Here are some factors to keep in mind when you are managing your company’s payments from foreign countries.
Invoicing
When you send an invoice or a request for a payment to a foreign customer, you must always indicate your IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and the Bank's BIC (Bank Identifier Code), also known as its SWIFT address.
These codes enable you to receive quick, secure payments from abroad directly in the account you desire. In many cases, they can also spare your foreign customers extra costs.
Payment methods
Choose funds transfers instead of cheques. It takes a long time to have a cheque cashed abroad, and there is a risk of manipulation and insufficient funds.
Many payments from a specific country?
If you have many payments from a particular country, it can be an advantage to set up a local account. We can tell you whether it would save you money.
Collections abroad
If you want to use collections in foreign countries, consider our Collection Service solution. You simply deliver a file with all of your collection information to us, and we collect payments from all of your customers around the world.
US Requirements regarding Cross-Border Transfers
Please be aware that, when you transfer funds abroad, the information may be passed on to US authorities.
SWIFT required to deliver information
SWIFT, which executes cross-border payments, may be required to deliver information if there is a suspicion of financing of criminal activity or terrorism (according to US law). SWIFT may pass on information that appears in the payment instructions.
About SWIFT
SWIFT is a Belgian data network that transfers payments between countries. Some 8,000 financial services businesses in 206 countries are registered with the network, which has data centres in Europe and the US. SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.
Questions
Read more about credit transfer payments using the SWIFT network
See how you can save both time and money with our Collection Service.