An online seller in Bulgaria with marketplace payouts in dollars and euros

The situation

Iva and her brother run a small ceramics studio in Veliko Tarnovo as an EOOD. Two years ago they started selling mugs and planters online. Today most orders come from two places: a US marketplace that pays them in dollars twice a month, and a European marketplace that pays in euros. Their costs are mixed. Clay and glazes come from a supplier in Germany in euros, packaging from a US company that invoices in dollars, and the studio's rent, salaries and taxes are in euros in Bulgaria.

At the end of the quarter their accountant puts the numbers side by side and asks a question nobody had asked: the US marketplace reported USD 18,600 in payouts, but the euros that arrived at the bank look lower than the ECB rate would suggest. Where did the difference go?

Where the cost or risk really comes from

• Conversion by the platform. When a marketplace pays dollar sales into a euro bank account, it converts the money. The rate it uses is its own, and some platforms add a conversion fee. The seller sees a smaller euro amount, not a fee line. Your seller agreement's payout section says what applies.
• Double conversion. Iva's studio converts dollars to euros on the payout, then converts euros back to dollars to pay the US packaging supplier. Each conversion costs a margin.
• Bank fees on foreign payments. Paying a US supplier by international wire from a Bulgarian bank can include the bank's wire fee, a conversion rate and possible intermediary deductions.
• Timing. Payouts and supplier invoices do not arrive on the same days. Converting at whatever rate applies on payout day, then again on payment day, adds currency risk in both directions.
• Paperwork. Marketplace reports, bank statements and supplier invoices in different currencies make the accountant's job slower and errors more likely.

The euro side is mostly fine. A euro payout from an EU marketplace to a Bulgarian bank is a SEPA transfer, and paying the German supplier in euros from the same bank is also SEPA.

How to handle it

1. Read the payout terms. Find the section of each marketplace's seller agreement that covers payout currencies, supported bank countries and currency conversion. Note which bank details it accepts.
2. Keep dollars as dollars. If the US marketplace accepts US account details, add the xChange.bg USD account in the company's name. Payouts arrive as USDC for 1.5%, with no conversion by the platform. Alternatives are a multi-currency business account at a payment provider or a USD account at a Bulgarian bank; compare the incoming fee and the conversion rate each one applies.
3. Leave euro payouts where they work. Keep the European marketplace paying into the Bulgarian bank by SEPA, unless you have a reason to hold those euros as stablecoins.
4. Pay dollar costs from the dollar balance. Pay the US packaging supplier in USD from the USDC balance with send to bank at 1.25%, or in USDC if they accept it. No conversion to euros and back.
5. Move only the surplus to euros. Once dollar costs are covered, pay out the rest to the company's Bulgarian IBAN in euros at 1.25%, when it suits your cash flow.
6. Give the accountant one pack a month. Marketplace payout reports, xChange.bg statements and exports, and supplier invoices, filed together. Agree with the accountant how the stablecoin balance is booked.

Setup checklist

• Seller agreements checked for payout currencies and accepted bank details
• xChange.bg business account opened and verified in the company's name
• US account details added to the US marketplace's payout settings
• European marketplace still paying to the Bulgarian IBAN
• US supplier's bank details saved and confirmed by phone
• Company's Bulgarian IBAN saved for payouts in euros
• Monthly routine for statements and reports to the accountant

Worked example

One US marketplace payout of USD 6,200. The studio pays a USD 2,000 packaging invoice and moves 3,000 USDC to its Bulgarian bank in euros. The example uses an illustrative rate of USD 1.15 per euro; the real rate on the day will differ.

xChange.bg fees for the whole cycle: USD 155.50. The dollars that paid the US supplier were not converted to euros and back. The euro payouts from the European marketplace went straight to the Bulgarian bank as before, with no xChange.bg fee. You can try other amounts in the stablecoin fee calculator.

To see whether this beats your current setup, take one past payout and compare three numbers: the dollars the marketplace reported, the euros that reached your bank, and the ECB reference rate for that day. The gap is what the old route cost.

What this is based on

The fees are from the xChange.bg pricing page: 1.5% on incoming payments and 1.25% on bank payouts. Bridge's documentation on virtual accounts describes how US account details in the customer's name receive ACH and wire payments and convert them into stablecoins. Nacha explains how the ACH network works. The European Central Bank describes SEPA and publishes the daily euro reference rates used for the comparison. USDC facts come from Circle. Marketplace payout and conversion terms differ by platform, so the page points you to your own seller agreement rather than quoting any one. The studio and its figures are illustrative.