Amazon Currency Converter: How to get the best value on your global payments

At e-Comas one of our central tenets is to grow our clients’ businesses globally on Amazon.

We want to support you selling in as many different countries as possible. With modern logistics and software, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. Expanding into new territories is the easiest it’s ever been, especially on Amazon.

But one of the potential downsides to that is the need for a local currency account – because if you do not have one, you can find yourself paying thousands more than you need to on currency exchange fees with Amazon’s ACCS offering.

In this blog we’ll guide you through the options for converting your Amazon payments, including Amazon’s own Currency Converter – and how to get the best value.

What is Amazon Currency Converter?

Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS) is Amazon’s default tool for converting your payments from customers.

Say you’re based in the US, and you branch out into Europe and the UK. Amazon will make payments from those countries into your regular US bank account as the default.

So it’s super convenient. You don’t have to do anything extra, and payments roll into your regular account just like payments from your home country.

It covers most of Amazon, too, with 19 Amazon marketplaces supported, and 44 currencies.

However, the downside is the cost. Amazon charges quite a high fee on conversions.

How much is the fee?

The ACCS fee is volume-based, calculated on your total cross-currency net proceeds in the last 12 months across all your Amazon stores. It ranges from:

• 0.75% for cross-currency proceeds of more than $10m
• 1% for proceeds of $1m-$10m
• 1.25% for proceeds of $500,000-$1m
• 1.5% for proceeds of less than $500,000.

One benefit is that, as you can see, Amazon “invests in your growth” by charging less for higher proceeds, which incentivises you to grow on Amazon.

But on the other hand, it means if you make $400,000 from your sales in Europe, you’ll pay a hefty $6,000 in ACCS fees – a substantial hit for smaller brands.

Is there any way to lower the fees?

Yes there is. However you will be required to open a locally domiciled account in the country you are selling goods to.

When you set up ACCS, make sure your accounts across different countries are linked (in the Seller Central > Linked Accounts function).

If they’re not linked, you might find each country is eligible for the higher rate.

For example, a seller might make $400,000 on Amazon.com, $350,000 on Amazon.co.uk and $300,000 on Amazon.fr.

If they haven’t linked those accounts, Amazon will charge the full fee of 1.5% on each one.

• US $6,000 + UK $5,250 + Fr $4,500 = total fees of $15,750

If they have linked these accounts, though, Amazon will base the fee on the total of $1,050,000, which is 1%.

• 1% of $1,050,000 = total fees of $10,500.

How can I avoid Amazon’s fees?

The best way to avoid Amazon’s conversion fees altogether would be by opening local accounts in each country you operate in.

That’s important: accounts must be local. For example, if you have a EUR account with a UK high street bank you will not be able to connect this to your Amazon store. 

Amazon also has a list of approved payment service providers (PSPs) and it is advisable to work with one of these, such as WorldFirst. If you do not use an approved Amazon PSP, you run the risk that Amazon will not settle into your account.

It might feel like Amazon’s 1.5% fee is good value to save the admin involved in setting up local accounts, but it really is very simple and straightforward to do. 

One of the major benefits of using local accounts instead of ACCS is the capability to utilise the sales currencies collected to make payments, reducing your business’s exposure to foreign exchange altogether. Any amounts remaining that you do need to convert can be done at up to 50% cheaper than the fees charged by Amazon.

We work with some brilliant partners who can manage money across borders to make sure you get as much back as possible.

WorldFirst - guaranteed cheaper than Amazon

WorldFirst, for example, is an international payments business helping you move money around the world. Since 2017, WorldFirst has provided customers trading internationally with dedicated solutions to help their businesses thrive. 

Designed with importers, exporters, and online sellers in mind, WorldFirst enables you to receive international funds via free local currency accounts, manage currency risk, and make same-currency and cross-currency payments quickly and easily, giving you more control than ever before.

e-Comas and WorldFirst are working in partnership to empower online sellers to grow their businesses across the world.

Under our partnership agreement, clients of e-Comas will never pay more than 0.75% fees, regardless of your sales turnover, and guaranteed to be cheaper than Amazon. Setting up is also really easy, with clients of e-Comas enjoying a prioritised digital onboarding process guaranteeing that your registration for an account will be reviewed within 48 hours.

WorldFirst works with 100+ global marketplaces, including Amazon, CDiscount and Ali Express.

Contact e-Comas today to find out how we can help you expand, globally, for less!