Collections Guide
Get Paid by Foreign Clients Without Losing Fees
8 min read · Updated September 2026
A foreign client can approve the invoice and you can still lose money on the way in. Correspondent banks skim a SWIFT credit. A marketplace pays out after a percentage. You convert the receipt at a rate worse than the midpoint you used to price the job. This page is inbound leakage. Which currency to print on the bill is invoicing in the client's currency. How they send it is the 2026 payments overview. CurrencyCentral does not collect the invoice.
Write who pays the pipe
Fee instructions decide whose account the correspondent hits. OUR, SHA, and similar marks are bank language for “sender pays,” “split,” or the local equivalent — the exact labels vary by rail. If the invoice is silent, the deduction often lands on you, and the client believes they paid in full. Put one sentence on the PDF: the amount due is the amount that must arrive, or the amount due is face value and transfer charges are extra. Ambiguity is how a €50 cut becomes a relationship argument.
Give payout details that can receive that currency without a surprise conversion on their side. A USD invoice into a euro-only account invites their bank to convert before the credit posts. That conversion is not your ECB midpoint, and you will not see it until the statement lands.
Name the leakage before you blame the pair
Not every shortfall is an exchange-rate move. Intermediary deductions, receiving-bank charges, platform payout fees, and your own conversion spread are different lines. Record the amount invoiced, the amount credited, the currency credited, and — if you convert — the rate versus a daily ECB midpoint from the converter. Only then can you tell a correspondent cut from hidden spread from a genuine move in the pair.
Marketplace and card payouts add a percentage stack you will not see on a SEPA credit. That can still be the right commercial path for a small checkout. It is a poor surprise on a five-figure agency invoice you priced as if the wire would arrive whole. Ask how the buyer wants to pay before you issue, not after the shortfall.
| Leakage | Where it shows up | What to write down |
|---|---|---|
| Correspondent / receiving cut | Credit smaller than invoice, same currency | Fee instruction and the deducted amount |
| Their conversion | You are credited in a different ISO code | Invoice currency versus credited currency |
| Platform / card stack | Payout after percentage fees | Net payout versus face invoice |
| Your conversion | Home-currency cash after you convert | Provider rate versus ECB midpoint |
Example categories only. Fee sizes are provider- and corridor-specific; do not treat a blog figure as your bank’s schedule.
Practical takeaway
Invoice amount, credited amount, and converted amount are three numbers. Write who pays the pipe, then measure each gap against a reference midpoint — not against the hope that “international” is a single fee.
Convert the receipt on purpose
Billing in the client’s currency can speed approval and still leave you holding transaction risk until you convert. That is a commercial trade, described in the invoicing guide — not a lock on a favorable rate. When you do convert, compare the provider number to the same day’s ECB midpoint. If you already spend in that currency, matching the receipt to a cost can mean you convert less. The leftover still belongs on a list if it is material; see FX risk management.
An inbound-fee checklist
- One invoice currency; who pays transfer charges; payout details that match.
- Expected rail — local credit, SWIFT, or platform — agreed before issue.
- Credited amount and currency versus the face invoice.
- If you convert: all-in rate versus a daily ECB midpoint.
- How the shortfall will be explained — leakage, spread, or a pair move between invoice and receipt (revenue impact).
The bottom line
Getting paid by foreign clients without losing fees is documentation plus measurement. Put the pipe on the invoice, give receiving details that match the currency, and split correspondent cuts from conversion spread from a genuine rate move. CurrencyCentral is a reference midpoint for the last two, not a collections service. For pair context, use top currency pairs. More operating guides sit on the blog index.
Frequently asked questions
Why did we invoice €10,000 and receive less?
The face amount is what they owed. Correspondent deductions, a SHA fee instruction, a receiving-bank charge, a platform payout fee, or a conversion on your side can all reduce what lands. Write who pays transfer charges on the invoice before you send it.
Is this the same as choosing which currency to invoice in?
No. Invoice currency is what the bill says they owe. This page is what happens to the money on the way in — and when you convert the receipt. The currency-on-the-PDF decision is the invoicing guide.
Can we make the client’s bank use the ECB midpoint?
No. A daily ECB reference is a comparison number, not an executable rate their bank must apply. Use it to see the gap after the funds arrive and when you convert.
Does CurrencyCentral collect invoices or recover lost fees?
No. CurrencyCentral publishes educational copy and daily ECB reference rates. It is not billing software, not a payment processor, and not a collections desk.