Paying abroad with digital dollars vs a card, for a business
A corporate card and a digital-dollar payout both pay a supplier abroad. Which one for software subscriptions, which one for a factory invoice, which one for a contractor — and what each costs.
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The short answer. Use a card for subscriptions and small online purchases; use a digital-dollar payout for suppliers and contractors who hold a wallet and for amounts a card would decline or mark up. Storspay pays a wallet address in minutes for the network fee only, from any balance.
What a card is good at
Recurring software, ads, small online purchases, anything with a checkout page. The cost is in the FX markup — often 2–3.5% on a non-dollar card — and the limit is whatever the issuer allows.
What a digital-dollar payout is good at
Invoices from suppliers and contractors who hold USDT or USDC: a factory in Shenzhen, a developer in Accra, an agency in Buenos Aires. Paid from your balance in Run Payroll, in minutes, for the network fee — about two cents on Base, about a dollar on Tron — with a receipt and a statement line.
When neither
A supplier who wants local currency in a bank: pay that, at 2% all-in to the 30 countries or 0.75% to a US, UK or European bank in the same currency. The recipient never has to touch digital dollars.
The rule of thumb
Checkout page → card. Invoice from someone who holds a wallet → digital dollars. Invoice from someone with a bank account → local currency. All three from one Storspay account.
How it works, in four steps
- Apply once. A verified business on a paid Storspay plan applies from the Exchange tab: a few questions about what it will trade and why, a one-time identity check for a director, the wallets it plans to use. Reply within one business day.
- Receive or convert. A client sends USDT or USDC to the address in your business name, or you convert dollars or euros from your balance at 0.75% all-in.
- Trade or hold. Keep the balance, convert between USDC and USDT at 0.25%, or trade with other verified businesses on the P2P market — taker 0.5%, makers free, settled the instant the buyer confirms.
- Cash out or send. Pay your local bank or mobile money the same business day at 2% all-in, or send to any wallet address for the network fee only.
What it costs
| Step | Fee |
|---|---|
| Receive USDC or USDT | Free |
| P2P market — taker | 0.5% (makers free) |
| Convert US dollars or euros ⇄ USDC or USDT | 0.75% all-in |
| Convert USDC ⇄ USDT | 0.25% |
| Send to a wallet address | Network fee only |
| Cash out to a local bank or mobile money | 2% all-in (1% · min US$2 to India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand) |
Who this is for — and who it is not for
Businesses, and a sole trader counts: every movement is a business transaction with an invoice, a contract or work delivered. Traders are welcome as businesses and should expect what the page says plainly — verified counterparties, instant settlement and a cash-out to their own business account, not the tightest spread on the internet. Personal accounts, gifts and family transfers are not what this is.
Keep your invoices and statements for your records and ask a local accountant how income in digital dollars is taxed where you live.
Read next
- Storspay Exchange — hold, convert and trade digital dollars
- Digital dollars for African businesses
- Storspay Exchange vs P2P exchange apps
- Can a freelancer hold USD, EUR, GBP or CAD?
Storspay Exchange is in early access — apply from the Exchange page. Fees and availability are as published there on the day you read this.
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