International business payments: a complete guide

International payments can feel stuck in the past. When you're juggling different currencies, institutions, and country-specific regulations, things can get complicated fast.

Global payment volume reflects just how common cross-border transactions have become. In 2023, the global payments industry handled 2.3 trillion transactions.

For finance teams managing supplier payments, contractor fees, or global incentive programs, understanding how these payments actually work makes a real difference in cost, speed, and reliability.

This guide breaks down what you need to know about moving money across borders — from how payments flow through banking networks to choosing the right method for your business.

What are business international payments?

International business payments are cross-border transactions between companies in different countries, involving currency exchange, multiple banking systems, and varied regulatory requirements.

For this guide, we're focusing on business-to-business transactions rather than remittances or peer-to-peer transfers.

What looks like a simple payment across borders involves a lot of moving parts. 

For example, when your company pays a supplier in Germany or rewards a research participant in Brazil, you're navigating currency exchange (where values shift constantly), multiple banking systems that need to communicate through intermediary networks, and different regulatory frameworks for anti-money laundering, sanctions screening, and reporting.

Suddenly, that invoice you sent to your supplier in Germany isn’t so cut and dry.

International vs. domestic payments: what's the difference?

Domestic payments are straightforward. Same currency, same banking infrastructure, same regulatory playbook. Your payment moves directly from your account to your recipient's, usually within a day.

International payments have more layers to its process. Your bank likely doesn't have a direct relationship with your recipient's bank in another country. Unlike domestic payments, your payment travels through correspondent banks — financial institutions that act as intermediaries between banks in different regions.

This naturally drives up both the cost of the transaction and the time it takes to clear.

“International payments are more complicated because you're dealing with two currencies and two banking systems that use different routing information,” says Nancy Soto, VP of Finance and Operations for Ori. “There are just a lot more steps.”

Here's how domestic and international payments compare across the factors that matter most to finance teams:

Fintech platform Rapyd’s 2023 report on the state of cross-border payments found that a majority of companies are paying anywhere between $10 to $50 more per transaction compared to domestic transfers. Across a fiscal year, those fees really add up. A quarter of businesses cite currency exchange and regulatory compliance as their biggest cross-border payment challenges.

Those per-transaction costs compound quickly. A company sending 50 international payments monthly at $30 extra per transaction spends $18,000 annually just on the international premium — and that’s all before accounting for staff time spent on reconciliation and troubleshooting.

How international business payments work

What happens when you send an international payment?

When you initiate a cross-border payment, your money doesn't travel directly from your bank to your recipient's. Instead, it moves through a chain of financial institutions, each taking a small cut and adding processing time.

Here's the typical flow of an international business payment:

1. You initiate the payment. You provide your bank with the recipient's details: name, bank name, account number, SWIFT/BIC code, and the amount in your currency or theirs.

2. Your bank runs compliance checks. The payment is scanned for fraud risk, sanctions matches, unusual patterns, or incomplete information. If something looks off, it gets flagged or delayed.

3. Your bank sends a SWIFT message. SWIFT isn't a payment system — it's a secure messaging network. Your bank essentially sends a message saying: "Move $10,000 from our account to [Recipient Bank] for [Supplier]."

4. Correspondent banks relay the payment. If your bank doesn't have a direct relationship with the recipient's bank, the payment moves through one or more intermediaries. Each may deduct a fee before passing funds along.

5. The recipient's bank processes and credits the funds. They convert currencies if needed, run their own compliance checks, and deposit the money.

6. Both sides reconcile. Finance teams confirm the payment landed, note any fees deducted, and match the transaction to invoices.

Why does this matter for your business?

Understanding this flow helps you anticipate where things go wrong. Most failed or delayed payments trace back to:

• Incorrect or incomplete recipient bank details

• Compliance holds triggered by sanctions screening

• Currency conversion happening at an unfavorable point in the chain

• Intermediary banks with slower processing times

When you're evaluating payment providers, ask where currency conversion happens and how many intermediaries touch your payment. Fewer hops generally means faster delivery and lower total cost.

What are the types of international payment methods?

The right method depends on your payment size, frequency, speed requirements, and where your recipients are located.

According to Rapyd’s 2023 report, “wire transfers and ACH or bank transfers continue to dominate the cross-border payment space.” However, there are a wide array of options and the best choice for your business may not be the most traditional one.

Most international payment methods will fall into one of these categories:

SWIFT wire transfers

What is SWIFT? SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) is a secure messaging network that banks use to communicate about international transactions. It's not a payment system itself — it's the infrastructure that enables cross-border payments.

SWIFT works almost everywhere, which makes it the default for large or complex payments. The tradeoff is cost and speed. Correspondent fees vary from $15-$50 on your end, and intermediary banks may deduct additional fees before your recipient gets paid. Processing takes 1-5 business days depending on the route.

Use SWIFT for high-value payments where security and universal acceptance matter more than cost.

SEPA transfers

What is SEPA? If you're paying recipients in Europe, SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) transfers are fast and efficient. SEPA standardizes euro payments across 36 countries, treating them almost like domestic transfers.

Most SEPA payments are settled within one business day of being initiated and cost a few euros at most. SEPA Instant transfers arrive within seconds (for an additional fee). The catch: both sender and recipient must have accounts within the SEPA zone, and payments must be in euros.

Use SEPA for any euro-denominated payments within Europe. It's significantly cheaper and quicker than routing these through SWIFT.

International ACH transfers

What is ACH? ACH (Automated Clearing House) is the batch processing system behind most domestic U.S. bank transfers. International ACH extends this to certain cross-border corridors, offering lower fees than wire transfers in exchange for slower processing.

International ACH typically costs $3-$10 per transfer and takes 1-5 business days, with an average of 3 days. Coverage is limited (not all countries or banks participate) and transaction limits are often lower than wire transfers.

Use international ACH for recurring, lower-value payments to supported countries where speed isn't critical.

Digital payment platforms

Digital payment platforms, like Wise or PayPal, offer alternatives to traditional bank transfers. They often provide better exchange rates, faster processing, and more transparent fees than banks. Many also let recipients choose how they want to receive funds — bank transfer, mobile wallet, or even cash pickup.

Use digital platforms for flexibility, especially when your recipients prefer non-bank options or when you need competitive rates on popular currency corridors.

Specialized business payment platforms

For companies sending high volumes of payments — contractor fees, research incentives, employee rewards, rebates, or referral bonuses — specialized platforms like Tremendous offer purpose-built features that generic payment tools lack, including bulk processing, recipient choice, fraud prevention, built-in compliance documentation, and more.

Use specialized platforms when you're sending payments at scale, especially for incentives, rewards, or other programs where recipient experience matters.

How much do international business payments cost?

The true cost of an international transaction isn't confined to fees from financial institutions. There are additional fees, exchange markups, and other costs to keep an eye on.

Transfer fees, FX markups, and intermediary bank charges

Most businesses focus on the upfront transfer fee: the $30 or $50 your bank charges to send a wire. But that's often the smallest piece of the total cost.

Foreign exchange (FX) markups take a serious bite out of your margins. Rapyd found that 42% of businesses pay an average of 0.25% to 1% in FX fees, while another quarter of businesses pay anywhere from 1% to 3%. On a $50,000 payment, even a 1.5% markup costs you $750 — far more than any wire fee.

Intermediary bank fees add another layer. Each correspondent bank that touches your payment may deduct $15-$50 before passing it along. For example, you can send $10,000, but your recipient receives $9,950. These fees often aren't disclosed upfront, making it hard to predict exactly what your recipient will receive.

Hidden operational costs: manual work, errors, fraud and delays 

Some costs aren’t measured strictly in dollars. 

Beyond direct fees, international payments eat up staff time. Manual data entry, chasing failed payments, investigating compliance flags, reconciling what recipients actually received — it adds up, especially at scale. A supplier waiting on a delayed payment may hold shipment. A research participant who doesn't get their incentive promptly may drop out of your study. These costs don't show up on an invoice, but they're very real.

How to compare providers on true total cost 

Here’s a quick checklist to evaluate providers for easy comparing and contrasting:

• Fee transparency: Are all costs clearly outlined and predictable upfront?

• FX spread: How does their exchange rate compare to mid-market? What's the real cost of converting currencies?

• Speed: Do they offer timelines that work for your payment needs?

• Coverage: Can you send to all the countries and currencies you need?

• Reporting: Do they provide reports that make reconciliation and audits easier?

• Integrations: Do they connect with your accounting software and existing finance stack?

• Support: Can you reach someone who understands cross-border payments when issues arise?

How to choose the right international payment method

Which international payment method is best for my business?
Selecting the right international transaction method depends on your payment frequency, transaction size, and where your recipients are located.

• For high-value, infrequent payments (over $100,000), security and tracking matter most. Traditional SWIFT transfers offer the documentation and oversight that large payments demand, making higher costs and slower timelines worthwhile.

• For medium-value, regular payments ($5,000 to $50,000 monthly), specialized business platforms or digital providers like PayPal and Wise offer a solid balance of cost, speed, and reliability.

• For high-volume, low-value payments like incentives, rewards, or research participant compensation, platforms built for scale — like Tremendous — provide ease of use and reliability without the overhead of traditional financial institutions.

• For time-sensitive payments, SEPA Instant or same-day SWIFT services justify their premium. When a supplier needs payment within hours to release a shipment, speed is worth paying for.

If you're a small or mid-sized business without in-house compliance expertise, lean toward platforms that handle the heavy lifting: automatic sanctions screening, built-in compliance checks, and real support when a payment stalls.

Most businesses end up using more than one provider. Use your bank for occasional large, complex transfers where you need maximum documentation. Deploy specialized platforms for everyday needs like contractor payments or customer rewards. Keep a digital payment option available for flexibility when you need it.

How to set up a scalable international payment workflow

If you're sending hundreds of payments monthly across multiple currencies, countries, and platforms, it's time to build a real system — before you burn hours fixing avoidable problems.

“Guardrails are important to prevent fraud or operation errors,” urges Soto. “It’s better to plan ahead and avoid these problems than try to solve them once they’ve happened.

Approvals, limits, and internal controls 

International payments carry higher stakes, so internal controls matter more. A few fundamentals to consider:

• Approval thresholds: Set tiered approvals based on payment size. Payments under $5,000 might only need finance sign-off, while anything over $25,000 requires a second approver or executive review.

• Dual control: One person creates the payment, another approves it. This simple separation catches errors and deters fraud.

• Document everything: Assume an auditor will show up eventually. A clear paper trail (who approved what, when, and why) prevents potential headaches later on.

These controls can feel like bureaucracy, but they prevent costly mistakes. One wrong digit in a bank account number on a $100,000 wire is an expensive lesson.

Integrations and reconciliation with your finance stack 

This is where a ton of hidden costs can creep in. Mismatched names, missing reference IDs, FX differences that don't match your invoice — these gaps eat hours of staff time every month.

This can look like:

• Connecting your payment tools to accounting software: Whether you use QuickBooks, NetSuite, or SAP, confirm your payment provider integrates cleanly. Manual data entry between systems creates errors and slows close cycles.

• Unique identifies on every payment: A consistent reference ID means invoices, payments, and bank records all match without chasing paperwork. This matters even more for API-driven payment workflows where volume is high.

• Choose providers with clean, reliable data exports: Good reporting tools eliminate manual work reconciling conversions or matching line items across platforms.

Compliance, tax, and recordkeeping basics

You don't need a full-time compliance officer to send money internationally, but you do need enough structure to avoid tripping alarms.

• KYC (Know Your Customer): Payment providers require you to verify your business identity and, in many cases, collect information about who you're paying.

• AML (Anti-Money Laundering) screening: Providers cross-reference every payment against sanctions lists, watchlists, and patterns of suspicious activity. Flagged payments get delayed or blocked.

• Tax documentation: Depending on the recipient's location and payment type, you may need to collect tax forms (like W-9s or W-8BENs in the U.S.) or issue reporting documents. Requirements vary by jurisdiction — when in doubt, consult a tax professional.

Designing a great recipient experience for incentives and rewards 

It's easy to focus on your internal requirements and forget the person on the other end. For incentive programs, research compensation, or contractor payments, recipient experience directly affects completion rates and satisfaction.

Set clear expectations upfront. Tell recipients what payment method you're using, how long delivery typically takes, and what information you need from them. Ambiguity creates support tickets.

Provide tracking and status updates. Recipients shouldn't have to wonder where their money is. Platforms that offer tracking links or delivery confirmations reduce anxiety and inbound questions.

Have fallback options. Payments fail — wrong bank details, compliance flags, unsupported regions. Build in alternatives so a failed transfer doesn't mean starting from scratch. Offering recipients a choice of international gift cards or other payout methods can serve as a reliable backup.

Key takeaways

International payments don't have to be painful. The complexity is real — multiple currencies, correspondent banks, compliance requirements — but the right approach simplifies things considerably.

Understand what you're actually paying. Transfer fees are just the starting point. FX markups and intermediary bank charges often cost more than the visible fee on your statement. Ask providers about total cost, not just their headline rate.

Match your method to your use case. SWIFT for large, infrequent payments where documentation matters. Digital platforms for flexibility and competitive rates. Specialized tools like Tremendous for high-volume incentives, rewards, and payouts where recipient experience and operational efficiency are priorities.

Build systems before you need them. Approval workflows, clean integrations, and compliance documentation are easier to set up proactively than to retrofit after a costly mistake.

Don't forget the recipient. Clear communication, tracking, and fallback options turn a transactional process into a positive experience — which matters when you're paying research participants, rewarding customers, or compensating global contractors.

Most businesses end up using multiple providers for different needs. That's fine. The goal isn't finding one perfect solution — it's building a workflow that's reliable, cost-effective, and scales with your business.

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