Payment processing through a German account for a bank in Puerto Rico.
May 26, 2020 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Knut Christiansen
I have a business overseas with a bank account at a bank in Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, the fees for transactions for small amounts are extremely high, so I would like to avoid a high number of transactions.
Do you see any concerns if I were to transfer payments from my customers to a third-party account in Germany (either my personal account or the corporate account of a German company) in the future and then subsequently transfer them to the bank in Puerto Rico once a larger sum has accumulated?
The company in Germany could potentially be hired as a "payment processing service provider" and charge a small monthly flat fee for this service.
What do you think of this solution?
Good evening,
Thank you for your inquiry on frag-einen.com. I would like to provide the following assessment, noting that it should not be considered binding. This forum cannot replace personal advice, especially since the situation may be different in practice.
From a tax perspective, the payment to an intermediary account would typically be considered a pass-through item, unless fees are paid for the intermediary service. In that case, the fees would need to be taxed as income in Germany.
There could be potential issues from a banking perspective, as I cannot clearly assess whether these transactions have reporting consequences (money laundering, etc.). I am also unsure if a payment intermediary requires a specific license or approval from BaFin to receive and forward payments on a permanent and regular basis. I would recommend consulting a specialized lawyer in this area or directly contacting BaFin.
Have you considered using other payment processors (e.g. PayPal) instead?
Best regards,
Knut Christiansen
Tax advisor
