Selling to US customers means being paid the way US customers pay. For companies incorporated outside the United States, that turns out to be the constraint that shapes everything else.
How Americans actually pay businesses
ACH is the domestic batch network — the default for recurring B2B payments, payroll and subscriptions. Low cost, settles in one to three business days, processed in batches rather than in real time. It is what a US finance department reaches for without thinking.
Fedwire is the domestic real-time gross settlement system. Same-day, final, materially more expensive. Used for large or time-critical payments.
International wires reach a non-US company over the correspondent network, at correspondent-network cost and timing, with the intermediary deductions that implies.
Cards carry their own economics and settlement chain, covered in gateway, acquirer, PSP, settlement account.
The practical point: your US customer wants option one. If you cannot receive it, they fall back to option three — and both of you pay for that.
What actually blocks non-residents
No US account details. ACH needs a routing number and account number. Without them — whether from a US bank account or a provider that issues US details — ACH is not on the table, whatever the customer would prefer.
Substance requirements. Providers that do offer US details generally want to see genuine US-linked activity — customers, contracts, sometimes an entity or a registered agent. A company with no US connection asking for US details is a pattern that attracts scrutiny.
Tax documentation. US payers withhold unless the payee's status is documented. A non-US entity receiving US-source payments will be asked for the appropriate W-8 form. Get this right early: withholding applied for want of a form is recoverable only slowly, and the payer will not un-withhold retroactively.
Ownership and sanctions screening. US-linked payment flows are screened against US sanctions programmes regardless of where the parties sit, and the screening looks through to beneficial ownership.
The costs that show up on wires
Businesses paid by international wire discover three things.
Intermediary deductions. Correspondent institutions may take charges from the principal. Invoice $10,000, receive $9,962. Governed by the charge option — see SEPA or SWIFT.
Conversion on arrival. Dollars landing where dollars cannot be held get converted at that day's rate. If you also pay USD suppliers, you convert back later — the same money crossing the spread twice.
Timing you cannot promise. One to five business days, sometimes more. Hard to build terms around, and it generates a steady stream of "where is my payment" correspondence.
Reducing the friction
Publish exact details, in one place. Payers copy what you give them. Give them the precise legal name the account is held under, the account and routing details for the relevant rail, and a reference format. Then keep that in one source rather than in a PDF someone edited last year.
Be explicit about the rail. Tell the payer which method the details are for. A US finance team given international-wire details will send an international wire even when a domestic option existed.
Agree the charge option in the contract. If the contract says you receive a sum, the wire must be sent OUR.
Hold USD if you spend USD. The overlap calculation in multi-currency accounts tells you whether it is worth it for your numbers.
Get the tax form in before the first payment, not after the first withheld one.
On US entities
Some businesses incorporate in the US mainly to get US payment details. It works, and it brings federal and state filing obligations, registered-agent costs and a tax position that needs professional advice — permanently, not once.
Worth it when there is real US activity. Rarely worth it as a payment workaround alone, and it should be a decision taken with an accountant who knows both jurisdictions rather than inferred from a payments problem.
How this works with 2PayApp
A 2PayApp business payment account can hold and settle USD alongside EUR and GBP, with access to payment rails including SEPA, SEPA Instant, Faster Payments, SWIFT and ACH. Which rails and account details are available depends on eligibility, compliance approval and the approved account configuration — the criteria are set out on the eligibility page.
2PAYAPP LIMITED is registered with FINTRAC as a Canadian Money Services Business. FINTRAC registration is a legal registration requirement; it is not a banking licence and does not constitute an endorsement by FINTRAC. 2PayApp is not a bank. Accounts, currencies, payment rails, account details, virtual IBANs and transaction limits are subject to onboarding, compliance approval, provider availability and the customer's approved account configuration.
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. US tax status and withholding should be confirmed with a qualified adviser.
FAQ
Can a non-US company receive ACH? Only with US account details, which depend on the provider's policy and usually on demonstrable US-linked activity.
Why did my USD wire arrive short? Intermediary charges deducted in transit. Use the OUR charge option where the beneficiary must receive the full amount.
Do I need a US entity to sell to US customers? No. It affects which payment rails are available and what your tax obligations are — not whether you can sell.
What is a W-8 form for? Documenting a non-US payee's status so a US payer does not apply default withholding. Which variant applies depends on the entity — take advice.