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Cross-Currency Payouts

How FX works automatically when you send payouts in a different currency than your account balance.

Written by Ryan O
Updated today

Overview

When you send a payout in a currency different from your account balance, Anton automatically handles the foreign exchange conversion. You can hold funds in one currency (for example, USD) and pay recipients in their local currency (for example, EUR or GBP) without manually converting beforehand.

How Automatic FX Works

When you create a payout where the payout currency differs from your balance currency, Anton performs the following steps:

  1. Rate lookup -- Anton fetches the current FX rate for the currency pair based on your merchant agreement terms

  2. Amount calculation -- The system calculates how much will be debited from your source currency balance to deliver the specified amount in the destination currency

  3. Balance debit -- The equivalent amount (plus any applicable fees) is debited from your source currency balance

  4. Payout delivery -- The recipient receives the payout in the specified destination currency

Specifying Amounts

You can specify the payout amount in either the source or destination currency:

  • Fixed destination amount -- Specify exactly how much the recipient should receive. Anton calculates how much to debit from your balance. This is the most common approach when you owe a specific amount in the recipient's currency.

  • Fixed source amount -- Specify how much to debit from your balance. Anton calculates how much the recipient will receive after conversion. Useful when you want to send a fixed amount from your balance.

FX Rate on Payouts

The FX rate applied to a cross-currency payout is locked at the time the payout is submitted for processing. The rate, converted amounts, and any FX markup are included in the payout details so you have full transparency.

You can view the applied rate in:

  • The payout detail screen in the merchant portal

  • The payout object returned by the API (the fx_rate, source_amount, and source_currency fields)

  • Webhook event payloads for payout events

Supported Corridors

Cross-currency payouts are available for all corridors enabled on your merchant account. Corridor availability depends on your approved markets and the payment rails configured for your account. You can check available corridors through the merchant portal or the Corridors API endpoint.

Pre-Converting vs Automatic FX

  • Automatic FX (recommended for most cases) -- Let Anton convert at payout time. Simpler integration, and you always pay the current market rate.

  • Pre-conversion -- Convert funds in advance using the FX conversion feature, then send payouts from the converted balance. Useful if you want to lock in a rate ahead of time or manage currency exposure.

Tips for Cross-Currency Payouts

  • Always check your balance in the source currency before submitting payouts. The required amount includes the converted payout amount plus any fees.

  • Use the indicative rate endpoints to estimate costs before creating payouts in bulk.

  • Monitor your FX costs in the merchant portal under the reporting section to optimize your currency strategy.

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