Amazon earnings for non-US residents

1. 96

   theraggededgeposted 5 years ago

   Great news. I just had an email saying that international earnings can now be paid by direct credit to a local bank account. Yay!
   
   I hold off claiming mine because of the extortionate charges of paying in a foreign currency cheque.
   
   Here's the email...
   
   "We have good news to share. You can now receive your international affiliate earnings via direct deposit to your local bank account. Want to know more?
   
   Key Benefits to International Direct Deposit:
   
       Fast and easy direct deposit
       No more checks or Amazon Gift Cards issued for international earnings
       Limits postal or check clearing delays

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   1. 84

      RoadMonkeyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Great news and long overdue!

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2. 95

   eugbugposted 5 years ago

   Is this in dollars? I thought dollars couldn't be exported from the US? I had an issue with PayPal who wouldn't allow me to withdraw in dollars to my non-US based dollar bank account.

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   1. 96

      theraggededgeposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I get paid in $s and they are transferred, without charge, to my UK account. Always have been. I've never had any issue with Paypal in that respect... I would think that Amazon will be the same.

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      1. 95

         eugbugposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Sorry I meant I couldn't withdraw dollars to a non-US dollar account.

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   2. 83

      psycheskinnerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Dollars are not hard to move, you either have a US$ account or the bank changes the currency by using the current exchange rate.

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      1. 95

         eugbugposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, but you can't withdraw dollars to a dollar account that isn't based in the US. PayPal wouldn't accept my IBAN. Even if dollars are withdrawn somehow to a non-US dollar account, they're first converted to the local currency, and then back into dollars in the non-US account.

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   3. 93

      Marketing Meritposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      If it works in the same way as Amazon KDP, they (Amazon) apply an exchange rate at source and transfer sterling into your bank account.

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      1. 95

         eugbugposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, however PayPal screw us with a commission for currency exchange They say they don't but it's built into their exchange rate as far as I know.

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         1. 93

            Marketing Meritposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            PayPal is not involved. Monies are deposited straight into your bank account. Nonetheless, the rate given by Amazon can hardly be described as competitive.

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            1. 95

               eugbugposted 5 years agoin reply to this

               Can they deposit dollars into a non-US dollar account?

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               1. 83

                  psycheskinnerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                  That is what the announcement said.  I don't think the first payment has actually happened yet.

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                  1. 95

                     eugbugposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                     Hmm. It's a pity HubPages don't pay directly into our bank accounts. But then they'd have to hold our details and they probably don't want to be responsible for maintaining the security of those against hacking attempts.

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               2. 93

                  Marketing Meritposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                  They don't with Amazon KDP, but they process numerous currencies, not just USD.
                  I entered my bank details yesterday and got the impression that they will be paying in GBP or Euros, depending upon the currency of your bank account. This suggests to me that they will not be paying directly with USD for non-US residents.

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3. 89

   Polly Cposted 5 years ago

   There is a very small charge with PayPal, I think. Good news on the Amazon payments, although I used to do quite well with that but let all my amazon articles go to pot so now earn virtually nothing!

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   1. 95

      eugbugposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      3% if I'm not mistaken.

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4. 93

   Beth Eaglescliffeposted 5 years ago

   You could set up a TransferWise account to get around PayPal's currency conversion fees. I've not tried it myself, but found this blog post that explains how. https:  rusticated.co/blogging/how-not-to-lose-out-when-transferring-a-usd-balance-from-paypal-to-a-uk-bank-account/
   Hope that helps.

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   1. 95

      eugbugposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I've seen this mentioned when looking up PayPal fees. Would HubPages have to pay to a TransferWise account though?

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      1. 93

         Beth Eaglescliffeposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Go to the second half of the article headed "But I need to use PayPal!"

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5. 95

   eugbugposted 5 years ago

   Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder can I add another step and transfer dollars then to my non-US dollar account (which is in my bank here in Ireland?). Somehow I feel it's more secure there than in some virtual bank. My original idea of opening a dollar account locally was so that I could wait until exchange rates are more favourable before converting to Euros.

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6. 93

   Beth Eaglescliffeposted 5 years ago

   EDIT
   I've just read all the comments posted at the bottom of the blog article I suggested and it seems as though PayPal are not playing ball. They are refusing to accept that TransferWise accounts are "real" bank accounts. So it looks as though this method doesn't work after all.
   
   (I've therefore broken the live link in my earlier post.)

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   1. 95

      eugbugposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Presumably because they want to continue making lots of money on currency conversions.

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