Multi-currency business account in Belgium: Wise or Revolut?

A Brussels-based IT consultant invoicing 3,000 £ a month to a London client usually loses more money converting those pounds than paying for the business account itself. That is the blind spot for freelancers in Belgium working outside the eurozone: they compare monthly prices when the real bill is a percentage on every conversion. Here is how to choose between Wise Business, Revolut Business and Qonto.

Do you need a multi-currency account to invoice outside the eurozone?

Not always. A multi-currency account is an account that holds several currencies side by side and provides local bank details in each of them, for example a UK sort code to receive pounds. A foreign client can perfectly well send dollars to a plain Belgian IBAN: your bank will convert them, at its own rate.

Volume decides. Below 500 € a month invoiced outside the euro, opening a dedicated account complicates your bookkeeping for a negligible saving. Above 2,000 € a month, the gap becomes visible over a year.

In practice, a multi-currency account does two things: it lets you get paid without your client bearing SWIFT fees, and it lets you choose when and at what rate you convert. An Antwerp designer paid in dollars by a US client receives funds on local US bank details, as if it were a domestic transfer. The client never sees the border, and no correspondent bank takes 20 $ on the way.

What does currency conversion really cost on a dollar or pound invoice?

Between 1.5 and 2 % at a traditional Belgian bank, usually without any line item called a "fee". The margin sits inside the rate: you see a credited amount, not a commission. That is what makes the cost invisible, and painless, until you add it up.

Run the yearly figure. A freelancer invoicing 40,000 € of non-euro equivalent, converted at a 1.8 % margin, leaves roughly 720 € a year in the exchange. The same volume converted at 0.4 to 0.6 % costs between 160 and 240 €. The annual gap is far bigger than the 108 € of a Qonto Basic subscription or the 120 € of a Revolut Business Basic.

What this means for you: the subscription price is the wrong starting criterion. An account at 10 € a month that converts badly costs more than an account at a one-off 50 € that converts well. Compare exchange percentages and quotas first, subscriptions second.

Wise Business, Revolut Business or Qonto: which one for a Belgian freelancer?

Three offers dominate among Belgian freelancers paid in foreign currencies. They are not in the same category: Wise is a currency specialist, Revolut a bank with spend-management tools, Qonto a business account built around accounting.

For a solo freelancer invoicing in dollars or pounds, Wise Business wins: no subscription to amortise, a Belgian IBAN, and local bank details in more than twenty currencies. Revolut Business Grow earns its place if you also manage team expenses or convert several thousand euros every month.

What if my Swiss client pays in francs?

The Swiss franc follows the same logic as the pound: what matters is receiving on local bank details rather than by SWIFT. A SWIFT transfer from Zurich to a Belgian IBAN can cost 10 to 25 CHF in correspondent fees, taken either from the amount or from the client. Watch the detail: when those fees are charged "to the beneficiary", you receive less than the invoiced amount, and your books have to justify the difference.

Will my Belgian accountant accept a foreign IBAN?

Yes, nothing forbids it, but the friction is real. Payments to the SPF Finances or to your social insurance fund use a structured communication, which some foreign accounts handle poorly. A Belgian IBAN, like the one issued by Wise Europe SA, removes that annoyance for VAT and social contributions. With a Lithuanian or French IBAN, plan to keep a Belgian account as your base for those domestic flows.

Which fees hide inside a 10 € per month business plan?

Three lines slip under the radar in most comparisons. First the exchange quota: Revolut Business Basic includes only 1,500 € a month at the interbank rate. A freelancer cashing a 4,000 $ invoice blows through the quota on the first conversion of the month, and pays 0.6 % on the rest.

Then exchanges outside market hours, charged at 1 %. Converting 5,000 $ on a Saturday costs twice as much as the same operation on a Tuesday morning. Nobody puts that on the pricing landing page, it sits in the fee terms.

Finally the international transfers: the Basic plan includes none, then charges 5 € each. If you pay subcontractors outside the SEPA zone, the bill adds up. ATM withdrawals are charged 2 % on every plan.

How do you book a foreign-currency invoice in Belgian accounts?

In euros, always. Belgian bookkeeping is kept in euros: an invoice issued in dollars must be converted at the rate on the invoice date, and that rate must appear on the document. Show both amounts, the currency figure and the euro equivalent.

The difference between the rate on the invoice date and the rate on the payment date creates an exchange difference, booked as financial income or expense. That is where holding a foreign-currency balance becomes a management decision rather than a technicality: as long as you do not convert, you carry the risk.

On VAT, a service supplied to a business client established in another member state falls under the reverse charge, with the matching mention on the invoice and an intra-community statement to file. Outside the European Union, the service is in principle outside the scope of Belgian VAT. Have your accountant confirm your case, since the place-of-supply rules vary with the type of service.

To compare the cards attached to these accounts, see our Belgian credit card comparison and the other Pro and Business guides.

FAQ

The most frequent questions from Belgian freelancers invoicing abroad are answered above: invoicing in a foreign currency, the Belgian IBAN at Wise, Revolut Business pricing in 2026, exceeding the exchange quota, deposit protection, whether Qonto fits, and whether to hold or convert a foreign-currency balance.