Business International business

Here's how you get shortchanged by PayPal when paying an international invoice

Wise

02.03.18 (updated more than 1 year ago)

Read time 3 minutes

We get why so many people love PayPal. It revolutionised ecommerce and gave the world unfettered access to Internet shopping and selling. But if you’re using PayPal for international business transactions, there may be some better money-saving options to consider.

Whether it’s a bit of retail therapy, a side freelancing gig, or sourcing merchandise for your online business – we know PayPal is a convenient way to pay and get paid.

However, if you’re using PayPal for international business, you may be getting shortchanged when you pay foreign invoices. And we want to stop that from happening.

PayPal international payments. The lowdown

lowdown on international paypal fees

Let’s say I turn my passion for collecting art into a business. I’m now the proud owner of an ecommerce website, and find a fantastic supplier who makes unique pottery I want to sell. Good news – the supplier sells me the product at a great price. Bad news. They’re based in France.

I’m not worried about receiving the product – couriers will have everything shipped in no time. But when it comes to paying the European invoice, sure I can conveniently pay with PayPal. But are the extra international transaction costs to pay euros worth it?

PayPal fees could be over 4% higher

paypal fees could be 4% higher

It may be easy to pay the invoice with PayPal, but it’s also very expensive. And the PayPal fee structure can be hard to understand. Here’s what you should know.

Inflated exchange rates.

It’s hard to know the exact exchange rate PayPal will give. But what we do know is it’s not “real.” The real or mid-market exchange rate is the one you’ll find on Google. To figure out PayPal’s, you’d need an account, log in, and start the exact transaction you’re thinking of.

That’s because PayPal adds a percentage on top of the real exchange rate, also known as a currency conversion spread, so they make a profit whenever they process an international payment.

Because I’m sending money from the UK to my supplier in France, PayPal could inflate the exchange rate by nearly 4%. I have to cover that 4% to make sure my supplier gets what they’re owed. The case study below shows exchange rate markups coming in at £82.49 in independent research from Consumer Intelligence Ltd, when a payment of £2,000 goes to a business in France.

Recipient fees.

There’s a fair chance that the recipient – in this case, my supplier – will also be charged. In the research done by Consumer Intelligence Ltd, the end recipient paid a whopping additional €73.38 to receive their payment, because of what PayPal calls ‘domestic fees for receiving commercial payments’. Meaning that the €73.38 of their £2,000 invoice that should have gone to them, went to PayPal. You can calculate PayPal fees for merchants with this easy to use PayPal fee calculator.

You can pay international invoices using the real exchange rate

pay with the mid-market exchange rate

Compared to PayPal, it could be nearly 4% cheaper to send money to European suppliers with Wise. You can get the products you want for a price that's more reasonable.

There’s just a single, upfront fee* – and you can guarantee that the exchange rate used will be the mid-market rate. No markup. And it’s over 3% cheaper for your suppliers to get paid with Wise.

Here’s the research from Consumer Intelligence that shows your cost of sending £2,000 from the UK to France for a business transaction.

Sender Fees/cost	Wise	PayPal
Original amount sending (GBP)	£2000	£2000
Exchange rate (mid-market rate = 1.7303)	£1 = €1.1259	£1 = €1.0813
Exchange rate markup (GBP)	£0 (0%)	£82.49 (3.96%)
Upfront Sender fee (GBP)	£7.77	£0
Total sender fees (GBP)	£7.77	£82.49 (3.96%)
Total cost of transfer (GBP)	£2007.77	£2082.49

And here’s the research that shows how much your French supplier would pocket after your sent £2000 with Wise versus PayPal.

Recipient Fees/cost	Wise	PayPal
Amount sent to recipient (EUR)	€2,243.05 (£2000*€1.1259)	€2,162,63 (£2000*€1.0813)
Recipient fee applied (EUR)	€0 (0%)	€73.38(3.39%)
Final recipient amount (EUR)	€2,243.05	€2,088.85

All data was obtained independently by market research company Consumer Intelligence Ltd on January 16 2018, 11:16 UTC. Read more about the case study*.*

If you love the convenience of paying your invoices with PayPal, but don’t like the look of their hefty fees, then it’s time to start shopping around. When it comes to paying your international invoices, try Wise – it could be nearly 4% cheaper to send money to overseas suppliers compared to PayPal.

Learn more about Wise for ecommerce businesses.

*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.