PayPal is one of the largest ways to send and receive money online. It is a brand that every business owner knows and that is known all over the world.
The thing is that PayPal charges fees for each transaction. As a seller, you have to think about these fees. Instead of taking a financial hit, you have to add these fees to your prices.
Today, you’ll find out how much PayPal charges to send, receive, and do other things. We’ll also talk about international payments so you can get a better idea of how much PayPal costs.
How to Send Money
PayPal won’t charge you a fee if you send money to people you know, like friends and family. But this only works for transactions that take place in the United States.
Also, there are no fees if you send money from your PayPal account balance, your bank account, or a combination of the two.
PayPal will charge you a fee if you use a credit or debit card to send money to friends or family inside or outside the US. The cost of this fee is 2.9% + 0.30 USD of the amount of money that you are sending.
Other than this, there is no cost to send money. Some people say that it costs money to pay merchants, but this is not true. When you pay for goods or services, the fee is paid by the seller, not by the buyer.
As a buyer, the only fee you will pay is the overseas currency conversion fee if you pay a merchant who is not in the same country as you.
Money Coming In
It’s a little hard to get money through PayPal. The fee you pay depends on where your buyer lives, where you live, what kind of account you have, and what currency you are charging.
No matter what you’re selling, if the payment comes from a PayPal account, you have to pay a standard fee. As a seller, it doesn’t matter where you are.
- From the U.S., the customer pays 2.9% plus a fixed fee based on your currency.
- Customer is not from the U.S. – 4.4% + fixed fee based in your currency
If you have a physical store and accept payments, the fee is different if the buyer pays with a PayPal account.
- When a customer from the U.S. pays – 2.7%
- 4.2% of customers are not from the U.S.
All of these percentages depend on how much money is being spent.
How much do the fixed fees cost? It depends on the type of currency you are getting. The table of fees can be found on PayPal’s website at PayPal Fixed Fees.
Virtual Terminals and PayPal Payment Pro
With PayPal Payments Pro, you can make your own system for customers to check out. Customers won’t see the PayPal brand when they pay. They will see yours instead. Merchants pay $30 per month for this program, plus receiving fees.
A virtual terminal is part of the program. What’s the meaning? You can swipe a customer’s credit card at a physical terminal to get paid. But what if the customer isn’t in front of you?
The answer to this is the virtual terminal. You can put your customer’s card information into your PayPal account and charge them for what they bought that way. The customer does not need a PayPal account for either PayPal Payments Pro or Virtual Terminal.
Here are the fees for this payment system to receive money:
- Payment comes from the United States: 2.9% plus $0.30 USD
- Customers from outside the U.S. pay 4.4% plus a fixed fee.
- Virtual Terminal transactions cost 3.1% plus $0.30 USD if the customer is from the same country as you. If the customer is from a different country, they cost an extra 1.5%.
- American Express will charge you 3.5% per transaction if a customer pays with an AMEX card.
A simple calculation
Let us take two different situations to help you understand how to calculate the fees.
- You are a business person in Japan.
- You sold something to a person in the US.
- USD are being paid by the customer.
- The price of the thing is $200.
2.9% plus $0.30 is the fee. So, the fee is 2.9% of $200, which is $5.8 plus $0.30, or $6.1.
- You are a business person in Japan.
- You sold something to a person in New Zealand.
- USD are being paid by the customer.
- The price of the thing is $200.
4.4% plus $0.30 is the fee. So, 4.4% of $200 is $8.8 plus $0.30, which is $9.1.
Things to keep in mind
Here are some things you need to keep in mind so you don’t get lost:
- It costs nothing to send money when buying
- Sending money to a friend or family member is free if the money comes from a PayPal balance or a bank account.
- If the money comes from a credit card to a debit card, it costs 2.9% plus $0.30 to send money to friends and family.
- It’s free to get money from friends and family.
- Depending on the currency you are receiving, the cost of receiving money for goods and services is between 2.9% and 4.4% plus a fixed fee.
- No fixed fee is charged between 2.7% and 4.2% when you get money for goods and services from your store.
Receiving money with PayPal Payments Pro and Virtual terminal is between 2.9% and 4.4%; there are other fees if AMEX is used, or if the customer is not from the same country as you, the merchant.
Summary
PayPal is not hard to use at all. If you are a merchant, you will pay no more than the average of 2.9%. This fee can go up to almost 5%, but compared to what other companies charge, this is not a lot.
Other companies, like Neteller and Skrill, don’t charge you a fee when you get paid, but they do when your customers pay you. Then, if you take money out, they will charge you.
In general, PayPal is still the best way to buy things online. When you think about the services, how easy it is to use, and how safe the whole system is, the price is fair.
