International Business Payments: Streamline Them with Jeeves

If you’re looking to make international business payments, you may have run into the following issues:

  • Transfer and settlement times are not transparent.
  • FX rates, markup fees and hidden costs make international payments expensive.
  • You have strict limits on the transfers you can make.
  • Know-your-customer (KYC) and know-your-business (KYB) checks can take time and further delay your payments.
  • Not all international businesses accept credit cards, so you’re stuck making costly bank wire transfers that limit your cash flow.

As global business owners ourselves, we know transferring money between businesses internationally can be frustrating. It takes time and money, both of which you could put to better use in building your business. So, we built Jeeves Pay, a unique B2B payment solution designed to save you time and money on international transfers.

In this article, we’ll explore:

Looking for a fast way to make international business payments without decreasing your cash flow? Try Jeeves Pay: the first-ever credit-backed B2B payment service for domestic and overseas trading. Sign up in 5 minutes and you could make your first payment in 24 hours. 

How to make international business payments with Jeeves Pay

Jeeves Pay is the first ever business-to-business (B2B) payment provider that can protect your cash flow when you make local or international transfers. 

We help you pay for your B2B transfers with a credit-backed approach. This means you can have the liquidity you need to run your business without the worry of not making payroll, incurring late payment fees on invoices, or hindering your business growth all while trading internationally.

We can provide fast access to capital to anyone in the 24 countries where we operate because we underwrite you within 24 hours. Once approved, you’ll have access to a credit line, which you can use with company credit cards or with Jeeves Pay (or both).

Once you have your line of credit, it takes you just a few minutes to:

  1. Choose one of the 140+ currencies available
  2. Fill in the required recipient information
  3. Tap into your available credit line to pay for your transfer
  4. Agree to our transparent one-time fee (more on this below)
  5. Send your payment 

How to get started with Jeeves Pay

All current Jeeves clients can see and access Jeeves Pay directly from their Jeeves dashboard menu. You can use your current credit balance toward Jeeves Pay (or request a credit increase if needed). 

Jeeves Pay international business payments screen

If you’re not yet a Jeeves client, you can apply to Jeeves. The sign-up process takes 5 minutes and you’ll receive a reply to your application within 24 hours. Once approved, you’ll get instant access to our free global spend management software where you can use Jeeves Pay immediately. 

We offer revenue-based credit to companies with a minimum of $100k in monthly revenue. If you’re eligible, you can receive anywhere from 5% to 20% of your global cash balance or total revenue.

How Jeeves Pay works

Here’s a step-by-step guide to using Jeeves Pay:

  1. Once you’re on the Jeeves platform, head to the Payments section and click on Pay Someone to get started.
  2. Choose whether you’re sending money to a business or an individual, insert their legal name and choose the receiver’s country. Then click Next
first step of Jeeves Pay international business payments product

  1. Choose the currency in which you need to send the payment. 
Second step of Jeeves Pay international business payments - choose currency
  1. Select the payment method: Jeeves Instant for domestic payments or International Wire for overseas payments. 
third step of Jeeves Pay international business payments - choose payment method
  1. Fill in the recipient’s bank details, then click Next
Fourth step of Jeeves Pay international business payments - fill in recipient's bank details
  1. On the next screen, add the payment amount. You’ll see your available balance, which resets every month. Here, you can also attach a copy of the invoice and, under Memo, add a note to your payment, such as a reference ID number. Then click Next
Fifth step of Jeeves Pay international business payments - add payment amount
  1. Review your payment. This way you can double-check all the information before you complete the transaction. If there are any mistakes you can click the back button to make the changes. 
Sixth and final step of Jeeves Pay international business payments - review your payment and send
  1. As soon as you’ve reviewed your transfer, click the Send Payment button and your payment is already on its way because Jeeves transfers money to the receiver on your behalf. 

With Jeeves Pay, you won’t find additional fees like markups, processing or SWIFT because we work with our own funds – your payment goes from the Jeeves remitter account straight into the recipient's bank. 

We’ll then notify both you and the recipient immediately via email to let you know the funds are in flight. We also notify both you and the recipient again when the funds settle. By keeping both parties in the transfer loop with our confirmation emails, you’ll have more certainty when payment has started and settled so business activities can continue uninterrupted. 

At the end of the month, you’ll receive a billing statement, showing the transaction amounts you've sent along with our fee. 

You’ll then have two payment options to settle your Jeeves Pay credit:

  1. You can agree to an automatic payment where we pull the funds directly from your bank account.
  2. Use our pay option in our software. Just select the Pay button on the Jeeves platform and pay the bill with your preferred method. 

Jeeves Pay costs

We have default interest rates set up per country. Whether you’re sending payments internationally or domestically, you’ll always pay the same monthly interest based on where you’re located. 

However, we consider the day on which you send money as your start date, then break down your payment into a daily rate. So, if you start to use Jeeves Pay on the 10th of the month, you’d only pay for the days you use the credit during that month, instead of paying a full month.

For example, if you want to make a transfer in September and the transfer fee is 3%, you would have a daily cost of 0.001%. That means: 

  • If you send $10,000 via Jeeves Pay on the first of September, you’d pay the full 3%, ($10,000 plus $300).
  • If you send $10,000 on the 15th of September, then you’d pay 1.5% ($10,000 plus $150) at the end of the month.

With Jeeves Pay, you’re always in control because you can decide how much capital you need and for how long. And you only pay for the amount of time you actually utilise the credit, not for the transfer service. 

What are the challenges of traditional overseas business payments?

Before making overseas business money transfers, you’ll want to be aware of the limitations you may run into. Here are the most common shortcomings of international business payments. 

Transaction settlement times are not transparent 

If you’re like most businesses, you probably need to make advanced payments to overseas vendors to either release goods or start services. Depending on your payment method, however, transfers can take anywhere from a few hours to up to 7 business days before they settle. 

You’ll also have very little visibility on your B2B transfers if a problem occurs. 

For example, banking information from country to country can vary, which means you may not know you’re missing important details. If you want to make a euro payment and all parties are within the EU/EEA area, you can probably make SEPA transfers easily. But what if you have to send money to countries like Australia and New Zealand? You’ll need to use SWIFT codes instead of international bank account numbers (IBANs). 

And, if you’re located in North America and want to transfer money from your Canadian office to a supplier in Mexico, you won’t need the account and routing numbers that Canadian and US banks usually require. This means it’s easy to make a mistake, which you may not know about until a few days later when your wire bounces and the money arrives back in your business account. 

FX rates, markup fees and hidden costs are unclear 

International business transfers are expensive because they incur multiple costs, which are not always transparent. For example, you may have:

  • A processing fee just to send the money. Automated clearing house (ACH) bank transfers are relatively cheaper (from $10 to $15) but take 5 to 7 business days to process. Bank wires are much quicker (from a few hours to a couple of days) but more expensive, ranging from $30 to $75. 
  • SWIFT fee, which is standard on international transfers but not always obligatory. Depending on the bank, the fee can range from $25 to $65 or more. 
  • A markup. This is the bank’s fee for exchanging the currency and can cost up to 5% of the total transfer amount.
  • The foreign exchange rate. International trading means you're subject to currency exchange fluctuations that can impact your bottom line and make understanding how much you’ll need to send difficult (especially if you’re making cross-border payments daily).
  • Even the recipient may incur a small fee just to receive the funds, depending on their bank.

How much you’ll ultimately pay can vary greatly, because each financial institution has its own set of costs for corporate international transfers. 

Daily transfer limits that slow you down

If you’re working with several overseas vendors or suppliers, you’ll probably need to send multiple transfers of varying amounts each month. However, many banks place limits on how much money you can send in one transaction. This means you’ll have to make several small-value transfers just to pay one vendor. 

If you work with multiple international vendors, transferring funds under these conditions could stall your business growth domestically and curb your international trading.

KYC and KYB checks can take time and further delay transfers

When you're sending funds to a new business customer overseas, you’ll go through a KYC or KYB check to ensure against international criminal activity, such as money laundering, terrorist acts, foreign bribery and fraudulent transactions. 

These checks are normal due to international regulatory requirements. However, this process is often lengthy, taking days to complete.

Add this delay to the time it takes to transfer money and you could be waiting weeks before your payment settles, which isn’t a great experience for you or the receiver because it hinders business growth for both. 

Not all international businesses accept credit card payments, limiting your cash flow

Many international businesses don’t accept credit cards as a payment method because of the additional high costs associated with them. Merchants have to pay from 1% to 6% in transaction fees, and then service charges and authorisation fees add to their costs. 

So, if bank transfers are your only option, your cash flow may suffer, especially when you’re making large payments in one lump sum taken directly from your bank account. 

This can make having cash available for your day-to-day operations difficult and unpredictable

How we’re solving international business transfers with Jeeves Pay

Here‘s how we’re solving the challenges of international business transfers with Jeeves Pay.

Access Jeeves’ line of business credit to improve your accounts payable

Up until now, you’ve probably been self-funding your global payments. But as founders, we know first hand how accounts payable can impact your cash flow. We designed Jeeves Pay as a credit-backed solution to provide you with greater flexibility on accounts payable and more control over your cash reserves. 

By accessing Jeeves’ credit to make your B2B overseas payments, you can get goods and services released quickly to start making revenue fast without ever touching your bank balance. You’ll be free to use your cash reserve to run your company and take care of last-minute business needs. 

Your finance teams will also save time because they won’t have to insert bank details or upload funds into a foreign currency account every time they need to make an international payment through other providers. Instead, they’ll see their available credit balance directly on Jeeves Pay to make one or multiple payments whenever they need. 

Better predict your cash flow with rolling monthly credit 

Jeeves Pay can make your cash flow more predictable. By receiving a billing statement at the end of each month that comprises all your overseas business payments, you can better manage the rhythmic life of your cash flows. 

For example, if you’re self-funding your international payments, you probably have uneven spurts where $10,000 can flow out of your account on Monday and $17,000 can leave your account later that week, on a Friday. 

Instead, with credit-backed payments, you can easily manage all your business payments (both international and domestic) at the end of each month, with one statement. You’ll close your books faster and have a global overview of your financial health. 

One transparent fee for fast international payments

With Jeeves Pay, you can see exactly how much you’ll be spending before transferring money across borders. 

Our credit-backed business transfers mean you're borrowing funds that you'll pay back at the end of the month. We only charge a competitive interest rate (which varies by country) for the lent capital that you're sending via Jeeves Pay. You can see the amount you’ll pay before sending the money via the Jeeves dashboard. We also apply the most up-to-date exchange rate before processing the transfer. That means no surprise hidden fees at the end of the transaction. 

Jeeves Pay is also flexible: if you only need the credit for 15 days instead of 30, we can reduce your interest rate by half. 

Best of all, our transparent international transfers can occur in as little as 24 hours. For example, payments to Europe and North and South America can arrive as quickly as the same day.

An example of Jeeves Pay international business payments without FX fees or markups

Know when your international payments will arrive

We designed Jeeves Pay so you can have the maximum transparency on your international transfers. 

With Jeeves Pay, you can transfer business payments in 140+ different currencies. You’ll also see upfront when your transfer will arrive as soon as you choose the currency and destination. Depending on the country you’re sending money to, you can expect funds to settle within 24 hours or up to 3 business days. 

For example, if you’re based in Canada and send a transfer to Mexico, your payment will arrive on the same day, within 24 hours

An example of Jeeves Pay international business payments fee transparency

No transfer limits for speedy settlements

There are no daily limits or amount caps with Jeeves Pay. Your only limit is the funds available in your Jeeves line of credit. 

For instance, if you have 10,000 USD in your line of credit, you can send up to $10,000. If you have 1,000,000 USD, you can send up to $1,000,000 in a single transfer.

When you’re not restricted by daily caps, the entire process of paying international vendors becomes simple, quick and inexpensive. No more multiple transfers of smaller amounts, no worrying about costs multiplying. 

An example of Jeeves Pay international business payments without transfer limits

Coming soon: If you don’t need capital, no worries. We’re working on enabling Jeeves Pay to make domestic and overseas business transfers via self-funding.

Our KYC and KYB checks are instantaneous

Since we’re a fintech company providing businesses with a full financial stack, we can process KYC and KYB checks on both the sender (if it’s your first time working with us) and receiver instantaneously. This means we can check all parties’ information without delaying your transfers. 

You’ll also have additional transparency on these security checks thanks to the speed of Jeeves Pay. We can tell you upfront if there's ever an issue, so you’ll know immediately if funds are on hold with Jeeves Pay and not days later like other providers.

Why choose Jeeves Pay

Jeeves Pay is great for all companies in any industry. Whether you’re a startup, scale-up, SME or global enterprise, you can use Jeeves Pay for your international accounts payable. 

Our current clients range from suppliers and vendors to contractors, agencies and more across all industries worldwide.

For example, one Jeeves client is a manufacturer in Mexico, who already has a line of credit of MXN 1,000,000. They’ve been using our Jeeves corporate cards for their company expenses and purchases. However, their overseas vendors and suppliers wouldn’t accept credit cards for their larger purchases because of the additional fees involved. Bank transfers would take a long time to set up, with KYB requiring days to clear if not longer. Our client would also have to split up one payment into smaller amounts due to the bank's daily limits. 

Instead with Jeeves, our client can leverage off their available balance and then send those funds directly to the recipient in just a few minutes. The transfers take approximately 24 hours to settle. 

Additional benefits of Jeeves Pay

We built Jeeves to help your company succeed globally in all aspects of your financial activity. Over 4,000 clients in 25+ countries use Jeeves.

Jeeves Pay is just one part of Jeeves’ growing financial stack designed for growing companies. With Jeeves, you’ll have:

  • A business line of credit.
  • Free corporate credit cards (both physical and virtual cards).
  • Financing with Jeeves Capital.
  • Free global expense management software.
  • Payment rails. 
  • ERP and accounting integration with Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite and SAP.

You’ll find all these financial services and products wrapped into one tool (available on desktop and mobile app) where you can issue corporate company cards for employee and business spending. 

Our free expense management software connects directly to all your Jeeves credit cards, which makes tracking, managing and accounting for your spending quick and easy. This way, your finance teams can close the books as quickly as possible so you can have faster insight into your company’s financial standing. 

Once you’re a trusted Jeeves client, you can also request financing via Jeeves Capital – our working capital and growth loans product. Now with Jeeves Pay, we’re helping you manage your business payments both domestically and abroad. 

In addition to a complete financial and credit stack, you receive additional benefits with Jeeves, such as:

  • Savings of up to $100,000 in partner perks and benefits.
  • Free access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide.
  • Personal account management to help you make the most out of Jeeves.

Coming in 2023: More tools to add to your financial stack to help you grow your business seamlessly. 

Use Jeeves Pay for your international business payments 

With Jeeves, making international business payments is no longer a hassle.

Just picture paying your overseas suppliers on time and with ease, without ever touching your cash reserves or dealing with daily transfer limits. You’ll know the cost upfront before sending the money, without hidden costs. You’ll have greater control over how you run your business with the added benefit of accessing free spend management and free business credit cards with Jeeves. 

The best part? It only takes 5 minutes to get started.   

Ready to make your first international transfer with Jeeves Pay? Then sign up today, get a reply in 24 hours, and begin paying your vendors and suppliers right away.