What is the best account to receive a salary from abroad?

For most people paid in a major currency (USD, EUR, GBP and others), a multi-currency account with local account details, such as Wise, is the cheapest: your employer pays you by a normal domestic transfer in their currency, receiving it is free, and you convert when you choose. If your salary is already in the currency you live in, your local bank account is often all you need.

Can my EU employer refuse to pay my salary into a foreign IBAN?

Within the EU, the SEPA Regulation (EU) No 260/2012, Article 9, says a payer making a credit transfer must not specify which Member State the payee's account is in, as long as the account is reachable through SEPA. In practice, an EU employer paying in euros shouldn't refuse an IBAN just because it starts with a different country code (for example a Belgian Wise IBAN). Rules outside the EU differ.

Is it free to receive money into Wise?

In the UK, getting Wise account details is free on personal accounts, and receiving domestic (non-Swift, non-wire) payments in AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, HUF, NZD, PHP, SGD and USD is free. Swift and wire payments have fixed fees, for example 6.11 USD per USD wire. Checked on Wise's UK pricing page on 19 October 2026.

How much does Payoneer charge to receive payments?

Per Payoneer's pricing page (last updated 1 January 2026): receiving into a receiving account in your local currency is free; into a receiving account in a non-local currency it's 1% (minimum 1 USD); payments by credit card cost up to 3.99% + 0.49 USD. Withdrawing to your own bank in the same country and currency costs 1.50 USD in supported countries, and 1.2–4% where a conversion or another country is involved. There's also a 29.95 USD annual fee if you receive less than 6,000 USD in 12 months.

Do I pay tax on a salary received from abroad?

Usually where you're tax resident, but the rules depend on your country, any tax treaty, and where the work is done. We don't give tax advice. In the UK, start with GOV.UK's guidance on tax on foreign income, and speak to a qualified adviser for your situation.

Best Account to Receive Salary or Payments From Abroad (2026)

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You live in one country and your salary or client payments come from another, in dollars, euros or pounds. Every route between your employer and your spending money can cost you: wire fees, a poor exchange rate when your bank converts, monthly account fees. On a full salary, those costs add up to real money every month.

This guide compares the realistic options: Wise, Payoneer, Deel, Revolut and your own local bank. It covers what each costs to receive and to move money to where you spend it, and which fits which situation. Every fee was checked against the provider’s own pricing page on 19 October 2026, linked as we go.

The short answer

Your situation	Usually the best fit
Paid a salary or invoices in a major currency (USD, EUR, GBP…) and you choose how	Wise: local account details, free domestic receiving, convert when you want
Paid through a marketplace or platform that pays out via Payoneer	Payoneer, then withdraw carefully
Your client or employer pays you through Deel	Deel, then withdraw to Wise or a local bank ($0 Deel fee)
You want one everyday app for spending too, and you’re paid in your home currency	Revolut or your bank. Watch Revolut’s exchange limits
Paid in the currency of the country you live in	Your local bank. You may not need anything else

The rest of this page explains the reasoning and the fees behind each row.

Why receiving money from abroad gets expensive

There are three separate costs, and they’re often hidden:

The receiving fee. International wires (Swift) often cost a fee when they arrive. Domestic transfers (ACH in the US, SEPA in the EU, Faster Payments in the UK) usually don’t.
The conversion. If money arrives in a currency you don’t hold, someone converts it. Banks often add a margin to the exchange rate that doesn’t appear as a separate fee.
Moving it again. If you receive into one account and spend from another, the withdrawal can cost a fee as well.

The cheapest setup avoids international wires by giving your payer domestic account details in their own currency. It converts once, at a transparent rate. Our true-cost-of-getting-paid calculator models this for your exact amount and currencies.

Option 1: Wise, for local account details in many currencies

Wise gives you account details (US routing and account number, a EUR IBAN, a UK sort code and account number, and more), so a payer abroad pays you by a normal domestic transfer in their own currency.

UK personal pricing, checked 19 October 2026 (source):

Getting account details: free.
Receiving domestic (non-Swift, non-wire) payments in AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, HUF, NZD, PHP, SGD and USD: free.
Receiving Swift / wire: 6.11 USD per USD wire/Swift payment, 2.16 GBP per GBP Swift and 2.39 EUR per EUR Swift.
Converting: a fee that depends on the currencies and amount, shown before you confirm.

Wise also says you can receive your salary or pension directly by sharing your Wise details with your employer.

The catch: Wise isn’t a bank. Your balance is safeguarded, not covered by a deposit guarantee. That’s fine for money moving through, but think twice before keeping long-term savings there. Our Is Wise safe? guide explains how it works. If you invoice as a business, see our Wise Business account review (UK: 50 GBP one-time fee for receiving details).

Best for: anyone who controls how they get paid and is paid in a major currency.

Option 2: Payoneer, when the platform decides

Payoneer is widely used by marketplaces and platforms to pay freelancers and sellers. If a platform you work through pays out via Payoneer, it’s often the default.

Payoneer’s pricing page (last updated 1 January 2026, checked 19 October 2026, source):

From another Payoneer customer: free.
From marketplaces/platforms: “varies by marketplace”.
Into a receiving account in your local currency: free.
Into a receiving account in a non-local currency: 1% (minimum 1.00 USD).
From a payer using a credit card: up to 3.99% + 0.49 USD.
Withdrawing to your own bank, same country and local currency (supported countries incl. the EU, UK and US): 1.50 USD.
Withdrawing to another country or currency: 1.2%–4%, and in some countries a minimum of up to 20 USD.
Converting between your Payoneer balances: 0.50%.
Annual account fee: 29.95 USD if you receive less than 6,000 USD in 12 consecutive months.

Payoneer notes that fees depend on location, payment method and currency corridor, and that your exact fees are shown when you sign in.

Best for: people paid by platforms that use Payoneer. If you choose how you’re paid, compare it with Wise first in Payoneer vs Wise for receiving USD.

Option 3: Deel, when your employer or client uses it

Deel is a contractor-payroll and employer-of-record platform. You usually don’t choose Deel. The company paying you does. Companies pay Deel’s platform fees (Deel’s pricing page lists contractor management from $49 per contractor per month). As the worker, you pay when you withdraw.

Deel’s withdrawal fees, per its help centre (source, checked 19 October 2026):

Local bank transfer: $0 from Deel (minimum $10; separate provider fees may apply in some currencies)
Wise: $0 · Revolut: $0 · Deel Card: $0
Cross-border withdrawal: $5
SWIFT: variable, $5, capped at $10 (minimum $100), plus any intermediary bank fees
Payoneer: 1% (minimum $12) · PayPal: 2.5%
Instant card transfer: 0.75% (max $25) for US banks; 2% (max $15) elsewhere

The practical move: withdraw to Wise or a local bank transfer ($0 from Deel). Avoid SWIFT, PayPal and Payoneer withdrawals unless you have a reason. Our Wise vs Payoneer vs Deel comparison works through a full example.

Option 4: Revolut, an all-in-one app with limits to watch

Revolut is a popular everyday spending app. For a salary from abroad, its limits matter more than its features. On UK plans (checked 19 October 2026):

Fair-usage limit on exchanges: £1,000 a month on Standard (then 1%), £3,000 on Plus (then 0.5%). Premium and above have no limit. A full salary converted on Standard goes over the free limit in the first month.
Weekend fee: another 1% (Standard) or 0.5% (Plus) on exchanges between Friday 17:00 and Sunday 18:00 New York time. A salary that arrives and is converted on a Saturday costs more. See our Revolut weekend fee guide.

Best for: spending, especially if you’re on a paid plan or your salary arrives in the currency you spend. It’s less suited to converting a whole salary each month on the free plan. More detail in Wise vs Revolut vs N26 for freelancers.

Option 5: your own local bank

This is often the right answer: if your salary is paid in the currency of the country you live in, by a domestic transfer, your local bank is free and simple. A multi-currency app won’t add anything.

Local banks become expensive when money arrives by international wire or in a foreign currency they convert for you. If that’s your situation, compare the bank’s incoming-wire fee and its exchange rate against the options above.

Within the EU: your employer can’t reject your IBAN by country

If you’re paid in euros by an EU employer, the law helps you. Article 9 of the SEPA Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 says that a payer making a credit transfer to an account in the EU “shall not specify the Member State in which that payment account is to be located”, as long as the account can be reached through SEPA.

In plain terms: an EU employer paying in euros shouldn’t refuse your IBAN because it’s from another EU country, such as a Belgian Wise IBAN or a Lithuanian one. If a payroll department does refuse, this is the regulation to point them to.

Tax and legal: what we can’t tell you

Where your salary lands doesn’t decide where you pay tax on it. That usually depends on your tax residency, any tax treaty between the countries, and where the work is done. Some countries also require you to report foreign accounts. We don’t give tax advice. In the UK, start with GOV.UK’s guidance on tax on foreign income. Wherever you are, a qualified adviser who knows both countries is worth the fee for a cross-border salary.

Bottom line

For most people paid from abroad in a major currency, the cheapest setup is local account details in the payer’s currency, usually from Wise, so the payment arrives as a free domestic transfer and you convert once, at a transparent price. If a platform pays you through Payoneer or Deel, use it to receive, then withdraw by the cheapest route (for Deel: Wise or a local bank, $0). If you’re paid in the currency you live in, keep using your local bank.

Not sure which fits? Our account finder asks a few questions and suggests a setup, and the get-paid calculator shows the cost of each route for your amount. For the bigger picture, see our hub: how to get paid and spend across borders.

Open Wise · Open Payoneer · Check Deel

Sources: Wise UK receiving fees; Payoneer pricing (last updated 1 January 2026); Deel withdrawal fees and minimums and Deel pricing; Revolut UK exchange fees and limits; Regulation (EU) No 260/2012, Article 9; GOV.UK, tax on foreign income. All checked 19 October 2026. This is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice.