Croatian tourism businesses after the euro: collecting from UK and US agencies and guests

Since 2023 a Croatian villa or tour company receives euros from German and Austrian guests without conversion. British and American agencies still pay in pounds and dollars, and those payments are where Croatian tourism businesses still lose money.

Rashidatou K.Payments editor

Published: 20 September 2026
Reading time: 2 min read

A Split villa management company handles 60 properties. German and Austrian guests book directly and pay deposits in euros by SEPA, landing as euros. A London luxury travel agency books 15 villas a season and pays in pounds. A Boston tour operator books group trips and wires dollars. Those two currencies arrive late, converted at the bank's rate, and a few percent lighter than the contract said.

What the euro solved

Before 2023 every euro booking meant converting euros into kuna. Croatia's adoption of the euro on 1 January 2023 ended that. A German guest's deposit now arrives exactly as paid, into the same currency the company pays staff, owners and suppliers in.

What it did not solve

The UK and US are two of Croatia's most valuable source markets for higher-end travel, and their agencies work in their own currencies:

A UK agency collecting from its clients in pounds prefers to pay you in pounds. Paying a Croatian IBAN, it sends an international transfer that your bank converts on arrival.
A US operator paying a Croatian IBAN sends an international wire, often with an intermediary fee deducted.

Make the agency's payment domestic

Sterling account details let a UK agency pay by Faster Payments, instantly and in full. US account details let an American operator pay by ACH. The money arrives in the contracted currency, and you decide when to convert to euros, or keep pounds and dollars to pay costs in those currencies, such as UK marketing or US travel fair fees.

Deposits and cancellations

Agency deposits often arrive months before the season. They are welcome cash, but cancellation terms may oblige you to return some. Keep a portion available until the stays take place, and be clear in contracts about which currency refunds are made in.

Season planning

Croatian tourism earns most of its year between June and September. Set aside a fixed share of each summer month's receipts for the off-season's fixed costs as they arrive.

Paying into Croatia: the local rail

What	Detail
Local rail	SEPA Instant Credit Transfer
Run by	European Payments Council scheme, run by each bank
Settlement	Under ten seconds, 24/7
Published fee	By the EU Instant Payments Regulation, no more than the bank charges for a standard SEPA transfer

Source: European Payments Council: SEPA Instant Credit Transfer. Checked when this guide was last updated; the scheme's own page has the current figures.

Where Rivet fits

A Rivet business account on the Growth plan gives a Croatian company sterling details for UK agencies and euro details with an IBAN, plus US dollar details on every plan, all in its own name. Balances can be held, converted at a rate shown before you confirm, or used to pay suppliers in 120+ countries. Rivet is not a bank; regulated partner institutions hold the funds.

Questions people ask

Why do UK agency payments arrive short?

The agency's bank sends an international transfer, which may lose fees in transit, and a euro account converts the pounds on arrival at the receiving bank's rate.

Should a Croatian villa company quote in pounds for UK agencies?

Many UK agencies prefer it, because their customers pay in pounds. If you quote in pounds, receive in pounds and convert when you choose.

Do US tour operators pay by wire?

Usually, to a foreign IBAN. With US account details they can pay by ACH, which is cheaper and simpler for them.

How should deposits be handled?

Treat early-season deposits as cash you may have to refund under cancellation terms, and keep part of them available until the stay.

Sources

Written by

Rashidatou K.

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.