Payments editor
Rashidatou writes Rivet's guides to how money moves between countries: the payment rails, what each one costs, and the account details a company needs to get paid in another currency. Every figure in Rashidatou's articles is traced to the scheme rulebook, the regulator or the provider's published price list, and those sources are listed at the end.
PaymentsFour payment networks move most of the business money between the US, Europe and the UK. They differ by an order of magnitude on cost, and the one your client uses is usually decided by the account details you send them.
StablecoinsStablecoins settle in minutes, on weekends, across borders. Since July 2025 the US has a federal law for them. Here is where they fit in a company's payments, and where they don't.
AccountsWise is cheap for one-off conversions. Companies outgrow it when they need stablecoins, controlled card spend, approvals or African corridors. Here is how the main alternatives compare, using each provider's published prices.
AccountsUS clients pay most easily, and most cheaply, by ACH to a US account. Here is how a company based elsewhere gets one, which paperwork the client will ask for, and what to put on the invoice.
AccountsA multi-currency account lets a company receive, hold and pay in several currencies from one place. They are not all built the same way, and the differences decide what you pay on every payment.
StablecoinsBoth are dollar stablecoins, and both settle in seconds. They differ in who issues them, how reserves are reported and where regulators accept them. For most companies the answer is to hold one and accept both.
PaymentsThe fee printed on a transfer is usually the smaller part of its cost. The bigger part is inside the exchange rate. Here is how to find it, and how to compare providers on one number.
Named accounts in USD, EUR and GBP, cards with a limit on each, and payouts on local rails. Starter is free.
