Exchange rate discrepancy

[beth_de_wet]

I'm having an issue with withdrawing my funds at the 'perfect' time. I live in South Africa so picking a bad day for the exchange rate really hurts and does not represent the actual work I have done. So I keep a careful eye on the fluctuation of the exchange rate.

However, there is sometimes a large discrepency between the displayed exchange rate and the exchange rate Up work offers. The attached images show the discrepancy. Upwork takes 20% of my fee, then a further $0.99 for bank charges. An now an extra $0.62. I know $0.62 isn't a lot in dollars but it converts to about R10. That means I am losing nearly R200 on this transaction. I know for a fact that it is not comming from my bank. Nor is it a bank charge coming from the US. How do we resolve this issue? Or at least reflect it acurately for tax purposes? When I declare tax, our tax agency takes the exchange rate for that given day, not the Upwork one. So I am paying tax on money that I never see.

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

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Beth D wrote:

However, there is sometimes a large discrepency between the displayed exchange rate and the exchange rate Up work offers.

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1. Upwork do not decide on the exchange rate. Upwork sends US Dollars to the banking system, which does the exchanging.

2. The rate you are looking at is the mid-market or interbank rate, which is not the rate banks use to echange money, because banks, not being charities, get paid for their service.

3. Upwork has no control over the exchange rates.

[richard_wein]

This won't work for everyone,  but I declare my earnings for tax purposes based on the amount that's actually paid into my bank account in GBP. So I'm taxed on exactly the amount I receive. Of course,  that means I'm declaring my net earnings  after Upwork has deducted its fees. Your tax authorities might expect to see Upwork's fees as a separate expense.