4 ways to streamline your international business payments with WorldFirst

Making international business payments can be costly and challenging. But it doesn’t have to be. If you have the right tools, you can streamline the whole process. WorldFirst offers a range of solutions, including integration with accounting software, certainty on future FX costs and transfer speeds, being able to pay and get paid like a local and batch payments.

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1. Integrate with accounting software

You’ve got better things to do than spend hours wading through a spreadsheet, trying to work out where you’ve been sending money to – especially if you’re dealing with multiple currencies and exchange rates. If you pick a currency transfer account that integrates with accounting software, it’ll save precious time.

A WorldFirst One World Account, for example, can integrate with Xero, so you can reconcile your transactions quickly and accurately. You’re able to sync with 11 currencies, which means you don’t have to spend any more time with spreadsheets. Transactions are added automatically when you make them and you can create invoices and expense claims simply, too.

2. Get certainty on future FX costs and transfer speeds

When you expand internationally with a view to growing your profits, you might not be thinking about how forex and transaction fees can take a bite out of those profits – but they easily can. That’s why it’s important to know how much your transactions are going to cost and how long they’re going to take.

One way to manage currency risk is by hedging using a forward contract. This means you choose a rate you’re happy with and lock it in for a later date, so there’s no worrying about the price changing in the future.

Other ways include being able to set a target rate for a future payment, which gets sent once the rate gets reached. Or “spot contracts”, so you can send money instantly at the price you’re quoted.

You’ll also need to know how long transfers will take – any delays can impact your cash flow. If it takes a long time to receive a payment, this can cause problems with sourcing products, paying suppliers or covering service costs.

Having a range of transfer options and certainty over payment times helps you to make the right decisions for your business and budget accordingly. Payment times can vary between providers – for example, some WorldFirst payments can clear on the same day, depending on the currency.

3. Pay and get paid like a local

If you’re a business owner transacting in multiple countries and currencies, the easiest way to streamline your operations is by having one account that lets you send and receive money in all the currencies you need. That way, you can keep all your payments in one place.

Let’s say your business is based in the UK. It’s Friday afternoon and you have payments to make in euros. Earlier in the week you received a payment from Australia. You could convert those Australian dollars into sterling then transfer them to your bank account, then convert sterling into euros, but that’s a convoluted process that will cost you time – not to mention a small fortune in fees.

Instead, you could do it seamlessly with an account that can cope with a wide range of currencies. A WorldFirst One World Account, for example, provides you with local account numbers and sort codes for 11 different currencies, so you can quote local bank details on your invoices. And you can quickly move and exchange currencies between accounts. So that payment from Australia can go straight to your Australian dollar local currency account, then you can keep it in there until you’re ready to make your payment in euros. No need to withdraw to a UK bank account and pay 2 sets of currency conversion fees.

4. Batch up your payments

An account that lets you pay domestic and international suppliers in multiple currencies and send batch payments in a single transaction will save you time, especially if you have to pay international salaries and recurring invoices or send large transaction volumes.

Bottom line

There’s a range of international money transfer services for businesses. It’s crucial to pick one that’s going to save your business time and money through offering the right features and range of currencies. That way, you can focus your energy on growing your business.

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