Local payment rails, dollar accounts, foreign clients: here is how to get paid without losing time or money.
The payment methods actually used
Four rails, with different uses.
Instant transfer between local accounts
The fastest and most reliable for a client in the country: the sum arrives in seconds, with no notable fee, and the proof fits in a screenshot.
Two limits to know: it works in local currency, and there are caps per operation. For a high amount, payment comes in several parts, which complicates the bookkeeping. Ask then for a single payment per invoice.
Bank transfer
The rail for large amounts and corporate clients. Count one to three working days locally, more from abroad.
Dollar account
Useful as soon as half your income comes from outside: you avoid a conversion imposed at the bank's rate, and you choose when to change.
Platforms and marketplaces
They settle the collection question but take a commission and sometimes delay the payout. Keep them for new clients and first jobs.
The delays you will meet
Three cases, to be handled differently.
The local independent client often pays the same day, sometimes before delivery.
The local company pays at thirty days, with an internal process.
The foreign client pays on their own calendar, and the transfer still takes a few days to arrive. So always state a payment date, not a delay: the 15th of next month can be checked, "within thirty days" cannot.
The deposit, your best protection
Three simple rules.
Ask for fifty per cent before the shoot with a new client, thirty with a known one.
Start nothing before seeing it arrive: a promise of transfer is not a transfer.
And invoice the deposit, never take it without a document. That is what makes the sum claimable in a dispute.
What must be written
Five lines are enough, and they avoid nearly every conflict.
The total amount and the currency. The payment date of the balance. What the job covers exactly, in number of videos and revisions. The duration and channels of use. And who absorbs the transfer fees.
What protects you at each stage
| Stage | The safeguard | What it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Before the shoot | A signed quote and a deposit | Work on credit |
| At approval | A watermarked version | A release with no payment |
| After the invoice | A dated follow-up | A lasting oversight |
What goes on an invoice to get paid fast
A number, a precise due date, the amount, the currency and the account to credit, written without abbreviation. An ambiguous invoice waits at the bottom of a pile.
What you do after two ineffective reminders
Suspend any new order, send a formal reminder with a deadline, then examine the remedies, to be confirmed with a lawyer.
When the client is late
Three steps, in this order, and no more.
A short reminder the day after the due date, with no reproach, with the invoice attached again.
A follow-up at seven days asking for a precise date, in writing.
Then a halt on any new production for that client until the invoice is settled. It is not a threat, it is the only measure that works, and it avoids piling up unpaid work while negotiating.
Sources
Checked on 4 September 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
