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Can Freight Forwarders Serving Export Enterprises Only Charge Fees Settled in US Dollar?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the head of a small and medium-sized export e-commerce enterprise based in Shanghai, mainly engaged in home goods. I recently finalized an order from a German client and hired a local freight forwarder with 10 years of experience. We have always paid in USD for US-bound routes before, but this time the German client settles in EUR, and I also hold a large amount of idle RMB.
Recently, the USD exchange rate fluctuates very sharply, and I will lose nearly 1,000 RMB from currency exchange. Besides, the finance department needs at least 3 days to process the currency exchange procedure. When I coordinated with the freight forwarder yesterday, they first said they only accept USD, then vaguely said it depends on the situation.
I am really anxious now and just want to figure out: Do export freight forwarders only accept USD? Are non-USD currencies such as RMB and EUR available? Will there be any compliance risks? Will settling in RMB affect the subsequent customs declaration and logistics procedures?
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
First of all，the traditional settlement model that only accepts USD has obvious cost drawbacks: Enterprises need to bear currency exchange fees (usually 0.1%-0.3% of the settlement amount) and exchange rate fluctuation losses (the volatility of USD against RMB was about 2%-3% per quarter in 2026). Moreover，the currency exchange procedure takes 1-3 working days，which may lead to overdue payment of freight forwarder fees and trigger risks such as port detention and cancellation of shipping space.
To address these pain points，there are currently three main compliant optimization paths: First，choose a freight forwarder that supports Cross-border RMB Settlement (CIPS Channel)，pay directly in RMB without currency exchange，Second，settle in foreign currencies that match the settlement currency of customers，such as EUR and GBP，to reduce secondary currency exchange，Third，sign a Exchange Rate Lock Agreement with the freight forwarder to lock the USD settlement exchange rate in advance and avoid fluctuation risks.
In terms of access requirements，enterprises should prioritize freight forwarders that have completed cross-border RMB settlement filing，and can check their qualifications through the Cross-border RMB Business System of the People's Bank of China，If settling in non-USD foreign currencies，you need to confirm that the freight forwarder has a foreign exchange account for the corresponding currency and can provide formal foreign currency settlement invoices.
Profitability calculation shows that: Taking a freight forwarder fee of USD 100,000 as an example，if settling directly in RMB，you can save about 500-1500 RMB in currency exchange fees and avoid about 2000-3000 RMB in exchange rate loss，reducing the overall cost by 2%-3.5%，If you choose an exchange rate lock agreement，the exchange rate risk can be controlled within 0.5%，which is suitable for enterprises with long-term export business.
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat
If you choose to settle freight forwarder fees in non-USD currencies, you need to ensure that the settlement currency matches the currency information on the customs declaration form. If the currency on the customs declaration form is RMB, you need to retain payment vouchers, freight forwarder invoices and copies of the customs declaration form for inspection during customs price verification; If the currency on the customs declaration form is EUR, you need to update the information in the miscellaneous charges column of the customs declaration form synchronously when settling the freight fee in EUR, to avoid being listed as a key price verification target by the customs due to currency inconsistency, which may trigger risks such as declaration deletion and re-filing, and cargo detention.
In addition, if the freight forwarder fee includes customs declaration service fee, you need to ensure that the service content on the invoice is consistent with the customs declaration power of attorney, to avoid rejection of the customs declaration form due to inconsistent fee details.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
From the perspective of logistics operation chain, when settling freight forwarder fees in non-USD currencies, you need to confirm the payment arrival time with the freight forwarder in advance. If settling via RMB CIPS channel, the arrival time is usually T+0 to T+1, which will not affect core operations such as shipping space locking and container pickup; If settling in foreign currencies such as EUR and GBP, you need to reserve a 2-3 working day buffer period for payment arrival to avoid shipping space cancellation and container detention charges caused by delayed arrival.
In addition, if the freight forwarder needs to advance fees for overseas agents, you need to confirm whether the overseas agent accepts repayment in non-USD currencies. If the overseas agent only accepts USD, the freight forwarder may require the enterprise to pay the corresponding currency exchange cost, and the cost bearer should be clearly specified in the contract in advance.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
From the perspective of cross-border tax planning, choosing RMB to settle freight forwarder fees allows you to enjoy preferential tax policies for cross-border RMB settlement. In 2026, for export enterprises settling in RMB in Shanghai, you can apply for full deduction of VAT input tax on freight forwarder fees, no foreign exchange rate conversion adjustment is required; If settling in non-USD foreign currencies, you need to convert the amount into RMB for accounting at the central parity rate on the settlement date, and retain foreign currency settlement vouchers, bank statements and exchange rate conversion tables for inspection by tax authorities.
In addition, if an enterprise has cross-border related party transactions, settling in RMB can reduce the tax risk of BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) and avoid related party transaction pricing adjustment caused by exchange rate conversion differences.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
In terms of cross-border foreign exchange receipt and payment compliance, settling freight forwarder fees in non-USD currencies needs to meet the following requirements: First, the freight forwarder must have foreign exchange settlement qualification for the corresponding currency, and has completed the foreign exchange account filing with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange; Second, the enterprise must settle through formal banking channels, avoid using third-party payment platforms for foreign currency transfers, so as not to trigger compliance inspection by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange; Third, if using cross-border RMB settlement, the transaction remark "export freight forwarder service fee" must be marked in the settlement message to ensure a clear transaction background and meet the compliance requirements of CIPS channel. In addition, enterprises need to keep all settlement vouchers for at least 5 years for subsequent inspection by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
If you choose to settle freight forwarder fees in non-USD currencies, you need to clearly specify the settlement currency, exchange rate locking method, arrival time, overdue liability and other clauses in the freight forwarder service contract. If the settlement currency is not clearly specified in the contract and the freight forwarder unilaterally requires payment in USD, you can negotiate adjustment with the freight forwarder based on the fairness principle of the Civil Code; If the freight forwarder incurs additional costs due to non-USD settlement, the cost sharing ratio must be clearly specified in the contract to avoid subsequent disputes.
In addition, if settling in foreign currencies, the risk bearing method for exchange rate fluctuation must be agreed in the contract, such as adopting a fixed exchange rate or the central parity rate on the settlement date, to avoid contract disputes caused by large exchange rate fluctuations.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
From the perspective of export tax refund, settling freight forwarder fees in non-USD currencies requires consistency of four flows: contract flow, capital flow, invoice flow and goods flow. If settling in RMB, you need to provide RMB payment vouchers, RMB invoices issued by the freight forwarder and the customs declaration form of the corresponding export goods to ensure that the invoice amount is consistent with the payment amount; If settling in non-USD foreign currencies, you need to convert the foreign currency amount into RMB and include it in the FOB price of the export goods.
The conversion exchange rate shall be the central parity rate on the 1st day of the export month, and you need to retain bank statements, foreign currency invoices and exchange rate conversion tables for the tax refund correspondence inspection by tax authorities. In addition, if the freight forwarder fee includes inland freight, you need to ensure that the fee details are consistent with the transportation route of the export goods, to avoid rejection of the tax refund application due to inconsistent fee details.