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I have to choose the currency (USD or CHF) in which I will receive payments for my work in the period of 1 year.

I live in Poland, I'm software developer in a startup for a company in Switzerland. Both currencies are priced similarly, I always convert them to PLN.

What are the factors I should consider when deciding which currency to select?

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    Welcome Maciek to Personal Finance site. This maybe a pertinent question, however there is no conclusive answer and is more opinion based and it involves prediction of future and hence off-topic on this site.
    – Dheer
    Commented Jun 20, 2017 at 7:50
  • If I was living and working (and incurring expenses) in Vietnam, probably neither. Quite apart from predicting the future, there's not info (where you live/work, why these two currencies are on offer) to answer.
    – TripeHound
    Commented Jun 20, 2017 at 8:22
  • Sorry, added info about my situation - I live in Poland, I'm software developer in a startup.
    – user57759
    Commented Jun 20, 2017 at 8:51
  • Why would you like to receive in USD and CHF and not zloty ?
    – DumbCoder
    Commented Jun 20, 2017 at 8:54
  • I'm working for a startup from Switzerland. I have these two options for my payments.
    – user57759
    Commented Jun 20, 2017 at 9:12

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Factors to consider:

  1. How easily can you spend each currency?

    Local merchants might accept payment in foreign currency, however they will choose an exchange rate that is favorable to them, not necessarily to you. It may be wise/necessary to exchange currencies before making withdrawals/payments.

  2. How easily / at what cost can you convert each currency into a currency you can spend?

    This will depend on which financial institution(s) you choose to receive your payments and spend from. You can use one, or several if you want more control over when to exchange to PLN. For example, you might be able to minimize costs by shopping for an account that holds deposits in your payment currency (USD or CHF), choosing only to exchange funds into PLN (by withdrawing them or transferring to another account) when the exchange rate is favorable. However, if this is your main salary and you need to make regular withdrawals, you may not have the luxury of waiting for favorable exchange rates. In that case, look for a PLN account with a bank that charges minimal fees/commission on deposits received in foreign currency.

  3. How stable is each currency against the currency you would convert into?

    Compared to each other, USD and CHF have been fairly stable for several years. Aside from a short lived upset in 2015, the last 5 years have seen approximately 10-15% variance. Not surprisingly, this translates into very similar looking patterns when you compare the USD:PLN and CHF:PLN charts. While both charts trend the same way, CHF:PLN appears to show slightly less volatility in day to day trading.

    Disclaimer - past performance is not predictive of future performance.

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    Note: I edited the question to make it fit within the guidelines and then put together this answer (which I have marked as CW) based on the comments made by Fattie, DumbCoder, and TripeHound on the question.
    – Vicky
    Commented Jun 20, 2017 at 12:07

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