Multi Currency Payroll
Your provider converts your funding currency into each employee's local currency on every payroll run, and takes a margin on the conversion. That margin is the FX spread, measured against the mid-market rate.
Mid-market is the wholesale rate banks quote each other, and the number you get if you look up a currency pair. Across the providers we cover, the spread runs from 0.5% to 5% above it. It recurs every cycle and scales with headcount.
For a 25-person international team with monthly salary disbursements of $200,000, that is $12,000 a year at Deel's 0.5% floor and $120,000 at Pebl's estimated 5% ceiling. The gap is wide enough to decide a shortlist.
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Why does multi-currency payroll matter?
Because it is a recurring cost that nobody itemises for you. The spread sits inside the exchange rate applied to your payroll, so your invoice shows a converted amount and no fee line. That amount is 0.5-5% less favourable than the mid-market rate at the moment of conversion.
Most providers do not publish their FX methodology, and most do not state the spread. In the table below, only Deel's row records a disclosed figure, and two rows record nothing at all.
The cost surfaces when someone in Finance puts the provider's conversion rate next to the mid-market rate for the same day and finds the gap. Until somebody does that, the spread leaves no trace in your accounts.
At 1-5 employees the annual cost is $500-$3,000, which will not change a decision. On larger teams (25+) it belongs in the business case alongside platform fees and employer contributions.
Finance will want a currency cost model before approving the spend. Without a provider-by-provider comparison at your own headcount, that approval stalls.
How do providers handle multi-currency payroll?
The table below carries what we could establish for each provider we cover: our estimate of the spread, what the provider itself discloses, and how many currencies it supports.
Those three things run independently of each other. Papaya Global supports the most currencies at 130+ and sits in the middle on spread. Deel is the only provider here that publishes a range at all, and Multiplier's estimated range is tighter than Deel's.
| Provider | Estimated FX spread | Currencies | Transparency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deel | 0.5-2% | 120+ | Disclosed in help centre |
| Remote | 1-3% (estimated) | 50+ | Proprietary "Remote FX Rate", not disclosed |
| Multiplier | 0.5-1.5% | 5 accepted funding currencies | Moderate; double FX risk for non-accepted currencies |
| Papaya Global | 1-1.5% | 130+ | Tier-1 banking rails; moderate transparency |
| Pebl | 2-5% (estimated) | 100+ | Not disclosed |
| Oyster | 1.0-1.5% | 120+ | Moderate |
Source: Provider documentation and industry analysis, April 2026. All spreads are estimates, no provider publishes exact methodology.
Which providers are strongest on FX?
Deel and Multiplier take the smallest cut. Papaya Global gives a Finance team the most visibility over what happens to the money in transit.
Tightest spread: Deel (0.5-2%) and Multiplier (0.5-1.5%). Multiplier accepts only 5 funding currencies: USD, GBP, EUR, SGD and AUD. Fund in anything else and your money converts twice, first into an accepted currency and then into the employee's local currency, which we estimate adds 1-3% on top of the headline range.
Best payments infrastructure: Papaya Global, on tier-1 banking partners (JP Morgan, Citibank), multi-currency wallets and instant payment rails. Its 1-1.5% spread sits in the middle of this table. The extra buys payment visibility and treasury-grade reporting, which is what a Finance team needs to audit a conversion after it has happened.
Widest spread: Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) at 2-5%, our estimate and the widest here. For a 10-person team disbursing $80,000 a month, the 3.5% midpoint costs $33,600 a year. The same payroll run through Deel's 0.5% floor costs $4,800.
Oyster sits between those groups at 1.0-1.5%, with the same moderate disclosure we recorded for Papaya and Multiplier.
Cost impact
Annual FX cost by provider for a 25-person team
Monthly salary disbursements: $200,000; Deel (0.5-2%): $12,000-$48,000/year; Remote (1-3%): $24,000-$72,000/year; Multiplier (0.5-1.5%): $12,000-$36,000/year; Papaya (1-1.5%): $24,000-$36,000/year.
Pebl (2-5%): $48,000-$120,000/year.
Tightest to widest, the spread is worth $108,000 a year on the same 25 employees. None of it appears on a pricing page.
WhichPayroll view
FX spread is the least scrutinised cost in international payroll. Platform fees are published and employer contributions are documented. Spreads are estimated, including by us.
That cuts against our own table. A provider gets a narrow published range here partly because it published one, and the providers we know least about are the ones whose rows say nothing.
Read the transparency column as a record of what we could check, and settle the numbers yourself in procurement.
What should you ask during procurement?
1. What is your FX spread above mid-market? Ask for a number or a range.
"Competitive rates" is not an answer, and a figure in writing is the only version you can hold them to later.
2. How is the conversion rate set? At the moment of disbursement, on a daily fixing, or on a monthly average.
Each choice changes what you are exposed to: a monthly average smooths intraday movement, and a disbursement rate ties your cost to one moment on one day.
3. Can I see 6 months of historical conversion rates? Put them next to Reuters or Bloomberg mid-market rates for the same dates.
The gap is your actual spread, and it is the only measurement on this list that does not rely on the provider describing itself.
4. Can I lock a rate or hedge? Some providers offer forward contracts or rate locks on large payroll runs.
These reduce volatility and may raise the base spread, so ask what the lock costs before you take it.
5. Which currencies will you accept for funding? If your treasury holds a currency the provider does not take, you pay the double conversion described above.
Multiplier's list of 5 is the shortest here, so this question matters most if you fund outside the major currencies.
Frequently asked questions
Which EOR provider has the lowest FX spread?
Deel and Multiplier, on our estimates. Multiplier's range is marginally tighter at the top end.
Deel is the safer answer if your treasury funds in anything outside Multiplier's five accepted currencies, and it is the one provider here that states a range in its help-centre documentation.
How much does FX cost per year?
Multiply your annual salary disbursements by the spread. On the 25-person example above, that puts the currency bill somewhere between $12,000 and $120,000 a year depending on which provider handles it.
Do that calculation before you compare platform fees, so the currency bill is in the business case from the start.
Can I avoid FX costs entirely?
Only where your funding currency already matches the payout currency. Fund in USD for an employee paid in USD and nothing converts, so there is no spread to pay. The moment those two currencies differ, you are paying a spread on the difference.
Some companies hold multi-currency bank accounts and fund each payroll in local currency directly. That needs treasury infrastructure most mid-market companies do not have, and a bank relationship in each market.
Tools for this topic
- FX Transparency & Funding Comparison: compare FX spreads and funding windows across providers
- Payroll Deadline Tracker: check payroll deadlines for each currency country
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Methodology and disclosure
WhichPayroll is an independent comparison site. We do not sell EOR, payroll, or contractor services.
Every FX spread on this page is our estimate, built from provider documentation, help centre disclosures and industry analysis. No provider publishes an exact FX methodology, so none of these ranges is a quotation from a rate card. Treat them as the question to put to a provider, and get the answer in writing.
Last reviewed: April 2026