How long do cross-border employee reimbursements take?
Short answer
Cross-border reimbursement timing depends on the sending country, payment rail, destination bank, currency conversion, and compliance checks. You should use the provider's current delivery estimate for the specific route rather than applying a domestic timeline to an international payment.
What can affect timing
Weekends, bank holidays, incomplete bank details, and currency conversion can delay a payment. Your policy should set expectations around when an employee submits an expense, when a manager approves it, and when payment processing begins.
How Ramp’s international reimbursement flow works
The employee adds their local bank-account details in Ramp, submits the reimbursement, and selects the transaction currency. After the reimbursement is approved, Ramp sends the payout by EFT to the employee's local bank account.
To help payments move without avoidable rework, employees should enter bank details in the format required in their country. If a payout cannot be completed because the details are incorrect, the funds return to the company account and the reimbursement can be reissued after the employee updates their information.
Ramp reimbursements for Canadian businesses
For Canadian businesses using Ramp, international employee reimbursements typically arrive in 3–7 business days. The employee receives the payout in the local currency of their bank account. Timing varies by destination country and bank, so use this as an estimate rather than a guaranteed delivery date.
Ramp supports CAD-funded reimbursements for Canadian businesses, including local-currency payouts to employees in more than 65 countries. Once an approved request is ready for payment, Ramp delivers the funds to the employee's local bank account through Wise.
Canadian businesses fund these payments from their connected CAD bank account.
Learn about Ramp reimbursement options in each region:
Related questions
Some reimbursement platforms can send a payment in a currency other than the entity's home currency, but the available destinations and funding currencies vary. Cross-currency reimbursement can introduce FX costs, payment-rail limits, and additional setup.
Read moreVAT and GST amounts are included in the total reimbursement paid to employees. Whether the business can claim input tax credits on the tax portion depends on jurisdictional rules, the business’s registration and taxable activity status, the expense type, and proper documentation.
Read moreUse the exchange rate from the transaction date as recorded in your card system, typically the posting or settlement date when the final USD amount is determined. This is the rate that appears on your card statement and should be documented consistently for accounting and audit compliance.
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