Paypal Exchange Rate

[stevorama]

I just learned that Paypal charges for international currency exchange. The "fee" comes in the form of a poor exchange rate. There is a way around this though, it's just hard to find. You may be aware of this already, but if not the steps to get around it are below. Save money of your next tea order!!

Paypal > Profile (gear icon) > Payments > Preapproved Payments > Set Available Funding Sources > Conversion Options > select "Bill me in the currency listed on the seller's invoice"

You need to do that for each payment source with the "Conversion Options."

[.m.]

Thanks for sharing this. I've noticed their poor exchange rates. With this choice of billing in the original currency, is it visa/master card that does the conversion instead? Are their rates better?

[ethan]

Thanks for sharing this. I've noticed their poor exchange rates. With this choice of billing in the original currency, is it visa/master card that does the conversion instead? Are their rates better?

Some credit cards have awful foreign exchange costs via bad rates &/or charges up to 3%. When I get paid I usually keep the $ w/ Paypal as a balance to pay for things I buy later. If I have no balance, I pay through linkage to my checking account. I ask to be paid likewise. $ coming to me via credit cards (even domestically) incurs too much loss to charges.

[stevorama]

Thanks for sharing this. I've noticed their poor exchange rates. With this choice of billing in the original currency, is it visa/master card that does the conversion instead? Are their rates better?

Some credit cards have awful foreign exchange costs via bad rates &/or charges up to 3%. When I get paid I usually keep the $ w/ Paypal as a balance to pay for things I buy later. If I have no balance, I pay through linkage to my checking account. I ask to be paid likewise. $ coming to me via credit cards (even domestically) incurs too much loss to charges.

Right. Good points.

If you go with the original currency it's your bank/credit card that does the exchange so you are subject to their rates. You'd have to check with them. I suppose it's best to compare all options and look for the best scenario.

My bank doesn't charge fees so I'm only subject to Visa exchange rate which is very close to current exchange rate I think.

[Psyck]

My bank doesn't charge fees either. My PayPal is linked to my credit card and bank account, so by selecting "Bill me in the currency listed on the seller's invoice", the Visa / MasterCard conversion is applied - which is cheaper than the PayPal conversion rates.

From what I seen of this topic in the past, for the vast majority of people, it would be cheaper to not use PayPal conversion. If you are not sure, just use both the different options and see how much extra you are being billed and figure out which is cheaper.