International trade is an integral part of modern businesses. It provides many opportunities and perspectives for both large corporations and small startups. If you plan to cooperate with clients and partners from other countries, you definitely need to figure out how to make international payments.
What are international payment systems?
International payment systems are systems that operate in different countries of the world. Many of today’s popular services began their activities in one state, but as they developed, they organized representative offices almost all over the world.
Methods for making international payments
There are several common ways to make payments when cooperating with foreign clients. These include:
- Transfer of funds to a bank card. Perhaps, this is the simplest and most affordable option for everyone, which does not require additional time. All an entrepreneur needs is to provide the client with card details. However, you need to be prepared for high transaction fees and additional loss of part of the funds during the conversion.
- Transfer to a bank account. The procedure itself is simple, but often, you first need to open a foreign currency account. You must also adhere to all payment processing requirements. Otherwise, the bank may block the funds.
- International transfer systems. They offer to send cash or funds from a card to different countries without opening an account. Their disadvantages are high commissions and loss of funds due to exchange rate fluctuations.
- Electronic money system. Services with electronic wallets are very popular. The transfer arrives quickly, only the payer pays the commission, and the process of crediting funds to the account is free.
- Cryptocurrency payments. Transferring virtual assets from one crypto wallet to another is another payment method that is gaining interest. But when choosing crypto payments, it is worth remembering the commissions of the service and the volatility of the exchange rate.
Which transfer method to choose? Depends on your industry and target audience!