If you are selling online abroad and/or paying suppliers abroad, you need to get your hands on a good multicurrency bank account. Did you know Amazon currency conversion costs up to 4.5% of the lump sum converted?! Our multi-currency account comparison for UK businesses will help you discover the best foreign currency accounts out there.
Multi-Currency Accounts FAQ
Are multi-currency accounts safe?
Can I use these services even if I’m not in the UK?
How do multi-currency accounts work?
Which currencies are supposed?
Best Multi-Currency Account Comparison
View the top rated foreign currency collection account in UK below – Updated for: October 2020
Best for Multi-Currency Accounts in the UK
- Bank accounts available in UK, France, Germany, USA, and Canada, as well as Singapore, China and Japan (recent additions)
- Top Rated since 2014
- Industry Leader in the eCommerce Space, Owned by Ant Financial (AliPay)
- Excellent, Transparent, Currency Rates with Less than 0.5% Spread Margin
- Global Offices in 5 Continents
The Industry Veteran
- Bank accounts available in UK, EU and USA
- Operating Since 1970 - First Commercial FX Firm in UK
- Corporate FX Specialists
- Great Online Platform
- Many Consumer and Business Awards
- 0.75% Fixed Margin on Foreign Currency Payments
Most Global Provider for Online Sellers
- Bank Accounts in USA, Canada, UK, EU, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia are available!
- Traded Publicly
- £20bn Turnover per Year
- Ultra Professional
- Very Tight Margins
Now Available: TransferWise's Borderless Account
- Bank accounts available in UK, EU, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and USA
- Hold Money in 50 Currencies
- Most Recognizable Brand in Money Transfers Today
- Boast 1,000+ Employees and $4bn in Monthly Turnover
- Transparent Pricing on the Site
- Easy to Use
Marketplace Availability
Are you an online seller (Etailer) looking to collect sales from one of the world’s Ecommerce giants? The multicurrency accounts featured on this page work perfectly with payments from:
Multi Currency Bank Account vs. Default Currency Conversion
The answer which is more profitable for your business is quite clear.
The ground facts
- If you are selling on Amazon and using their default setup, you will lose up to 4% of your sales in foreign exchange fees when using their Amazon Global Seller Program.
- If you are using eBay, your items will appear more expensive than their listed price for international buyers (due to Paypal’s high currency exchange fees, even if you transfer money from Paypal account to your Transferwise account).
- If you use your bank to exchange overseas funds to domestic currency, it may cost you up to 5% of the lump sum (unless you have a multi foreign currency account set up).
Selling internationally is somewhat complex and and expensive as it is, but nevertheless – a necessity. Using the right services together, offering you multi-currency accounts and cheaper FX will beat Amazon’s currency exchange program (offered via its Global Sellers Online centre), eBay’s currency exchange fees, or other high-cost “default” solution.
Best Multi-Currency Accounts UK & Your Savings
| Annual Turnover | Amazon Currency Exchange | Specialist Provider | Saving |
| $10,000 | $400 in currency fees | $150-$200 in currency fees | $200-$250 |
| $50,000 | $2,000 in currency fees | $500-$750 in currency fees | $1,250-$1,500 |
| $100,000 | $4,000 in currency fees | $500-$1,000 in currency fees | $3,000-$3,500 |
| $1,000,000 | $40,000 in currency fees | $5,000 in currency fees | $39,500 |
Notes: The table above is not marketplace specific. The currency exchange services for online sellers can be applicable to your business regardless of whether you sell on Amazon, Ali Baba, TMall, Overstock, eBay, Ubid, Bonanza, or any other online marketplace. The figures used in this table are only meant to demonstrate what could you could potentially save; They use 4% as the base figure for currency exchange fees, and 0.5%-1% in foreign currency fees when choosing a specialist provider – this is not necessarily what you’re paying at the moment, or what you’ll be paying with a currency provider, but rather a rough figure based on Amazon’s FX fees and information supplied by currency providers.
The Best Euro Account? The Best USD Account Bank Account?
Multi-Currencies Accounts Keep You Covered!
The below are the type of foreign currency accounts you can open globally using two of our most recommended multi-currency accounts:
| With World First You can… | With OFX You Can… |
| ✓ Open USD accounts from UK | Open USD accounts from UK |
| ✓ Open USD accounts from Australia | Open USD accounts from Australia |
| ✓ Open USD accounts from Europe | Open USD accounts from Europe |
| ✓ Open EUR accounts from UK | Open EUR accounts from UK |
| ✓ Open EUR accounts from USA | Open EUR accounts from USA |
| ✓ Open EUR accounts from Australia | Open EUR accounts from Australia |
| ✓ Open CAD accounts from USA | ✓ Open CAD accounts from USA |
| ✓ Open CAD accounts from UK | ✓ Open CAD accounts from UK |
| ✓ Open CAD accounts from Australia | ✓ Open CAD accounts from Australia |
| ✓ Open foreign bank accounts in China | ✓ Open foreign bank account in New Zealand |
| ✓ Open foreign bank accounts in Japan | ✓ Open foreign bank account in Honk Kong |
Note there are other bank and non-bank services enabling prospective clients to open up foreign bank accounts abroad for their businesses, such as HSBC multi currency account, we have only focused on services offered by money transfer companies.
View our best EUR account and best USD account articles to learn more.
Added Values when Using Our Recommended Multi-Currency Accounts?
The very best multi-currency account providers – foreign exchange giants like World First, MoneyCorp or OFX – provide whoever chooses to use them with a lot more than simply moving money from point A to point B, or enabling business to collect and pay savings from a multi-currency bank account. It’s not only about improving the poor currency exchange rate offered by Amazon’s Global Sellers Program or improving your eBay seller account’s value proposition to overseas buyers.
Both of these companies are happy to provide customers with dedicated account managers who become an integral part of your business – they can assist on the right time to exchange certain currencies, suggest hedging solutions tailored to your business’ needs, and even help on topics relating to selling internationally online based on their experience escorting many clients like yourself.
For example, we heard of cases where representatives from these companies have helped online sellers on Amazon reduce their Amazon Seller fees above and beyond the Amazon Money Transfer; they helped them understand the costs of Amazon FBA and suggested a local solution that other clients of theirs recommended.
Additionally, the power of opening a foreign bank account abroad (or a multi-currency account locally), and accepting payments in foreign currency into your a bank account is simply unparalleled in the money transfer and currency exchange industry. Very few companies have the same capabilities when it comes to online sellers as these two companies.
Will using alternatives to Amazon’s currency exchange make me a successful online seller?
So far, this article has touched a single (important) topic relating to selling online with a particular focus on international sellers. With that being said, by paying the least commission on international money transfers, or finding the best foreign currency bank account in UK, without having a solid business model, you will not be a great Amazon seller.
Below you can find 7 more tips that can guide you in the right direction when selling your merchandise online, and particularly to international audience:
1) Use local pricing
Using the current exchange rate to determine the local price of your products in domestic currency doesn’t always work. In some countries certain items are cheaper and in some countries they are more expensive. It all depends on the local competition!
2) Focus on reliable shipping with reasonable pricing
Amazon and eBay have great international shipping programs but they are often too reliable. For example, did you know that buying from Amazon in the middle east means almost $30 in shipping? if you are selling items that cost dozens of dollars, you are losing out on all potential customers in that region. Similarly, eBay’s international shipping program can cost up to $40 for the smallest of items (whereas using UK Post or USPS can slash that cost by a lot).
3) Use local language descriptions that make sense
Too many online sellers insist on using automated software to translate their listings. It doesn’t work and locals are likely to think it’s a scam.
4) Consider drop-shipping
If your product is manufactured overseas anyhow, why not store it in the country where it is manufactured and ship from there?
5) Expand outside of eBay, Amazon, Ali and the marketplaces
Customers always like to see that you have a “store” outside of eBay. It helps establish trust that you are indeed a serious vendor rather than someone’s side hustle on eBay.
6) Local customer support
This one is tricky but can perhaps be addressed by using a third party provider to simply accept calls and emails and transfer them to you, translated. People view local support as the ultimate sign of trust because normally, only big companies offer multi-language support.
7) Advertise and market your product the way locals do it
Many online sellers and businessmen mistakenly believe that an advertising campaign that worked in one locale will work globally, but it isn’t so. Cultural differences make a huge difference in the buying decision making process – and hence, marketing and advertising have to be adapted to the local preferences.
Bottom Line – Best Multicurrency Accounts
If you are an online seller or a small business, making foreign currency payments or receiving them, you should consider a specialised and bespoke service. The best multi-currency accounts featured on this page will help you achieve that.
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Pasted from the World First Review page I got a business global account with them believing what what stated here. Unfortunately It’s a plain lie. they do not even try to match transferwise or currencyfair or even my bank (starling) let alone revolut. 1.5% markup for anything under 10k. for a simple ACH/USD tsame currency transfer they charge more than twice what transferwise charges for a SWIFT OUR. And to make it worse they don’t allow you to pay people with accounts on competitor e-money institutions. to make it worse they can’t even provide you with a decent monthly statement,… Read more »
Really good solution. When I used XE in 2015 they didn’t offer this service. Do they have a multi-currency account now?