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Getting Paid by a US Client Without Losing It to FX Fees and Recibo Verde Confusion

Mariana Alves designs product interfaces from an apartment in Lisbon. Her clients are mostly Portuguese, until a US software company hires her for a three-month contract. The work is straightforward. The payments are not. Every invoice becomes a small ordeal: a wire that takes days, a fee she can’t predict, and an accounts-payable contact in California who has never heard of a recibo verde.

Recibo Verde (2)

Freelancers don't waste hours dealing with wire fees and invoice confusion. They use Remotify to simplify US client payments and receive predictable EUR payouts.

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The Problem

  1. Every wire eats another slice of the fee. The US client pays by SWIFT wire. By the time correspondent banks take their cut and the bank’s exchange rate applies its own spread, Mariana never quite receives the amount she invoiced.
  2. The client’s finance team doesn’t know what a recibo verde is. Mariana’s Portuguese invoicing document doesn’t match what a US accounts-payable system expects. Each cycle means another email thread explaining what it is and why there’s no US tax form attached.
  3. The exchange rate isn’t fixed until the money lands. Mariana invoices in EUR, but the payment starts as USD. She doesn’t know the final EUR amount until it clears, which makes budgeting and her own bookkeeping harder than it should be.
  4. This isn’t a one-off headache. The contract runs for months. Whatever friction shows up on invoice one repeats on every invoice after it: same wire delay, same fee bite, same explanation.

The Solution

Mariana routes her US invoicing through Remotify, an Estonia-based, EU-registered invoicing and payment facilitation platform. Remotify issues a standard B2B vendor invoice to the US client, the kind their accounts-payable system already recognizes, so nobody on their side has to interpret a Portuguese document. The client pays in USD the way it pays any other vendor. Remotify converts the funds and pays Mariana out in EUR by SEPA transfer, at a rate she can see before she sends the invoice. Her own recibo verde reporting to the Portuguese tax authority continues exactly as before; Remotify handles the invoicing and payment leg, not her personal tax filing.

How It Works (Very Short)

  1. Mariana registers on Remotify and sets up her payout details.
  2. She submits her project details through Remotify, which issues a compliant EU vendor invoice to the US client.
  3. The client pays in USD, using its normal wire or ACH process, no new vendor setup required.
  4. Remotify converts the funds and pays Mariana in EUR via SEPA transfer.
  5. Mariana still files her own recibo verde with the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, as she always has.

Who This Is For

  • Portugal-based freelancers billing US companies directly
  • Freelancers tired of explaining recibo verde to a foreign finance team
  • Designers and consultants who want a predictable EUR payout instead of a wire-rate surprise
  • Freelancers on recurring US projects who don’t want to repeat this friction every invoice cycle

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Mariana still need to file her recibo verde?

Yes. Remotify issues the invoice to the client and handles the payment leg; Mariana’s own recibo verde reporting to the Portuguese tax authority is unchanged and remains her responsibility.

What exchange rate does she actually get?

Remotify shows the conversion before the invoice is sent, so Mariana knows roughly what she’ll receive in EUR rather than finding out after a wire clears.

How fast does the payment arrive?

Once the US client pays, Remotify’s SEPA payout to Mariana’s Portuguese account is typically same-day, well ahead of a standard SWIFT wire.

Does the US client need to change how it pays vendors?

No. The client pays a standard EU vendor invoice through its usual wire or ACH process, with no new onboarding on their end.

Does Remotify handle Mariana’s tax filing?

No. Remotify handles invoicing and payment facilitation only. Mariana remains responsible for her own tax reporting and should confirm her specific obligations with a qualified adviser or the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira.

 

This use case is for illustrative purposes. It does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Freelancers and companies should consult a qualified adviser regarding their obligations to the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira in Portugal and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States before relying on any invoicing or payment structure described here.

Learn how Portuguese freelancers get paid by international clients without losing time or money to FX fees and paperwork mismatches.

  1. Every wire eats another slice of the fee. The US client pays by SWIFT wire. By the time correspondent banks take their cut and the bank’s exchange rate applies its own spread, Mariana never quite receives the amount she invoiced.
  2. The client’s finance team doesn’t know what a recibo verde is. Mariana’s Portuguese invoicing document doesn’t match what a US accounts-payable system expects. Each cycle means another email thread explaining what it is and why there’s no US tax form attached.
  3. The exchange rate isn’t fixed until the money lands. Mariana invoices in EUR, but the payment starts as USD. She doesn’t know the final EUR amount until it clears, which makes budgeting and her own bookkeeping harder than it should be.
  4. This isn’t a one-off headache. The contract runs for months. Whatever friction shows up on invoice one repeats on every invoice after it: same wire delay, same fee bite, same explanation.

Mariana routes her US invoicing through Remotify, an Estonia-based, EU-registered invoicing and payment facilitation platform. Remotify issues a standard B2B vendor invoice to the US client, the kind their accounts-payable system already recognizes, so nobody on their side has to interpret a Portuguese document. The client pays in USD the way it pays any other vendor. Remotify converts the funds and pays Mariana out in EUR by SEPA transfer, at a rate she can see before she sends the invoice. Her own recibo verde reporting to the Portuguese tax authority continues exactly as before; Remotify handles the invoicing and payment leg, not her personal tax filing.

  1. Mariana registers on Remotify and sets up her payout details.
  2. She submits her project details through Remotify, which issues a compliant EU vendor invoice to the US client.
  3. The client pays in USD, using its normal wire or ACH process, no new vendor setup required.
  4. Remotify converts the funds and pays Mariana in EUR via SEPA transfer.
  5. Mariana still files her own recibo verde with the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, as she always has.

  • Portugal-based freelancers billing US companies directly
  • Freelancers tired of explaining recibo verde to a foreign finance team
  • Designers and consultants who want a predictable EUR payout instead of a wire-rate surprise
  • Freelancers on recurring US projects who don’t want to repeat this friction every invoice cycle

Does Mariana still need to file her recibo verde?

Yes. Remotify issues the invoice to the client and handles the payment leg; Mariana’s own recibo verde reporting to the Portuguese tax authority is unchanged and remains her responsibility.

What exchange rate does she actually get?

Remotify shows the conversion before the invoice is sent, so Mariana knows roughly what she’ll receive in EUR rather than finding out after a wire clears.

How fast does the payment arrive?

Once the US client pays, Remotify’s SEPA payout to Mariana’s Portuguese account is typically same-day, well ahead of a standard SWIFT wire.

Does the US client need to change how it pays vendors?

No. The client pays a standard EU vendor invoice through its usual wire or ACH process, with no new onboarding on their end.

Does Remotify handle Mariana’s tax filing?

No. Remotify handles invoicing and payment facilitation only. Mariana remains responsible for her own tax reporting and should confirm her specific obligations with a qualified adviser or the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira.

 

This use case is for illustrative purposes. It does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Freelancers and companies should consult a qualified adviser regarding their obligations to the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira in Portugal and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States before relying on any invoicing or payment structure described here.

Learn how Portuguese freelancers get paid by international clients without losing time or money to FX fees and paperwork mismatches.