Payments to international vendors and individuals

In certain circumstances, purchases must be made or are more cost effective to be made from international vendors.  Canadian dollar cheques or direct deposits are not an appropriate method of payment for these vendors. 

As there may be additional costs associated with the purchase of goods and services from outside of Canada, review the cost elements of international purchases information to ensure that these are considered before committing to an international vendor.

For purchases made from vendors based in the United States:

A cheque can be issued in US dollars and mailed directly.  These payments cannot be made by direct deposit. 

For services performed in Canada by non-residents:

UVic is required to withhold 15% of the payment amount and remit it to the CRA.  Payees can apply directly to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for a waiver but this must be done before the invoice is submitted to Accounts Payable for payment.  The department’s FAST code will be charged with the full amount of the invoice, the payee will receive the amount less the withholding and the withholding amount will be remitted directly to the CRA.  More information on the withholding tax can be found on the webpage.

Wire transfers and international ACH payments:

UVic actions wire transfers and international ACH (direct deposit) payments through Convera (formerly Western Union) and can be requested for either:

• A specific amount in Canadian dollars in the equivalent in the payee’s home currency
• A specific amount in the payee’s home currency which will be shown in FAST in the equivalent Canadian dollars

In order to collect banking information for vendors outside of Canada and the US, it is the department’s responsibility to work with the vendor to complete the International payments information form.  This completed form is attached to the reimbursement claim form or invoice and submitted to Accounts Payable.  

Fraud risk:

Due to the increased fraud risk associated with international payments, Accounts Payable will review the information submitted and complete the Wire Payment Fraud Indicator Checklist, where required.  In cases where any of the fraud indicators are present, the completed checklist will be provided back to the requesting department for additional authorization from the appropriate Dean, Director or AVP.  By approving the flagged payment request, the department is confirming that they can absorb any financial impact in their FAST account if the invoice or banking information is fraudulent and needs to be paid a second time to provide funds to the legitimate vendor.

Accounts Payable works jointly with Purchasing Services and the requesting department to complete international transactions.  More information on the roles and responsibilities of each area, is available on the webpage.

Forms:

• International payments information – used to collect all of the payee information required to complete a wire transfer for international ACH payment

Resources:

• Wire Payment Fraud Indicator Checklist – will be completed by Accounts Payable and returned to the department in cases where fraud indicators are present
• Non-resident withholding tax – a 15% withholding tax may be required for services rendered in Canada by a non-resident individual or business
• Cost elements of international purchases – outlines additional costs that can be expected in goods purchased from an international vendor
• Roles & responsibilities of international vendor payments - Outlines processes to be undertaken by each department in order to facilitate international wire payments.