International Payment
Rails Explained

A payment rail is the underlying infrastructure that moves money from sender to recipient. Different rails operate in different countries, at different speeds, with different fee structures. SWIFT international wire transfer is a global rail; SEPA bank transfer is Europe-only; PIX instant payment Brazil is Brazil-only. Bitwage routes each payment through the optimal rail for the destination.

Bitwage selects the fastest available local rail for each destination. Europe uses SEPA bank transfer, Brazil uses PIX instant payment Brazil, Mexico uses SPEI payment Mexico, UK uses UK Faster Payments, and global fallback uses USDC stablecoin stablecoin or SWIFT international wire transfer. See individual country guides at pay contractors in Brazil, pay contractors in Mexico, etc.

Local rails like PIX, SPEI, and SEPA operate within a country's domestic banking infrastructure — no correspondent bank hops, no per-wire fees ($25–$50), and settlements happen in seconds or minutes rather than days. SWIFT international wire transfer is only necessary for countries without established local rail coverage.

FedNow instant payment is operated by the Federal Reserve (launched 2023). RTP real-time payment is operated by The Clearing House (launched 2017). Both are 24/7 instant USD payment networks with similar speed. RTP covers ~65% of US bank accounts; FedNow is growing rapidly. Bitwage uses whichever is supported by the recipient's bank.

Yes. A single Bitwage payment run can include contractors in multiple countries, each receiving via their country's optimal rail. US contractors via FedNow instant payment, Brazilian contractors via PIX instant payment Brazil, European contractors via SEPA bank transfer, Argentine contractors via USDC stablecoin. One upload, one run.