An international disbursement is an outgoing payment from a business or organisation to a recipient in another country. Common examples include marketplaces paying overseas sellers, platforms paying freelancers and creators, companies paying foreign contractors, insurers settling claims abroad and humanitarian organisations sending cash assistance. Disbursements are often made in bulk, to many recipients at once, and in the recipient's local currency.
They can be sent by international wire transfer, but specialist providers usually pay out through local bank transfers, mobile wallets, cards or cash pickup in the destination country, using a local payout partner. This reduces costs and delivery time compared with correspondent chains. Senders must handle currency conversion, recipient data validation, sanctions screening and tax reporting, and must comply with local rules on who may receive foreign payments. Providers may charge a payout fee per transfer.