Why do international buyer payments take so long?
Exporters usually describe the cost of international payments in percentage terms, but the expensive part is normally the delay. Goods leave, an invoice is raised, and payment moves through a chain of correspondent banks for several days before it becomes usable cash. That gap has to be financed by someone, and it is usually you.
The delay also distorts commercial terms. Long settlement is why deposits, letters of credit and extended payment terms exist in the first place — each one a workaround for money that cannot move quickly.
Settling over the Bitcoin Lightning Network collapses that window to roughly a minute by default. The buyer pays in their currency, you receive yours, and neither side has to hold or handle Bitcoin — though either of you can if you prefer.
In practice, getting paid runs on a payment link. You generate the link, attach your invoice to it, and send it to your customer. They pay in their own local currency, and you are settled in yours, near instantly.
