Looking for Best Ways to Make Payments to Foreign Contractors? Read Here 2024

If you’re running a Singapore based business and need some external support for a one off project, or longer term partnership, you may be considering hiring foreign contractors to meet your needs. Hiring overseas contractors is more and more common now, as remote working has become so popular. It can also be a good way to have someone representing your business overseas without needing to commit to a permanent arrangement at first.

However, hiring foreign contractors means working out how to run payroll for people living overseas. That can prove expensive and frustrating if you don’t find the right payment method for your needs. This guide gives some ideas to think about, including:

1. Send money directly from your bank account

2. Use a multi-currency account - try the foreign currency account from Wise

3. Rely on PayPal

Key points

There’s no one perfect way to pay foreign contractors. The right one for you will depend on your preferences, the types of payments you need to make and where in the world your contractor is.

Each option has its own pros and cons - we’ll look in more detail in a moment, but here are the key points to start us off:

• Pay with an international telegraphic transfer - bank telegraphic transfers can often be sent all over the world, but can be expensive and slow

• Get an online multi-currency account - multi-currency accounts are handy to pay contractors internationally, and can also be used to receive customer payments, hold and exchange a range of foreign currencies

• Use a service like PayPal - PayPal is a global leader in digital payments, commonly used to pay contractors - but currency exchange fees can push up costs when sending money overseas

Foreign payments through a bank account

Singapore’s major banks all have business bank accounts which can be used to send international telegraphic transfers. However, the costs can be a bit confusing - and pretty expensive, too. In fact, when you pay for a telegraphic transfer from Singapore you’ll pay any of up to 4 different charges:

• Upfront transfer fee

• Cable charge

• Exchange rate markup

• Third party fees

Here’s the fee for sending a telegraphic transfer from a DBS business account, as an example:

1/8% transfer fee (from 10 SGD to 120 SGD) + cable charges of 20 SGD to 35 SGD + exchange rate markup + agent charges if applicable

As you can see, that can end up pretty complex. Let’s break it down.

The transfer fee is quite simple - a percentage of the transfer value, paid to the bank itself. The cable charge is the cost of initiating the transfer from the bank’s end, and may vary based on whether you arrange your transfer online or in a branch.

Then there’s an exchange rate markup, which is wrapped up in the exchange rate used to convert your funds from SGD to the currency you need. This is tricky to spot and you’ll only be able to work out what you’re paying by comparing the bank’s rate against the mid-market rate you can get from Google.

Finally you or your contractor may pay third party fees if the transfer is processed through the SWIFT network. These charges go to other banks involved in the payment, and aren’t always visible in advance of the transfer.

Pros and cons of using a bank transfer for international payments

Pros:

• You can usually make your payment online or in a branch

• Send money all over the world

• Safe and reliable

Cons:

• Fees are often complicated and on the high side

• SWIFT payments may take 3 - 5 days to arrive

Multi-currency account 

One way to make it more convenient and cheaper to pay foreign contractors from Singapore, is to open an online multi-currency account. Multi-currency accounts let you make international payments, often with lower fees and a better exchange rate compared to a regular bank. They’re also handy for receiving money from international customers, which can help you grow your company overseas.

If you’re looking for a low cost way to pay contractors overseas, check out the Wise Business Account. With Wise you’ll pay a one time low fee of 54 SGD, to get a full feature international account which lets you hold and exchange 50+ currencies, get paid in up to 10 currencies like a local, and send money to 80+ countries. That makes paying foreign contractors easy. And because Wise currency exchange always uses the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees, it can make it far cheaper than using your bank, too.

Wise accounts have no minimum balance and no monthly fees, so you can open one and use it alongside your regular business bank account whenever you need to manage across currencies, with no extra fees to worry about.

Pros and cons of the Wise multi-currency account

Pros:

• Pay contractors in 80+ countries, often instantly

• Hold and exchange 50+ currencies with the mid-market exchange rate

• Low transaction fees, plus no ongoing fees or minimum balance

Cons:

• No branch network

• No interest is paid on funds held

PayPal to pay foreign contractors abroad

Because PayPal is so convenient to use it can seem like a great way to pay foreign contractors from Singapore. It’s true that PayPal has some big advantages - like the fact you don’t even need to know your contractor’s bank details to send them money. But there are also some pretty hefty fees when you’re using PayPal internationally, which can mean this is more expensive than you expect.

The key issue here is the PayPal currency conversion charge. In Singapore this is usually 4%, which is added onto the exchange rate used whenever you convert funds. That pushes up the overall costs significantly, and mounts up fast if you’re sending a high value payment.

As an alternative, you can just send your payment to the contractor in Singapore dollars. In most cases they’ll be able to receive the money into their PayPal account - but if they want to convert it to their home currency to withdraw or spend, they’ll need to pay the PayPal currency conversion fee, which means they lose out in the end.

Pros and cons of using PayPal

Pros:

• Pay with just an email address

• Transfers are instant

• PayPal is available in almost every country in the world

Cons:

• Exchange rates will include a currency conversion fee which can run to 4%

• There may be extra fees for the contractor to withdraw the funds at their end

What to consider before paying independent contractors

Working with contractors can make your business more agile. But there are a few important considerations before you leap in.

Firstly, make sure you’re clear on your employment and tax obligations both here in Singapore, and in the contractor’s home country. In Singapore, it’s important to establish whether you’re offering a contract of service - which would mean you’re bringing in an employee - or a contract for service, which is more commonly used for contractors. There’s guidance covering this on the MOM website. Whether you’re hiring an employee or working with a contractor - in a legal sense - will also dictate how you tackle tax and other obligations, so it’s crucial to get this right from the outset. Get in touch with MOM and IRAS if you need advice - or hire a professional to guide you through the process.

Once you’ve navigated that first hurdle, you’ll need to think about the agreement you have with your contractor, and how you set out in writing the payment arrangement you come to. Having a written contract is essential and can help prevent misunderstandings down the line. You’ll want your contract to cover when payment will be made, how, in what currency, and what happens if things go wrong - if the contractor is sick or fails to deliver for example.

Finally, after getting all the paperwork in order, it’s time to make a decision on how you want to pay your foreign contractor. Think about the costs of different methods, how convenient they are, the exchange rates available, and how quickly they’ll get the money where it needs to be. That way you can relax, knowing that you’ll easily be able to uphold your side of the bargain.

Benefits of hiring international contractors

Before we wrap up, let’s summarise a few of the main reasons people choose to hire international contractors to support their business and help them grow:

• Flex your company size and skillset by bringing in contractors for short term projects

• Have people work remotely, so you don’t have to pay for office space - plus make sure you cover different time zones to offer customer support

• You’ll have a better chance of finding the right person and skillset by looking globally for your contractors

• Foreign contractors can be very cost effective

Conclusion

Whether you’re a new business or already established, there are plenty of times that using foreign contractors may make sense. From finding the perfect fit for your business, to allowing you to have a presence in a new international market, foreign contractors can really help your business grow.

Use this guide as a starting point to understand some of your options to pay foreign contractors from Singapore, and to make sure you get the cheapest, fastest and easiest method for your business.