How to get paid in dollars by clients abroad
Getting paid in dollars by a client abroad means receiving a transfer in US dollars for work you do from your own country. The two choices that matter most are which account details you give the client and what each step costs, because fees and exchange spreads can take a visible share of every invoice.
In this guide
- Getting paid from abroad without losing a slice
- Three routes, side by side
- What should you put on the invoice?
- How long does each route take?
- Agree on the terms before the first invoice
- Taxes: Form W-8BEN and your own country
- Receiving client payments in Lex
- An example: a designer with a US client
Getting paid from abroad without losing a slice
There are three common routes: an international wire to your local bank, a payment platform, or US account details issued for you by a provider. They differ in who pays which fee, how long the money takes, and whether you end up with dollars or local currency.
Three routes, side by side
An international wire to your local bank usually travels through intermediary banks, each of which can deduct a fee, and your bank may convert the dollars at its own rate. A payment platform is convenient when the client already uses it, but platforms charge to receive, convert, or withdraw. US account details let the client pay as if paying a supplier at home, by ACH or a domestic wire. The table sets out what to check; it is not a ranking.
| Route | How the client pays | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| International wire to your bank | A SWIFT transfer to your local account. | Intermediary fees, your bank’s exchange rate, and how long the transfer takes. |
| Payment platform | Through the platform, from the client’s balance or card. | Fees to receive, convert, and withdraw, and whether the client already uses it. |
| US account details from a provider | An ACH payment or domestic wire, like paying any US supplier. | Who may send money to the details, the provider’s fee, and how you get the money out. |
What should you put on the invoice?
For US account details, give the account holder’s name, which should be yours, the bank name, the routing number, the account number, and the account type if asked. Add your invoice number so the client’s accounts team can match the payment. Do not send login details, card numbers, or anything else.
State the amount and the currency clearly, and who pays the transfer fees if you agreed on it. For clients in Europe or the United Kingdom, euro details with an IBAN, or pound details with a sort code, let them pay by a local transfer instead of an international one.
Send your details from your own email address in a document the client keeps on file, and agree that any change will be confirmed through a second channel, such as a call. Fraudsters who impersonate suppliers and send new bank details are a common invoicing risk, and a confirmation step protects both of you.
How long does each route take?
An ACH payment usually settles within a few business days, and the sending bank decides whether to use faster same-day processing. A domestic US wire usually arrives the same business day if it is sent in time. An international wire can take several days, longer if an intermediary bank holds it for checks. Platforms add their own processing time before you can withdraw.
Timing also depends on the client. Many companies pay suppliers on fixed dates, such as 30 days after the invoice, so the route you choose changes the last few days of the wait, not the whole of it.
Agree on the terms before the first invoice
Settle a few points in writing before you start. Invoice in dollars if your costs or savings are in dollars; if you invoice in local currency, the client carries the exchange-rate risk and may apply its own rate. Agree on who pays the sending fees and when payment is due.
Agree as well on what happens if a payment is returned, for example because a detail was mistyped, and who checks the details before the first transfer. A small test payment the first time is a reasonable request when the amounts are large.
Taxes: Form W-8BEN and your own country
US clients often ask foreign contractors for Form W-8BEN. According to the IRS, you give it to the payer, not to the IRS, to certify that you are a foreign person. The IRS treats income from personal services as coming from where the work is performed, so work you do outside the United States is generally not US-source income.
You still report that income at home. Your country may have rules on invoicing foreign clients and on receiving foreign currency, and they differ between Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia. Check with a local accountant before you change how you get paid. This guide is general information, not tax advice.
Receiving client payments in Lex
In Lex, after a one-time identity check, our banking partner Bridge issues personal account details for you. US dollars sent to them by ACH or wire, euros by SEPA, and pounds by Faster Payments arrive in your account as USDC, shown as US Dollar. Lex charges 0.25% on these transfers, plus any provider costs.
Bridge’s rules for US account details accept payroll payments from businesses and payments that a registered business sends from its own bank account, among others. A client paying from its company account fits; some other kinds of third-party payment have limits. Your balance sits in a self-custodial account that you control with a passkey.
You can keep the money in dollars or, in Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina, convert it to your local currency and withdraw to an account in your own name when that route is offered. The app shows fees, limits, and timing before you confirm.
An example: a designer with a US client
Illustrative figures only. Rodrigo, a designer in Querétaro, invoices a US company US$2,000 a month. Until now the client sent an international wire to his Mexican bank. Intermediary fees took about US$30, and his bank converted the rest to pesos at its own rate.
He gives the client the US account details from Lex, and the client’s accounts team pays by ACH, like any US supplier. After Lex’s 0.25% fee, US$1,995 arrives as US Dollar. Rodrigo keeps half in dollars for a laptop he will buy next year and converts the rest to pesos when he needs them, comparing the quote with his bank’s rate.
He sends the client a signed W-8BEN when asked, keeps every invoice and receipt, and asks his accountant how to report the income in Mexico. The saving came from paying fewer intermediaries; the paperwork stayed the same.