How to Invoice International Clients: Currencies, Wire Fees & Payment Rails

Landing foreign clients is a milestone for any freelancer or agency. International contracts typically command higher rates and expand your commercial reputation globally.

However, nothing deflates the excitement of a $5,000 international project quite like seeing only $4,880 arrive in your bank account — swallowed by hidden SWIFT intermediary wire cuts, unfavorable bank exchange markups, and unexpected transfer fees. In this guide, we review how to invoice global clients, eliminate surprise fee deductions, and select the optimal cross-border payment rails.

1. The SWIFT Wire Fee Trap: OUR vs BEN vs SHA

When an overseas client sends an international bank wire transfer across the SWIFT network, the transaction passes through 1 to 3 intermediary correspondent banks. Under international banking rules (Field 71A of MT103 wire messages), the remitter specifies who pays the intermediary fees:

• BEN (Beneficiary pays all fees): All intermediary and receiving charges are deducted directly from the transferred sum. You receive significantly less cash than billed.
• SHA (Shared costs): The client pays their local sending bank fee, but intermediary routing charges ($20–$50) are deducted from your incoming transfer.
• OUR (Remitter pays all fees): The client absorbs all fees across the entire SWIFT chain. You receive 100% of the invoiced balance.

The Fix in InvoiceFast: Always add this clause into the Notes section: "Payment must be remitted in full with SWIFT instruction 'OUR' (all intermediary bank charges and transfer fees borne by the remitter)."

2. Which Currency Should You Bill In?

Should you bill in your domestic currency or the client's home currency?

• Billing in the Client's Currency (USD, EUR, GBP): Highly recommended when dealing with enterprise clients in North America and Western Europe. Enterprise procurement and AP departments hate managing FX fluctuations on invoices; quoting in USD or EUR removes friction and speeds up approvals.
• Billing in Your Home Currency: Recommended if you operate with tight fixed expenses and cannot tolerate foreign exchange volatility over Net 30 or Net 60 payment terms.

3. Modern Payment Rails vs Traditional Bank Wires

Traditional wire transfers through brick-and-mortar retail banks charge high flat fees and tack on a 2% to 4% foreign exchange markup over the real mid-market rate. Modern alternatives provide local bank account details across global jurisdictions:

• Wise Business (formerly TransferWise): Provides local routing details in the US (Routing & Account No), UK (Sort Code & Account), Eurozone (IBAN), Australia (BSB & Account), and Canada (Transit & Account). Clients pay locally via domestic ACH, Faster Payments, or SEPA without paying international wire fees.
• Payoneer / Revolut Business: Similar multi-currency accounts that allow you to bill international clients with zero cross-border friction.

4. Export Tax Treatment (Zero-Rated Supplies)

In almost all jurisdictions — including Canada, the UK, the European Union, Australia, and India — exporting services to clients outside your national borders is treated as a Zero-Rated Supply:

• You do not charge domestic sales tax (0% VAT in the UK, 0% GST/HST in Canada, 0% GST in India with an LUT).
• State on your invoice: "Zero-rated export of services to non-resident entity."

Configuring Multi-Currency Invoices in InvoiceFast

InvoiceFast supports 13 major global currencies with automated symbol formatting and local word totals:

1. Select the currency dropdown (USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, INR, JPY, CNY, BRL, MXN, CHF, SEK, or AED).
2. Input your multi-currency IBAN, SWIFT BIC, or local routing numbers in the Notes section.
3. Add the mandatory SWIFT 'OUR' instruction in the payment notes.
4. Download your instant PDF with zero signup and send it directly to your international client.