Currency Exchange Rate for Employers
Currency exchange is a service we provide as part of our business and we apply our own exchange rates. The rates account for the foreign exchange (FX) risk we take on - i.e. fluctuations between the time we send you an invoice and when we pay out the funds to the employees. This ensures that we receive sufficient funds to pay out your contractors and/or employees.
Our rates are competitive and we do not charge any admin fees or transactional fees related to international money transfers.
FX rates fluctuate every day, every second. This means the invoiced amounts can differ every month. Either you (the employer) or the Team Member has to bear these FX fluctuations. Here are three possible payment scenarios to illustrate who bears the FX rate fluctuations.
In this example, you are a company in Europe hiring a Team Member in Brazil:
| Employer Payment Currency | Legal Contract Currency | Full-time hire/Contractor Payment Currency | |
| Scenario 1 | EUR | EUR | EUR |
| Scenario 2 (contractors only) | EUR | EUR | Brazilian Real |
| Scenario 3 | EUR | Brazilian Real | Brazilian Real |
*Note: Contract currency is the currency specified in the legal agreement between you and your employees and/or contractors.
- No FX is required, therefore we do not charge you for receiving or sending payment.
- This scenario is only possible for contractors since full-time hires must be paid in their local currency.
- Oyster converts EUR into the local currency to pay your employee or contractor.
- Since the contract currency is the same as the currency you (the employer) pay us, the recipient will bear the FX swings every month.
- A competitive FX rate applies to your monthly invoice since the agreement is in the local currency.
- Your monthly invoice amount may fluctuate due to foreign exchange swings.
Also See: How does foreign exchange work for contractors?
What are the FX rates applied?
We offer competitive FX rates, determined at the time of invoicing. The final rate accounts for the natural swings in FX rates between the time we invoice and the time we pay out your Team Members; there are no other hidden fees.
We are able to provide better rates than most payment providers and banks because of our transaction volume. Plus, we do not charge additional costs such as transaction fees or any other bank fees.
Keeping to our transparent approach, the final FX rate will be stated on your monthly invoice.