You get paid in USD. You spend in USD - Upwork, AWS, Canva, client software. Converting to Euro and back twice is where the money leaks.
The double-conversion problem
Most freelancers in Latvia working with international clients get paid in USD. The default move is to withdraw straight to a local bank account - which means converting USD to Euro at whatever spread the bank applies, and local-currency cards commonly aren't set up for recurring USD billing anyway.
Then, the moment that freelancer needs to pay for something priced in dollars - a SaaS subscription, a course, a client's software license - they convert back from Euro to USD, eating a second spread on the same money. Two conversions for money that never needed to leave USD in the first place.
Keeping freelance income in dollars
A GetPlu virtual dollar card holds a USD balance directly. Freelance payouts that already land as USD (from Payoneer, Wise, or direct client transfers) can fund the card without ever touching Euro, and USDC/USDT payouts fund it instantly with no bank in the loop at all.
That balance then spends directly at any USD-priced merchant - no second conversion, no local-currency exposure in between.
What this looks like day to day
Client software and subscriptions (Notion, Figma, Adobe) bill in USD - paid straight from the card balance.
Cloud and AI tools (AWS, OpenAI, Anthropic) bill in USD - same balance, no separate top-up required.
Any portion of income you do want in Euro for local spending can still be withdrawn to a local bank - the card doesn't replace that, it just removes the forced round-trip for the USD-priced portion.