Fee calculator | PayPal fees for US businesses
PayPal receiving fees
- Processing fee - Percentage: 3 to 3.5%
- Processing fee - Fixed fee: Based on currency received.
- International: An additional 1.5% to processing fee.
- Payment type: There are 8 types of payments.
- Currency conversion: The calculator only adds the 3% fee but doesn't convert the currency.
The dilemma of PayPal
Despite its big AI announcement on Jan 25, 2024 that the CEO of PayPal thought would shock the world, the general public and investors don't see much value over the new direction and the PYPL dropped after a week. However, people need to understand that PayPal owns 40.52% of the global market share of the payment service segment with 426 million global active users. Like any other platforms, the bigger you are, the more miscellaneous fees you have to pay. In particular PayPal fee calculator only helps you understand receiving fees for domestic and international transactions.
Who is considered international?
An international transaction happens when the sender and receiver are from different places, according to PayPal's records. They group certain markets together when figuring out the fees for these transactions. You can find the PayPal's Market and Region Grouping Table below.
Last updated on March 3, 2024.
PayPal QR payment
Out of all payment types, receiving QR payments charge less fees, deduct 0.7% and minimal fixed fee. It may not be much but you can save a little by sharing your PayPal QR code on your website or store. This is PayPal's guide on getting your QR code.
PayPal currency conversion
When PayPal converts currency, they use a transaction exchange rate that's made up of a base exchange rate, along with a currency conversion spread. This spread is an additional amount that PayPal applies to the base rate. The base rate is determined by looking at rates within the wholesale currency markets or relevant government reference rates if needed by law. The most equitable currency exchange rate is commonly referred to as the mid-market rate. However, it's worth noting that PayPal's exchange rate frequently falls short of this standard by over 1%. There are several scenarios that you may trigger currency conversion with PayPal and you may want to avoid this fee as much as possible.
- Receiving: money in a currency your account isn't configured to accept may require you to create a balance in that currency or convert the money into another accepted currency. Certain currencies may only be received by converting them into another currency that PayPal allows you to hold. In all cases of currency conversion, PayPal's transaction exchange rate, including their spread, will be used.
- Withdrawing: When withdrawing funds from your account, you can only withdraw them in U.S. dollars. If you have funds in another currency, they will be converted to U.S. dollars at PayPal's currency conversion rate, including their conversion spread, at the time of withdrawal. Similarly, if you receive money in a currency your account is not configured to accept, PayPal may convert it into a currency they allow you to hold, using their transaction exchange rate.
- Debit and credit card: When your payment is from a debit or credit card and currency conversion is required, PayPal will handle the conversion instead of your card issuer. However, you may have the option for your card issuer to perform the conversion, depending on their policies. The currency conversion choices, including which conversion rate is used and who performs the conversion, may vary and can be set individually for each card and automatic payment agreement.
How to save money with PayPal
There are a couple of ways to avoid paying more fees. Here are a couple of options.
- PayPal Savings - leave your money in PayPal Savings and spend it through PayPal
- To your US bank account - no fee
- To an alterative online wallet - Payoneer or Wise or Revolut
In most cases, Payoneer offers better rates than PayPal. If you linked your Paypal account to your Global Payment details, there is no fee for receiving the payment on your Payoneer account. Do be careful when selecting alterative online wallet to avoid fees as rules change quite often. For Europeans, Payoneer charges a 3% fee on withdrawal to European bank account starting on March 1, 2024. Keep in mind there is also a yearly fee of 29,95 USD to be paid for a Payoneer account, if your account received less than 2000 USD within 12 months. You might want keep that in mind when opening a Payoneer account.
Wise is an online wallet that excels in providing cost-effective international money transfer services and the best exchange rates. Wise charges flat fees for every transaction, $4.14 USD for receiving wire payments and costs are listed in their currency calculator. Wise use mid-market rate and a conversion fee with no hidden exchange rate margins; the rate is guarantee to beat PayPal and Payoneer.
