What is a routing number, and do I need one?

It's a nine-digit number that tells a US bank which bank to send the money to. You need one only if a client in the US is paying you by ACH or domestic wire. Clients outside the US use a SWIFT code instead.

Can my client pay me in euros or pounds?

Not into US account details. Ask them to send USD. If they can only pay in their own currency, use another route for that client, or the money will be converted at a rate you don't control.

Is it safe to send my account details to a client?

Yes. A routing number and account number let someone send money to you. Share them only with real clients, and never share your app passcode, passkey or one-time codes with anyone.

How to Receive Payment From a Client Abroad (2026)

You've signed the client. The work is done, or at least started. Then the email comes in: "Can you send over your payment details?" If you want to receive payment from a client abroad without a week of back and forth, the answer to that email matters more than which app you use. Send the wrong field, the wrong name or the wrong currency, and the money can sit in limbo or come back to the client.

Most guides stop at a list of apps. This one gives you the exact message to send, every field labelled, for a client in the US and one anywhere else. Everything below was checked on 24 October 2026.

Key takeaways

A US client paying by ACH needs four things: your full legal name, a routing number, an account number and the account type.
A client outside the US sends a SWIFT wire, which also needs a SWIFT code, the receiving bank's name and address, and your address.
Ask for US dollars only. US account details are built to receive USD.
The name on the payment must match your name exactly. A wrong account number is worse than a wrong name, so check every digit.
A US client may also ask for Form W-8BEN. It goes to them, not to the IRS.

What details does a client abroad need to pay you?

It depends on how they pay. A US client paying by ACH needs your full legal name, a 9-digit routing number, your account number and the account type. A client outside the US sending a SWIFT wire also needs a SWIFT code, the receiving bank's name and address, and your own address. All of it should be in your name.

Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76 billion in FY2025-26, up from $984 million the year before, according to State Bank of Pakistan data reported by Dawn. Every one of those payments needed the right details first.

The routing number is the one people get stuck on. It's a nine-digit number the American Bankers Association created to send payments to the right bank. With your account number, it tells your client's bank where the money goes.

Field	US client (ACH or domestic wire)	Client outside the US (SWIFT wire)
Account holder name	Yes	Yes
Routing number	Yes	No
Account number	Yes	Yes
Account type	Yes (most ACH forms ask)	No
SWIFT code	No	Yes
Receiving bank name and address	Sometimes	Yes
Your address	Sometimes	Yes
Currency	USD	USD

Checked 24 Oct 2026.

A message you can copy and send

Copy the version that matches your client, fill in the brackets from your app, and send it as it is. Every field is labelled, so their accounts team can type it straight into their payment form.

For a client in the US:

Hi [Client name],

Thanks for the go-ahead. Here are my payment details for invoice [number]:

Payment method: ACH (preferred) or domestic wire
Currency: USD
Account holder name: [Your full legal name, exactly as on your ID]
Routing number: [9 digits]
Account number: [Your account number]
Account type: [As shown in your app, usually checking]
Bank name: [As shown in your app]

Please put the invoice number in the payment reference. Let me know once it's sent and I'll confirm when it lands.

Thanks,
[Your name]

For a client outside the US:

Hi [Client name],

Here are my details for invoice [number]. Please send this as a SWIFT wire in US dollars:

Currency: USD (please don't convert to another currency before sending)
Beneficiary name: [Your full legal name, exactly as on your ID]
Beneficiary address: [Your address in Pakistan]
Account number: [Your account number]
SWIFT/BIC code: [As shown in your app]
Bank name and address: [As shown in your app]
Charges: OUR, so the full amount arrives
Reference: Invoice [number]

Thanks,
[Your name]

Save both as templates for the next client.

Should your client pay by ACH or wire?

A US client should use ACH when they can. It's the normal way US businesses pay contractors, and Nacha says most ACH payments settle in one banking day or less. A client outside the US can't send ACH, so they send a SWIFT wire in USD. Wires work too, but intermediary banks can deduct fees along the way.

ACH reaches every US bank and credit union account, so for your client it's a routine domestic payment. Nacha, which runs the network, puts the share settling in one banking day or less at about 80%, and Same Day ACH can carry up to $1 million per payment.

A SWIFT wire often passes through intermediary banks, and they can take a fee out of the amount sent. That's why the second message asks for "OUR" charges. UK bank NatWest explains the three options: with OUR the sender pays all charges and the full amount arrives; with SHA the charges are shared; with BEN the person receiving the money pays them, so you get less than was sent.

Compare	ACH	SWIFT wire
Who can send it	Clients with a US bank account	Clients almost anywhere
What they need from you	Name, routing number, account number, account type	Name, address, account number, SWIFT code, bank name and address
Typical speed	Most settle in one banking day or less	Varies with the number of banks in between
Watch out for	Name and account number typos	Fees taken by intermediary banks; ask for OUR

ACH timing from Nacha. Wire charge options from NatWest. Checked 24 Oct 2026.

If you're still choosing how to get paid at all, we compared every route by payer in freelancer payment methods in Pakistan.

Why should only USD go to US account details?

US account details are set up to receive US dollars. If a client sends euros, pounds or dirhams instead, a bank along the way usually converts them at its own rate before they reach you, or the payment can be rejected and sent back. Ask every client to send USD, and put the currency on your invoice.

Clients outside the US get this wrong most often, because their banking app may default to their home currency. Write "Currency: USD" in the message, put the amount in dollars on the invoice, and ask them not to convert before sending. Whoever converts your payment picks the rate, and the gap comes out of your money. We showed how much that gap costs in why you get fewer rupees than the Google rate.

What to do if your client pays under a different name

Two different problems hide here. If your client types your name wrong, ask them to correct it before sending, because a name that doesn't match your account can get the payment held or sent back. If the money comes from a different company name than your contract, that's usually fine. Keep the invoice and contract that link them.

When your name is wrong on the payment. Your US account details are in your own name, so the payee name should match it exactly: no nickname, no shortened surname, no business name. If "Muhammad Ali Khan" becomes "Ali Khan" or "M. Khan Designs," the payment can be held or returned. Check the payee name in their payment form before they hit send, not after.

When the account number is wrong, it's worse. Under US wire transfer law (UCC Article 4A, section 207), a receiving bank that doesn't know the name and number belong to different people may rely on the account number alone. In other words, a wire with your name and someone else's account number can go to that someone else. Read the number back to your client, digit by digit, on the first payment.

When the payer's name is different from your client's. Plenty of clients pay through a parent company, a payroll provider or an accounting firm. Your contract says "Brightline LLC" and the payment arrives from "Brightline Holdings." That's normal. Keep the contract, the invoice and any email that shows who pays you, in case you're ever asked where a payment came from.

When someone else's client wants to pay you. Don't take it. Your brother's client should pay your brother. We covered who a USD account fits in who needs a USD account.

Will a US client ask you for tax forms?

Often, yes. Many US companies ask foreign contractors for IRS Form W-8BEN before the first payment. It certifies you're not a US person. You give it to the client, not to the IRS, and the IRS says to submit it whenever a payer asks. Fill it in with your own legal name and address.

The IRS page for Form W-8BEN says to give it "to the withholding agent or payer if you are a foreign person." Your client's accounts team keeps it on file. Use the same name on the W-8BEN, your invoice and your US account details. We're not tax advisers, so for questions about tax treaties or your own filing, talk to one.

How to make the first payment go smoothly

Get your details ready before you invoice

In HandlePay, you verify your identity once, request your USD account and copy your US account details from the app.

Send the right message

ACH for a US client, SWIFT for everyone else.

Invoice in USD, in your legal name, with the reference you want them to use

Check the payee name and account number in their payment form before they send

A screenshot is fine.

Confirm when it lands

Once the money is in, it stays in dollars until you decide to convert. When you want rupees, you cash out to any Pakistani bank in your name, and only you can move your money.

Get US account details in your own name

Send your client one message, get paid by ACH or SWIFT in USD, and cash out to PKR when you choose.

Get the app

Sources

FAQs

Yes, by SWIFT wire, if your bank account can receive foreign currency. Under the State Bank's freelancer account framework, you can keep part of it in dollars. A US client may prefer ACH, which needs US account details.

HandlePay Team

Our mission is to make international money work for everyday people, freelancers, and businesses in Pakistan.