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Poll: When I receive a payment from a client, the transaction fees are usually borne by:
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jul 11, 2014

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When I receive a payment from a client, the transaction fees are usually borne by:".

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Mary Worby
Mary Worby  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:14
German to English
+ ...
Other Jul 11, 2014

There are no transaction fees.

 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
Cyprus
Local time: 13:14
Turkish to English
+ ...
Other Jul 11, 2014

Splitting the charges so that the client pays the fees at their end and I pay the fees at my end seems to be the most equitable solution. In fact, I have EUR and GBP bank accounts and virtually all of my clients are either in the UK (so they can pay into my UK bank account without paying any fees) or are in the eurozone (so they can pay into my EUR account with only a small fee and I pay no fee as the recipient), so in most cases I do not bear any transfer fees at all.

 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 12:14
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Jul 11, 2014

¿The what now?
For "transaction" I read "hidden/unjustifed...". Most of my clients are in my country of residence and pay by direct bank transfer. This is one reason I don't work with US clients, as I've heard the bank charges, regulations and restrictions are too cumbersome.

A few years ago I moved my account to an online bank (ING) to ensure that I wasn't being shafted by sharp practices like this. Am currently thinking about closing my only other account, as they've recen
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¿The what now?
For "transaction" I read "hidden/unjustifed...". Most of my clients are in my country of residence and pay by direct bank transfer. This is one reason I don't work with US clients, as I've heard the bank charges, regulations and restrictions are too cumbersome.

A few years ago I moved my account to an online bank (ING) to ensure that I wasn't being shafted by sharp practices like this. Am currently thinking about closing my only other account, as they've recently almost doubled their "maintenance" (lol) charges.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sharp%20practice

[Edited at 2014-07-11 08:21 GMT]
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Marjolein Snippe
Marjolein Snippe  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 12:14
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
+ ...
me Jul 11, 2014

When there are transaction fees, I am usually (although not always) required to pay for them. In these cases I adjust my rate accordingly. As most of my clients are in the EU, in most cases there are no transaction fees.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:14
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Jul 11, 2014

For most of my clients there are no transaction fees, for others charges are split.

 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 12:14
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Other Jul 11, 2014

For a lot of my clients - those in the UK or Denmark - there are no charges, as I have accounts they can pay into directly.

For the rest I have different arrangements.

I invoice one client quarterly and add an extra line, so he pays the bank charge. It is larger than some of his individual jobs!

I accumulate monthly invoices for most of my clients, and set the rates to cover charges for those who pay in Euros, so technically I pay those. (That is how the ba
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For a lot of my clients - those in the UK or Denmark - there are no charges, as I have accounts they can pay into directly.

For the rest I have different arrangements.

I invoice one client quarterly and add an extra line, so he pays the bank charge. It is larger than some of his individual jobs!

I accumulate monthly invoices for most of my clients, and set the rates to cover charges for those who pay in Euros, so technically I pay those. (That is how the bank administrates them anyway.)

I have an agreement with a Norwegian client that she pays the fees, but sometimes I invoice her quarterly too - she pays the moment the invoice arrives!

I may also use PayPal for small one-off jobs - as the transaction fees are low here.
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M. Anna Kańduła
M. Anna Kańduła  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:14
English to Polish
Each their own Jul 11, 2014

I pay my bank/service fees, the client pays their bank/service fees.

 
Alex Lago
Alex Lago  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 12:14
English to Spanish
+ ...
Other Jul 11, 2014

I chose other as it varies

If the client is in Europe or Spain (where I live) I pay no fees

If they are in the US I do usually end up paying around 8 USD per transfer I receive which is a fee my bank applies but the client pays for the fees on their end.


 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 08:14
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
It depends Jul 11, 2014

Domestic clients pay the fees on their side, if any. Depending on their relationship with the bank they use, in most cases they'll pay nothing.

PayPal, owned by and intended for eBay, imposes severe penalties on the "seller" (= translator, in our case) who surcharges the "buyer" (= client, ditto) for using their system, which include freezing the payee's account with them and "scooping the loot". Therefore my "stated" rates are for payment via PayPal. If the client uses any other pa
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Domestic clients pay the fees on their side, if any. Depending on their relationship with the bank they use, in most cases they'll pay nothing.

PayPal, owned by and intended for eBay, imposes severe penalties on the "seller" (= translator, in our case) who surcharges the "buyer" (= client, ditto) for using their system, which include freezing the payee's account with them and "scooping the loot". Therefore my "stated" rates are for payment via PayPal. If the client uses any other payment method, they get a 10% discount from me. PayPal cannot impose any penalty when their service is not at all involved in the transaction.

Here in Brazil PayPal deducts 6.5% in fees and overtly adopts a 3.5% lower-than-market exchange rate. Furthermore, they delay the actual payment by 2~5 business days, in spite of our 100% real-time nationwide banking system.

Wire transfers usually get USD 20 deducted on the way, and I pay a USD 30 fee to receive them.

Moneygram and Western Union only have fees on the client's side, and they pay them.
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Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 04:14
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
It varies (Other) Jul 11, 2014

I have no fees with my four biggest clients. Many agencies insist that I pay the fees (which are steep for me in the U.S.), though two of them have agreed to cover PayPal fees. With individual direct clients, I ask them to split the cost; they usually agree, and sometimes they pay all the fees.

 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 12:14
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Other Jul 11, 2014

I usually just pay the fee to my own bank.

 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 12:14
Member (2006)
German to English
Same here Jul 11, 2014

Mary Worby wrote:

There are no transaction fees.


And at present I do not work for customers outside the EU


 
airmailrpl
airmailrpl  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 08:14
Member (2005)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Transaction Fees Jul 11, 2014

The client pays the fees at their end and I pay the fees at my end - seems to be the most equitable solution

PayPal fees at my end vary between 5% and 10% (10% on very small amounts) - and I usually get stuck with them. Though sometimes when it is a small job - I increase the rate slightly to cover the PayPal fee.

Currency exchange fees at PayPal are the responsibility of the client.

Here's the text which goes into my cover letter to an Agency/client befor
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The client pays the fees at their end and I pay the fees at my end - seems to be the most equitable solution

PayPal fees at my end vary between 5% and 10% (10% on very small amounts) - and I usually get stuck with them. Though sometimes when it is a small job - I increase the rate slightly to cover the PayPal fee.

Currency exchange fees at PayPal are the responsibility of the client.

Here's the text which goes into my cover letter to an Agency/client before accepting a job:
For jobs with an amount of less than USD$ 100.00, paid for by wire transfer, there is an extra fee of USD$ 16.00 referent to the incoming wire transfer fee at my bank.

Outgoing wire transfer fees and currency exchange fees are the responsibility of the client.
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Mark Hamlen
Mark Hamlen  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 12:14
French to English
+ ...
There are no transaction fees in Europe Jul 11, 2014

Another reason to stay away from US clients.

 
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Poll: When I receive a payment from a client, the transaction fees are usually borne by:






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