Collecting from customers abroad means balancing speed of payment against cost and control. Collection accounts solve both: your customers pay local account details in their own currency, and the money lands in full in your own balance. With Verto, these are called Local Accounts, and this playbook shows finance leads how to set them up, reconcile them and decide when to convert what comes in.
What is a collection account?
A collection account is a set of local bank details your business uses to receive payments in a specific currency. Customers pay it by domestic transfer, so no international wire is involved on their side.
At Verto, collection accounts are called Local Accounts. Verto issues the details in your business's name, and the funds land in the matching currency wallet in your Verto Multi-currency Wallets. From there you can hold the balance, convert it or pay it out.
The finance case is simple. A domestic payment has no intermediary banks taking deductions along the way, so the amount your customer sends is the amount you receive.
Which currencies should your business collect in?
Start with your receivables ledger, not a provider's currency list. Group the last twelve months of customer payments by currency and by country, then rank them by value.
Most businesses find two or three currencies cover the bulk of their receivables. Those are the ones to set up first. Then look for customers who pay you in a currency other than their own, because they are often converting at their end and paying more than they need to.
Verto offers Local Account details in AED, GBP, EUR, USD, NGN, KES, ZAR, TZS, UGX, DKK, XOF and XAF. Availability for each currency depends on your business profile and where you are registered.
How can a US business get paid by customers in Africa?
A US business selling into Africa usually invoices in dollars, which pushes the cost of conversion onto its customers. Many African customers then face their own bank's FX limits and delays before they can pay.
Offering local details changes that. A Nigerian customer can pay naira over NIBSS Instant Payment, and a Kenyan customer can pay shillings over PesaLink, Kenya's real-time interbank network. The money lands in your NGN or KES wallet, and you convert to dollars when the rate suits you.
US customers, meanwhile, can pay your USD details over ACH, the domestic network Nacha governs. US-registered companies on Verto's Free plan pay 0.3% on international collections, and domestic collections in the local currency are free. Plan prices depend on where your company is registered; see Verto's US pricing.
How can a UAE exporter get paid in African currencies?
UAE exporters selling to African buyers face the same issue from the other side. Their customers often struggle to source dollars, which slows payment or kills the deal.
A UAE business can request USD Local Account details with Verto, and exporters can request local account details in African currencies, including NGN, KES, TZS, XOF, XAF and ZAR. African customers then pay by domestic transfer in their own currency. Availability depends on your business profile and where you are registered.
How do you match payments to invoices?
Reconciliation is where collection accounts succeed or fail. Before you share details with customers, agree how each payment will be identified.
For some currencies, Verto issues dedicated account details in your business's name. For others, you use a shared account with a unique reference that identifies your payments. Both work, and funds reflect automatically once the payment is received.
Whichever applies, ask customers to quote the invoice number in the payment reference. Put the details and the instruction on every invoice, so your team can match payments without chasing.
Who can pay into a collection account?
By default, other businesses can pay into your Verto Local Account, and so can your own business when topping up from another bank. Receiving payments from individuals is available for selected industries and currencies, such as travel and education, subject to approval.
E-commerce businesses can use Local Accounts to collect bank-transfer payments from local marketplaces or payment service providers in their local currency. If your customers want to pay by card at checkout, you will need a card acquiring service alongside.
How fast does the money arrive?
Most local payments to a Verto Local Account settle the same day, and many, such as GBP and EUR payments, arrive within minutes. That is faster access to cash than a typical cross-border wire, which can take several business days.
Faster settlement shortens your debtor days. It also makes cash forecasting more reliable, because you are no longer waiting for wires of uncertain timing and amount.
When should you convert what you collect?
Collecting in your customer's currency only pays off if you control when you convert. Set a simple policy:
Hold balances you will spend in the same currency, such as supplier payments or local costs.
Convert on a schedule for predictable needs like payroll, using Exchange Now at a live rate, 24/7.
Lock a rate with Exchange Deal for 24 hours when you have a large known payment and want certainty.
You can open several wallets in the same currency, for example one for operating cash and one for tax, so collected funds stay organised by purpose.
Who in your team should see and move the money?
Give your finance team the visibility it needs without spreading payment rights too widely. Verto lets you give team members read-only access to view balances and transactions, or read-and-write access to add wallets and manage money.
A common set-up is read-only for accounts receivable, so they can reconcile, and read-and-write for the finance lead and one deputy. Review access when people change roles. For a refresher on how collected funds move across borders, see our guide on how cross-border payments work.
Getting paid faster only helps if every balance stays visible and under control. Get started with Verto to collect, hold and convert from one account, or speak to Verto sales about the currencies and controls your team needs.
Get paid by customers abroad with Verto
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