Easy and cheap way to accept payments from the US

[wsi]

Currently the bulk of my clients are US based and send payment to me through PayPal. While it's pretty easy to use, their charges are a b£$&h!

Today I took a payment of $100 and PayPal took $4.20 (that's 4.2%!) and I'll have to convert the remainder into £ before I transfer to my bank account so PayPal will be taking even more of my money with their uncompetitive conversion fess (USD to GBP is currently 2% off the Visa rate!).

I'm wanting to grow my business significantly in the next 6 to 12 months and would like to start by reducing my expenditure on PayPal fees. I was considering using Google Checkout and billing clients in GBP but that's out of the window now after the recent rate rise.

My UK based clients tend to send money to my bank account. Does anyone receive USD (or other foreign currency) to their UK bank account (Nationwide debit is presumably the only fee free way?). How else are people receiving payments from their clients/customers over the water?

[luckyg]

not sure if it will work out cheaper but 2checkout.com will allow you to take the payments in US and keep it iin US if you wish, or they will transfer the balance direct to your UK bank account once u reach your set limit.

[wsi]

Signup/Account Establishment Fee: There is a one-time set-up fee of $49.
Transaction Fees: 2CO applies a 5.5% commission on each transaction, plus a $0.45 charge per transaction.


Ouch. They charge even more than PayPal!

[colin104]

If you have regular clients you can ask them to send checks.
Alternatively, you can try Google Checkout

[Kev Jaques]

Halifax are charging £10 for processing US checks, so don't even offer that option - scandalous!!

[Robs]

I'm not expert but sounds to that you need a foreign currency account to pay the monies into foreign account so you dont need to exchange the currency on paypal. might the cheapest option.

Have you tried worldpay?

there is a tool by business gateway that will all payment systems and charges here https://www.electronic-payments.co.uk/ToolInput

[Eagle]

^ Why do you have to register?

I don't think PayPal are as expensive as people make out to be honest.

[Shipping Manager]

"I'm wanting to grow my business significantly in the next 6 to 12 months and would like to start by reducing my expenditure on PayPal fees."

You do realise that the standard fees PayPal charge will come down as your turnover increases? Still, I agree they are expensive!

[consultant]

Google is becoming as expensive as Paypal!

Get a proper merchant account or use someone like nochx, who are cheaper than Paypal.

[Robs]

Eagle not to sure why you have to register, suppose they can say that they have a client base for the funding for it or something. They also send out info newsletters etc.

[willhitch]

Currently the bulk of my clients are US based and send payment to me through PayPal. While it's pretty easy to use, their charges are a b£$&h!

Today I took a payment of $100 and PayPal took $4.20 (that's 4.2%!) and I'll have to convert the remainder into £ before I transfer to my bank account so PayPal will be taking even more of my money with their uncompetitive conversion fess (USD to GBP is currently 2% off the Visa rate!).

I'm wanting to grow my business significantly in the next 6 to 12 months and would like to start by reducing my expenditure on PayPal fees. I was considering using Google Checkout and billing clients in GBP but that's out of the window now after the recent rate rise.

My UK based clients tend to send money to my bank account. Does anyone receive USD (or other foreign currency) to their UK bank account (Nationwide debit is presumably the only fee free way?). How else are people receiving payments from their clients/customers over the water?

hi there,

probably best option is to open a USD account with someone like Barclays (one i went for as easiest bank to open said account with), then after a while when you see the account growing and need the funds to purchase products (or whatever it is you buy/sell) use a foreign exchange broker to do the USD-GBP exchange. although maybe not the same situation, i invest in property and have different currency accounts that i use depending on where the investment is, i literally keep enough in most of them to keep them open and then use my broker to convert to the necessary currency. beats the bank rates and keeps me informed of movements in the markets that can affect my purchasing power.

Will

[Eagle]

Get them to send Sterling - it's not rocket science.

[willhitch]

guaranteed if they send sterling they will get a ****e rate and end up paying more for the products. also, if they are used to paying in USD how would they like the idea of changing their method of payment?