The problem with paying overseas from Canada
A Canadian business paying a supplier in Vietnam, India, Nigeria or the UAE typically loses 3–6% of the invoice and three to five business days on every payment. The bank's FX margin is 2–3% above mid; two or three correspondent banks each take $15–$50 USD; the receiving bank charges to land the money; a single formatting error sends the wire into a repair queue for a week. Paying twenty suppliers means twenty wires, twenty fees and twenty things to chase.
Your options
Bank wire — universal, slow, expensive; still necessary where the supplier's bank accepts nothing else. Fintech transfer — cheaper in well-covered corridors, weak in Asia and Africa, per-transfer limits. Stablecoin payout — CAD in, USDC, USDT or EURC to the supplier's wallet the same day at under 1% all-in; or, in partner corridors (US, UK, Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia), local currency to their bank. Most companies end up using two of the three, chosen per supplier.
How a stablecoin payout works
- Onboard the company — incorporation, beneficial owners, a director's ID; 1–2 business days.
- Add payees — supplier name, wallet address and network (or bank details in a local-currency corridor) and the invoice reference. Payees are verified once and reused.
- Fund in CAD — Interac e-Transfer up to $25,000 CAD per transfer for businesses, or wire for larger amounts.
- Approve the batch — one screen: every payee, the CAD amount, the stablecoin amount at a firm rate, the total. Two-person approval if you turn it on.
- Settled same day — on-chain confirmations within minutes; each supplier gets a payment notice with the transaction hash. Your statement shows CAD out, per payee, with the reference.
Getting your supplier ready
Most suppliers in Asia, Latin America and Africa already accept USDT or USDC — ask before assuming they don't. Where they are new to it, send a one-page note: which stablecoin and network you pay on, how to set up a wallet (five minutes on a phone) and how to convert locally. Suppliers usually prefer it once dollars arrive in an hour instead of a week. For suppliers who insist on local currency, check whether their country is a TokenNest partner corridor before defaulting to a wire.
Compliance and bookkeeping
Payments through TokenNest are made by a FINTRAC-registered, Revenu Québec-licensed MSB; every payee is screened against sanctions lists and payments to sanctioned countries are refused. On your side the treatment is the same as any foreign payable: the CAD amount on the day of payment is the expense, the transaction hash is the payment reference, the supplier's invoice closes it. Statements export to CSV or into QuickBooks and Xero. See cross-border payments for limits and corridors.
Common questions
On a $50,000 CAD payment a bank wire typically costs $1,500–$2,500 CAD all-in once FX margin and intermediary fees are counted. A TokenNest stablecoin payout costs under 1% — about $400 CAD — including the network fee, and arrives the same day.
Yes. Upload a CSV or add payees in the dashboard, approve one batch, and every payment settles the same day. The per-batch limit is set at onboarding; batches above $1M CAD are available on request.
In the US, UK, Europe, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia TokenNest settles local currency to their bank account through a payout partner. Elsewhere a supplier can convert USDC or USDT locally the same day — or you send a wire for that one payee.