Multi-Currency IBAN Explained: Why Getting Paid in Dollars Shouldn't Mean Converting Twice

2026-10-06

Euro and US dollar banknotes side by side, representing several currencies held in one account

The Conversion You Didn't Ask For

Here's a situation plenty of freelancers and small companies in Europe know well. A client in the US pays an invoice in dollars. The money lands in a euro account, and the bank converts it on arrival at its own rate, without asking. A month later you need to pay a designer, a hosting provider or a supplier in dollars. So the euros get converted back.

Nobody decided to exchange that money twice. It happened because the account could only hold one currency, and every conversion in between had a spread built into it.

A multi-currency account exists to stop that from happening.

What "Multi-Currency" Actually Means on an IBAN

An IBAN identifies an account. It doesn't say anything about currency. Whether a payment in dollars stays in dollars depends on how the account behind that IBAN is set up, not on the number itself.

On a single-currency account, everything that arrives is turned into the base currency. On a multi-currency account, there are separate balances inside the same account, and incoming money goes to the balance in its own currency.

Polydirection's homepage describes it in one line: every IBAN account "is multi-currency, allowing you to hold any currency. Funds are held in your account in the currency in which they were paid." The Business page puts it as "Hold and route EUR and other currencies."

The important part is the second sentence. Dollars in, dollars held. Converting is something you choose to do, when you choose to do it.

The Double Conversion, With Numbers

Banks rarely charge a visible fee for converting an incoming payment. The cost is in the rate: the difference between the rate you get and the mid-market rate you'd see on a currency site.

Let's use a round, purely illustrative figure. Say each conversion costs you 1.5% compared with the mid-market rate.

A 10,000 USD payment arrives and is converted to euros: about 150 USD worth is lost in the spread.
Later, 6,000 USD goes out to a supplier, so you convert euros back into dollars: roughly another 90 USD.

That's about 240 USD on money that was only ever needed in dollars. Do it every month and it becomes a real line in the budget, even though it never shows up as a fee on a statement.

With the dollars held as dollars, the supplier payment comes straight out of the USD balance. Only the part you genuinely want in euros gets converted, once.

How the Money Gets In: SEPA for Euros, SWIFT for the Rest

Holding a currency is one half of it. The other half is how payments reach the account, because the rail sets the price.

SEPA is the European system for euro payments. On a Polydirection Personal account (EU tariff), an incoming SEPA transfer is free. If a client pays in euros from a bank inside SEPA, this is the cheapest way for the money to arrive.

SWIFT handles international payments, including every currency that isn't the euro. On the same tariff, an incoming SWIFT transfer costs 0.2%, with a minimum of 10 EUR. That minimum does most of the work for typical invoices: 0.2% only reaches 10 EUR at 5,000 EUR, so any SWIFT payment below that pays the flat 10 EUR.

The fee page adds one more caveat worth knowing: "In some cases, intermediary bank fees may be charged." SWIFT payments can pass through correspondent banks on the way, and those banks may take a cut before the money arrives. It's a feature of the network, not of any one provider, but it explains why a SWIFT payment sometimes lands a little short.

On the way out, the logic is the same. SEPA outgoing costs 3 EUR on the Personal EU tariff. SWIFT outgoing is 0.5%, minimum 35 EUR.

When Converting Is Still the Right Call

Holding several currencies isn't a goal in itself. Sometimes converting is simply the sensible thing to do:

Your costs are in euros. If you're paid in dollars but rent, salaries and taxes are in euros, the money has to become euros at some point. The advantage of a multi-currency account is that you pick the timing and the amount.
The balance is small and rarely used. A few hundred units of a currency you seldom spend may not be worth tracking separately.
You'd rather not carry currency risk. A balance held in dollars goes up and down in euro terms as the exchange rate moves. If that bothers you, converting on arrival removes the uncertainty.

Before converting, check the rate shown at the moment you confirm. That's the number that counts.

Who Gets the Most Out of It

A multi-currency IBAN tends to pay off for:

Freelancers and contractors paid by foreign clients in dollars or pounds while living in the eurozone.
Small companies with suppliers abroad, especially when revenue and costs are in the same foreign currency.
People with a life in two countries, such as a salary in one currency and a mortgage or family expenses in another.
Online businesses selling internationally, where payouts from platforms arrive in several currencies.

The common thread is money that comes in and goes out in the same currency. That's where avoiding the round trip through euros saves the most.

Three Questions to Ask Before You Open One

Which currencies do you actually receive and pay in? List them for the last few months. If it's all euros, a multi-currency account adds little.
How do your payers send money? If euro clients can use SEPA, ask them to. It's free on arrival. Payments in other currencies will come by SWIFT, so factor the minimum fee into small invoices.
What happens to the money next? If most of it leaves again in the same currency, keep it there. If it's for euro costs, convert deliberately, not automatically.

Polydirection offers multi-currency IBAN accounts for both individuals and companies, with SEPA and SWIFT on the same account. The full fee schedule, including the figures above, is published on the Fees page. Final tariffs can vary from case to case, so for business accounts it's worth confirming your exact pricing with a manager before you apply.