Why ACCS quietly costs ~2%
Amazon's currency converter is marketed as transparent and volume-discounted, and the published fee genuinely is — roughly 1.5% under $500k of annual cross-currency proceeds, dropping toward 0.75% for very high volume. The catch is that the published fee isn't the whole cost. Amazon converts at an exchange rate set above the mid-market rate, and that spread is folded into your settlement where it's nearly impossible to spot without auditing gross sales against net payouts. Add the spread to the published fee and the all-in cost lands around 2% for most sellers.
Provider comparison (typical all-in cost)
| Provider | Typical all-in FX cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon ACCS | ~2% | Published 0.75–1.5% + hidden spread; locked timing |
| Wise | 0.4–0.6% | Mid-market rate, very transparent |
| WorldFirst | 0.45–1.5% | Lower with volume; multi-account |
| Payoneer | 0.5–2.5% | Approved Amazon provider; negotiated rates lower |
Ranges are indicative and depend on volume, currency pair, and timing. The point isn't a single magic number — it's that converting at Amazon's rate is rarely the cheapest option once the spread is visible.
How to switch
Open a multi-currency receiving account, get local receiving details for each currency you sell in, then update your deposit method in Seller Central to point each marketplace at the matching local account. You then convert to your home currency on your own schedule. One caution: changing bank details in Seller Central can delay payouts by up to 14 days, so make the switch outside peak season.
Is this estimate exact?
No — it's a planning estimate. Your real ACCS cost depends on your exact currencies, volume tier, and the spread on your settlement dates. To measure it precisely, download three months of settlement reports, divide net home-currency payouts by gross foreign revenue, and compare against the mid-market rate on those dates. If you trail mid-market by more than ~2%, switching providers will almost certainly pay off.