Want To Be An International Seller at Amazon? (Part – 02)
So, here is the 2nd Post of the series for overseas FBA sellers. In this post I will discuss about making sales and getting paid for the sales. Yet, as a non-resident and non-taxpayer, there still are positive rules and obligations you have around reporting and collecting taxes.
Is US Bank Account Required to be an Overseas Amazon FBA Seller?
A number of would-be Sellers come across what appears to be an uncertain block when starting up their Amazon business. A bank account is required by Amazon to proceed your payments. PayPal or Bitcoin will not be an option. But for an overseas person, it is impossible to open a US bank account. Because to open a bank account in the US, the person needs to attend physically in the US. Even to open a US LLC or Corporation, the owner must usually be physically attending in a bank to set up a business account. But the very good news for overseas Amazon seller is that a system has been developed by Amazon by themselves to create a bank deposit in an International Bank Account which is called Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS). By ACCS, you can get your payment in your existing local bank and in your local currency. International wire fees or bank limitations are not required on your account. Offering your account is in a country and currency maintained by ACCS.
Countries and Currencies Supported by Amazon Currency Converter for Disbursement
Note: Disbursements can only be made in the home currency of the country where the bank account is located. For example, if your bank account is located in the UK, then disbursements can only be made in GBP, even if your bank account is capable of accepting deposits in both GBP and EUR currencies.
| Country |
Currency |
| Eurozone: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain |
EUR |
| United Kingdom |
GBP |
| United States |
USD |
| Albania* |
ALL |
| Argentina* |
ARS |
| Australia |
AUD |
| Bulgaria |
BGN |
| Brazil* |
BRL |
| Canada |
CAD |
| Switzerland and Lichtenstein |
CHF |
| China* |
CNY |
| Colombia* |
COP |
| Czech Republic |
CZK |
| Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands) |
DKK |
| Hong Kong |
HKD |
| Croatia |
HRK |
| Hungary |
HUF |
| Indonesia* |
IDR |
| Israel* |
ILS |
| India |
INR |
| Jordan* |
JOD |
| Japan* |
JPY |
| Cambodia* |
KHR |
| South Korea* |
KRW |
| Laos* |
LAK |
| Sri Lanka* |
LKR |
| Morocco |
MAD |
| Mexico* |
MXN |
| Malaysia* |
MYR |
| Norway |
NOK |
| Nepal* |
NPR |
| New Zealand |
NZD |
| Philippines |
PHP |
| Pakistan* |
PKR |
| Poland |
PLN |
| Romania |
RON |
| Russia* |
RUB |
| Sweden* |
SEK |
| Singapore |
SGD |
| Thailand* |
THB |
| Taiwan* |
TWD |
| Turkey* |
TRY |
| Vietnam* |
VND |
| South Africa* |
ZAR |
* Disbursements in these currencies are supported via a partnership with Payoneer, a third party, and require a separate Payoneer account. Learn more about Using Payoneer with Amazon.
Few Basic Questions & Answers about the program.
How do I enter my bank details if you have a bank account in one of those countries above?
Please follow the steps below:
- In the “Settings” click the “Seller Account Information” link.
- Click the “Edit” button next to “Deposit Method.”
- Select the country of your bank account from the drop-down menu next to “Bank Location Country.”
- Read and accept the terms and conditions.
- Enter your bank account information.
- Click the “Submit” button.
How do I get paid? Every disbursement will automatically be transferred to your local bank in the local currency.
Isn’t my seller central payment going to take more time because it is an international transfer? No. Your payments may be delayed only by a few minutes.
My bank is not based in one of the countries supported by Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers. Can I get paid into my local bank in my local currency? Currently, this capability is not available for any bank account locations other than those listed in the table of countries and currencies supported by Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers.
How about the fees? If you have entered a non-US bank account and you have a positive balance in your seller account, you can view exchange rate for transfers by clicking the “View Exchange Rate” button on the Payment Summary page.
What about the other registration fields like credit card, billing address, and phone number ? Do they need to be US-based? No, Those stuff doesn’t need to be US-based to register. You can register to sell on Amazon.com if you are resident in one of the many accepted seller registration countries. make sure that your credit card needs to accept international charges.
I am based outside of the accepted seller registration countries. Can I register? No. In order to register to sell on Amazon.com, you need: Your business name, address, and contact information A US or internationally chargeable credit card with a valid billing address in an accepted seller registration country A phone number in an accepted seller registration country where you can be reached during the registration process
What happens if I want to issue a refund? exchange rate also apply to refunds? Refunds to buyers on Amazon.com are made in the website currency (i.e., United States Dollars (USD) for Amazon.com) and as such are not subject to any exchange rate fluctuations. However, it is possible that a card issuer or bank may apply a new exchange rate and a conversion fee to the refund if a non-USD credit/debit card was used for the purchase and the refund was made to that card. Buyers may contact us when this happens, and we advise them to contact their card issuer or bank for an explanation of the exchange rate and any charge applied to the refund.
Taxes – Can you be exempt from U.S. tax reporting requirements?
IRS
All Amazon Professional Sellers and those with over 50 transactions in a calendar year must submit their tax information to Amazon. During the account creation, you’ll go through a Taxpayer Wizard which will generate an IRS tax form for you to complete. Foreign sellers still need to complete the tax questions, and it’s likely that the form which is generated for you is a W8-BEN form, which means you’ll be exempt from U.S. tax reporting requirements. Foreign persons are not subject to U.S. income tax withholding if performing the work outside the U.S. Of course, you may still have to pay tax on this income in your own country. And if you set up a US-based corporation or LLC, that entity will be considered a US “person” and therefore subject to paying income tax. I am an amazon consultant and not not you tax guy 🙂 , so please make sure that to consult a tax professional to determine the best action in your case.
