You invoiced in USD and the client paid in USDT: how a company settles that revenue

You issued an invoice in USD and the client settled it in USDT. For the company this is an ordinary receivable paid in an unusual instrument. The question is how the amount becomes USD or EUR on the company account, at what total cost, and with what records the bank and the accountant will accept.

What the company actually holds, and what it still owes its books

Start from the invoice, not from the payment. The company delivered a service, issued an invoice in USD and recorded a receivable. The client then paid with USDT, a digital asset designed to track the US dollar. The commercial side is finished: the client considers the invoice paid, and in most cases so does the company.

The finance side is not finished. The company now holds a digital asset rather than dollars in a bank account, and three things remain open: turning the receipt into USD or EUR on the company account, recording what was received and when, and closing the receivable against the amount that actually reaches the bank. Each step leaves a document, and together they form the trail an accountant and a bank will look at.

It also helps to agree the terms with the client before the next payment. If the invoice says USD and the client pays in USDT, both sides should know whether the amount sent is meant to equal the invoice in USD, and who bears any cost of the transfer itself. A line on the invoice settles this better than an email thread afterwards.

The route: digital-asset settlement into USD or EUR on a business account

The route ArtPay provides is settlement of digital-asset revenue (USDT, USDC) into USD or EUR on the company account. The company receives the revenue, the amount is settled into the currency it chooses, and the result is credited to its business account in that currency. From there it is ordinary money in a company account.

• Business accounts in USD and EUR for a registered company.
• Corporate cards for eligible businesses, drawing on the same account.
• Cross-border settlements: USD via ACH and Wire through SSB Bank, USD via SWIFT through Portage Bank, EUR via SEPA through ClearBank.
• Conversion between USD and EUR, with a fixed fee confirmed in writing.
• Digital-asset settlement: revenue in USDT or USDC settled into USD or EUR on the company account, including direct OTC conversion.

The order of that list is deliberate. For most companies the business account and the rails do the daily work, and digital-asset settlement is one way revenue arrives into them. Which currency to settle into depends on where the money goes next: USD if suppliers and contractors are paid in dollars, EUR if costs sit in the euro area. Terms used here are defined in the payments glossary.

Where the cost sits: conversion, settlement, the bank leg

A USD invoice paid in USDT carries cost in more than one place, and the total is what matters. Look at it as three legs.

Costs that are not stated up front can sit in the difference between the value used for settlement and the value the company expected. That is why the fee should be agreed before the first payment, in writing, for the whole route. At ArtPay the fee is a transparent fixed fee, confirmed in a written quote before activation. The route cost worksheet lists the fees to ask about on each leg, so a quote can be checked line by line.

Why settling company revenue differs from routing it through a personal account

Some companies first try to handle this the way an individual might: route the funds through a personal account and explain it later. For a company this can create problems that are slow to repair.

• Ownership. Revenue that passes through an account in a director's name can stop looking like company revenue, both to the bank and to the accountant.
• The trail. A personal withdrawal arrives without a link to the invoice it settles, so the receivable is closed by explanation rather than by document.
• The bank's view. A credit from an unfamiliar source, with no supporting documents, is the kind of payment a receiving bank stops to ask about.

A company settlement keeps everything in the company's name from the first step to the last. The business is reviewed before onboarding. ArtPay does not provide trading. It settles a registered company's revenue into USD or EUR on that company's account.

What the receiving bank will want to see

When funds settled from digital-asset revenue reach a bank account, or move on from it, a bank may ask how the money was earned. The questions are the same ones it asks about any incoming payment, with one more step to explain.

• The invoice or contract the payment relates to, and the client it was issued to.
• The on-chain reference of the client's transfer and the date it was received.
• The settlement record: the amount received, the amount credited and the currency.
• How the client relationship started and what the company delivered.

Keep these together for each payment from the start. Reconstructing them months later is slow, and a bank's question usually arrives with a deadline. What a finance team keeps for each receipt, and how the pieces tie to the bank statement, is covered in revenue received in USDT or USDC: the records a finance team and a bank will ask for.

After settlement: the funds move on the ordinary rails

Once revenue is settled into USD or EUR, it behaves like any other balance in the business account. The company pays contractors, partners and suppliers on the rail that fits the currency and the recipient's country: typically ACH or Wire for USD inside the United States, SWIFT for USD between countries and SEPA for EUR. How those rails differ, and where intermediary banks sit, is explained in ACH, Wire, SWIFT and SEPA.

Corporate cards on the same account cover spend that is paid by card, such as advertising and software, so settled revenue can fund operating costs without moving it to another account first.

What ArtPay does and does not do here

ArtPay provides international payment infrastructure for business: business accounts in USD and EUR, corporate cards for eligible businesses, cross-border settlements and conversion. For revenue that arrives in USDT or USDC, it settles that revenue into USD or EUR on the company account. Eligibility is reviewed for each business, the business review usually takes about 3 days once the documents are complete, and each client has a named manager.

Who this is for, and who it is not for

This fits registered companies whose clients sometimes pay invoices in USDT or USDC: partner networks, performance and media buying agencies, digital agencies, SaaS and IT service companies with clients abroad. If you are a partner network or a performance agency, use the form for partner networks and performance agencies. You can also describe your flow and get a written quote.

It does not fit individuals, anyone looking to trade or hold digital assets for investment, or activities prohibited under ArtPay's Terms.

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Payment rules and timings vary by bank and country; confirm the details for your route with your provider.