· About 2,000 words · The cluster anchor — links out to deeper guides on each topic.

If you've never invoiced an overseas client before, the first one feels like assembling Ikea furniture in the dark — there's a SWIFT field on your invoice you don't understand, the client is asking for an "ABA routing number" you don't have, and the FX rate you get on your high-street bank is mysteriously worse than the rate you see on Google. None of this is hard once you've done it once. This guide walks the whole stack.

TL;DR — the setup that works

1. Open a multi-currency business account (Wise Business is the default; Instarem and Revolut Business are alternatives). This gives you a UK sort code, a EUR IBAN and US ACH details — so clients pay you locally in their currency without any of it touching SWIFT.
2. Bill in the client's currency by default — see the foreign currency invoice guide for the HMRC accounting record rules.
3. Convert to GBP on your own schedule, at the real mid-market rate, when you actually need the money. You're now the FX timing decision-maker, not your bank.
4. Use SWIFT only as a last resort. Most "international payment" complexity disappears the moment you stop using your high-street bank's correspondent network.

Why the obvious setup costs you 3-5% every transaction

The default UK freelancer setup is: client in another country pays your high-street GBP business account, your bank converts incoming USD/EUR/SGD to GBP at "the rate" they decide on the day, you see whatever lands in your account.

The hidden tax is the FX spread. Your bank's USD-to-GBP rate isn't the rate you see on Google — it's the Google rate minus 3-5%, baked in as their "service" for the conversion. On a £10,000 USD invoice, that's £300-500 of your money quietly diverted to a bank. On a year of overseas invoicing at £40,000, it's £1,200-2,000.

The solution isn't complicated. Open a Wise Business or Instarem account. They give you local bank details in every major currency. The client pays you locally — like paying a domestic supplier — and the money lands in your multi-currency account at no markup. You convert it to GBP when and how you choose, at the real interbank rate plus a transparent fixed fee (usually 0.4-0.6%).

Payment methods, ranked

1. Multi-currency accounts (Wise Business, Instarem, Revolut Business, Airwallex)

The default recommendation. You get local bank details in each currency you accept; clients pay domestically; you convert when ready at near-mid-market rates. Account opening is fast (1-3 days), monthly fees range from free (Wise) to £25-50/month (Revolut Pro / Airwallex), per-conversion fees are 0.4-0.6%.

Detailed comparison: Wise vs Instarem head-to-head.

2. PayPal

Universally familiar to clients, especially in the US. Friction-free for them — they already have an account. The downside is cost: 3-5% per transaction plus a poor FX rate when they pay you in their currency. Fine for one-off small invoices; expensive at scale.

Detailed comparison: PayPal vs bank transfer for freelancers.

3. Stripe (Atlas / Treasury / direct)

Powerful if you have a UK or US Ltd and want to accept card payments globally on a recurring or subscription basis. Less relevant for freelancers invoicing for project work — Stripe's strength is the API and the payment flow, not the human-to-human invoice case.

4. SWIFT wire transfer (your high-street bank)

The legacy default. Works but slow (1-5 working days), expensive (intermediary fees you can't see in advance), and the FX rate is bad. Useful as a fallback when a client absolutely insists on it, or for very large one-off payments where you've negotiated the FX rate separately.

5. Card payments via Stripe / Square

The convenience option for very small or in-person payments. Card payment fees (1.5-3% + a fixed amount) eat into freelance margins fast at higher values.

Should you invoice in GBP or the client's currency?

This question feels obvious until you've made the wrong choice on a £15,000 contract and lost £600 in conversion. The answer depends on three factors: who pays the FX risk, who you're billing, and your own pricing posture.

Invoice in GBP if: the client is happy to pay in GBP (their accounts team handles the FX on their end), you want to fix your revenue in your home currency, or the contract is short and one-off.

Invoice in the client's currency if: the client expects local-currency invoicing (common in US and EU corporate procurement), you have a multi-currency account so you can hold the foreign currency without forcing a conversion, or the contract is long enough that you want optional FX timing.

For most UK freelancers with overseas clients, the right answer is "invoice in the client's currency, receive into a multi-currency account, convert to GBP on your own schedule". The foreign currency invoice guide covers the HMRC accounting rules.

How FX actually works

Three numbers matter:

• The mid-market rate — the "real" exchange rate, the one that appears on Google or XE.com. This is what banks pay each other.
• The margin — the percentage the institution charges on top, as their profit. Banks charge 2-5%; multi-currency providers charge 0.4-0.6%.
• The fixed fee — a flat cost per transaction, separate from the margin. SWIFT transfers carry hidden intermediary fees of £15-50.

The total cost of a conversion is (amount × margin) + fixed fee. On a £10,000 USD transfer, a high-street bank typically costs £300-500 in margin plus £20-40 in fees. A multi-currency provider costs £40-60 in margin and (usually) no fixed fees for currency hold-and-convert flows.

How this fits with your UK business banking

Your multi-currency account isn't a replacement for your main UK business bank — it sits alongside it. The typical setup:

• Primary UK business account — Tide, Starling, Mettle or similar. Where domestic clients pay you, where bills come out of, where your accounting software pulls transactions from. See the business bank comparison.
• Multi-currency business account — Wise or Instarem. Where overseas clients pay you, where you hold foreign currency until you choose to convert.
• Conversion flow — when you convert from USD/EUR to GBP, the GBP lands in your primary UK business account. Your bookkeeping software (FreeAgent, Xero, QuickBooks) picks it up there.

HMRC record-keeping for foreign currency

Even though the money comes in foreign currency, your accounts must be kept in GBP. HMRC accepts two methods for converting foreign invoices to GBP for record-keeping:

1. Spot rate on the date of supply — use the live exchange rate the day you raise the invoice. This is more accurate but more work.
2. HMRC's published monthly average rate — HMRC publishes monthly average exchange rates you can use across all invoices in that month. Simpler; slight inaccuracy.

Pick one method per VAT registration period and stick with it. Switching methods needs HMRC notification. See the foreign currency invoice guide for the full HMRC rules and the VAT reverse-charge interactions.

Getting paid reliably

Foreign clients pay late at roughly the same rate as UK ones, but the chase mechanics are slightly different:

• Time zones change how quickly your reminder lands — Stage 1 nudge to a US client at 9am UK time may not be seen until US lunchtime. Send chases when their workday starts in their timezone.
• Bank holidays differ — payment can be in transit during holidays you don't know about. A US wire sent on the Friday before Memorial Day arrives Tuesday at the earliest.
• The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies to overseas clients — UK law governs your contract by default unless specified otherwise. Statutory interest at BoE + 8% can still be claimed.

For the full escalation playbook see our guide to chasing unpaid invoices and the late payment interest calculator.

VAT on international services

If you're VAT-registered and invoicing B2B overseas clients, you generally don't charge UK VAT — the place of supply is the customer's country and the customer self-accounts under their local reverse-charge rules. See the VAT on international services guide for the full place-of-supply rules and worked examples.

Next steps

• If you don't have a multi-currency account: Wise vs Instarem head-to-head.
• If you're trying to choose between payment methods: Best way to get paid by overseas clients.
• If you're considering PayPal: PayPal vs bank transfer for freelancers.
• If you're invoicing in foreign currency for the first time: foreign currency invoice guide.
• If you're VAT-registered: VAT on international services.

General guidance for UK freelancers invoicing overseas clients. Not financial or tax advice. For substantial international contracts, multi-jurisdictional VAT, or US/EU withholding tax interactions, consult a qualified accountant familiar with cross-border services.