invoice in our first example? That's exactly the kind of loss you avoid. Over a year, that can easily add up to hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars back in your pocket. Where it belongs.