If you offer your customers the option of using PayPal to pay their bills, you probably know that the platform charges fees related to crediting your account. How high these are depends on the respective sales price. As a rule of thumb, the lower the amount that is transferred to you, the more PayPal fees (in percent) you pay. For maximum transparency, you can also use a fee calculator in this context.
In the following sections, you’ll learn everything you need to know about this exciting (and practical) topic.
Important: As in any other area, dealer conditions can of course also change. Therefore, to be on the safe side, you should always check the PayPal website for the current figures.
Types of PayPal Fees
PayPal distinguishes between different types of fees. Depending on the business case, other fees will be charged accordingly. But don’t worry: The payment provider’s website is designed to be very transparent, so that you can always see exactly how many fees are due to you as the payee for which transaction.
Among other things there are:
- Business Transaction Fees
- Transaction Fees for Donations
- Transaction fees for non-profit organizations
- Alternative Payment Method Fees
- Chargeback Fees
- Dispute Fees.
In short: According to the PayPal merchant conditions, different fees are due for the use of different services. You can find out how high these are on the PayPal website (or a fee calculator). The current fee amount is published here.
PayPal Fees: Friends and Family
This is a particularly cheap option when it comes to having money change hands. Because: If you send money to friends or family via PayPal, this is free of charge. This means that the money goes to the people concerned in full, without them having to pay any fees or being charged.
However, you should be absolutely sure with the corresponding bookings that everything is correct, because: The money that was sent via this function can no longer be retrieved.
There are currently many scammers on the Internet who want to take advantage of exactly that. They ask others to transfer money to them as “friends and family” so “both can save the fees.” After that you often wait in vain for your goods. Therefore: Only use the “Friends and Family” function via PayPal if you trust the respective PayPal users 100 percent. In this case, of course, it comes in handy that transactions of this type are free of charge.
PayPal Fees for Business Transactions
In the meantime, it is no longer just the large companies that offer their customers the option of paying invoices via PayPal. Many small business owners have now started to grant this option. However, when business transactions are carried out via PayPal, fees are always incurred. You can read about how high these are and what else you should consider in the following sections.
Business transactions via PayPal can be of many different types. The following types are particularly widespread and are therefore frequently used:
Credit and debit card payments
- Alternative payment methods
- the PayPal checkout
- various QR code transactions
- purchase on account based on Ratepay
- the send/receive function
- all other transactions that fall within the “business” scope.
Depending on the type of transaction and based on the amount of the corresponding sum, other fees are due – the fees that are incurred as part of a QR transaction are particularly low. Here you only pay 0.90 percent. However, according to the merchant conditions, fees of 2.99 percent are due for most business transactions on PayPal.
If you are unsure about the fees, you should always take a look at the fees menu on PayPal’s website and/or use a fee calculator. The most recent values are available here.
PayPal Deductions: How Much is Left?
How much of the payments made by a customer to a payee
sent via PayPal, after the fees have been debited, of course depends on the amount of the fees.
You should also take into account that there are also fees for currency conversions and for charging credit and debit cards. The mentioned currency conversions are calculated on the basis of the received currency.
With regard to so-called micropayments, special regulations apply. Here PayPal calculates ten percent plus 0.10 EUR. These micropayments are usually amounts between USD 0.01 and USD 5.00.
Paypal Deductions for Inactivity: When Does the Rule Apply?
Some time ago, PayPal decided to charge an inactivity fee in Germany, among other places – but only for business accounts. A corresponding notification was sent to customers in mid-November 2022. At that time, anyone who wanted to avoid said inactivity fees had to log into their PayPal account, pay with PayPal or send money to family and friends, debit money from the PayPal account or donate money to a non-profit organization.
However, only the accounts that were inactive in the last 12 months were affected. Accounts with a balance of “0” were also unaffected. Thus, the introduction of the fee could not ensure that the account balance became negative.
Calculation of Paypal Fees
If you want to know exactly what fees you will incur in connection with classic and micro payments, you can also use the PayPal fee calculator. Here you only have to enter the respective amount and the type of payment. At the end you will be shown the amount of the fee and the respective remaining amount.
Example 1:
If you send an invoice for 1,000 usd for goods or services and this is paid via PayPal, you will still receive 974.75 usd with a fee of 25.25 usd.
Example 2:
If your customer pays the exact same invoice via QR Code, only 9.00 usd in fees are due. Here you will be credited with a total of 991.00 usd.
Don’t feel like figuring out the fees you’re being charged? Simply use a fee calculator and save time and effort. Simply enter the relevant data – done!
A detailed list of the current fees at PayPal (as of June 2024) can be found in the following section.
Type of Payment: What Fees Are Charged When Using Paypal?
As already mentioned, the amount of PayPal fees depends primarily on the type of transaction. The following table gives you an overview of the respective percentages. This makes it possible to plan payment transactions via PayPal even better.
| Transaction Type | Fees |
|---|---|
| Payments made with a credit or debit card with advanced features | The transaction fees for PayPal services for online card payments apply to these payments |
| Alternative payment method | Here the APM transaction fees are used |
| Payment without a PayPal account | 2.99 percent plus fixed fee |
| PayPal checkout | 2.99 percent plus fixed fee |
| Payments with QR code | 0.90 percent |
| Purchase on account (based on Rate pay) | 2.99 percent plus fixed fee |
| Money for goods/services (send and receive) | 2.49 percent plus fixed fee |
| All remaining business transactions | 2.99 percent plus fixed fee |
Since the conditions can of course always change, it makes sense to inquire about the current fees in advance.
Currency Considerations for Paypal Fees Abroad
Additional fees are also charged in connection with international business transactions. How high these are depends primarily on the country in which the person sending the money is located. The following fees currently apply (as of June 2024):
| Where is the Sender of the Money Located? | What Are the Applicable Fees? |
|---|---|
| European Monetary Union | No additional fees |
| Great Britain | 1.29 percent |
| USA/ Canada | 1.99 percent |
| Other | 2.99 percent |
Important: The international business percentages above are added to the variable fees.
Who Bears the Cost of PayPal Fees: Buyer or Seller?
Paying an invoice via PayPal or sending sums of money is free of charge for the buyer. However, the seller has to pay fees for receiving money (see above). Said seller fees consist of the basic fees (which in turn are based on sales) and the percentage fee.
In the seller’s online account (and here in the account statements area) you can see at first glance how high the fees that have been charged are. If you have entered everything correctly, the respective sum should also match the amount that was displayed on the fee calculator.
Do PayPal Buyer Protection Fees Exist?
Claiming PayPal buyer protection is free for the consumer, but offers many advantages. Buyer protection applies, for example, if an item was paid for online but does not arrive. In this case, said protection ensures that the entire purchase price plus shipping is credited back to the buyer. (Of course, as a buyer, you must also observe the conditions for buyer protection.).
Conversely, PayPal also offers this type of protection to sellers. It is not enough for the buyer to claim that the goods never arrived despite payment. If the Seller Protection Program requirements are met, the seller is eligible for payment under Seller Protection.
The corresponding security measures relate to the protection of the accounts concerned and liability for unauthorized payments.
Filing a buyer protection claim is easy. As a first step, you should of course try to resolve the conflict by contacting the seller via message. If that doesn’t work, you can file a buyer protection claim. So you’re asking PayPal to look for a solution. At the same time, you avoid the existing conflict being closed after 20 days.
And this is how you do it:
- Click on “Resolve Conflicts”.
- Find the conflict in question and click View.
- “Turn on PayPal for clarification” is located at the bottom; click there.
- Fill out everything and submit the application.
- PayPal will then contact you.
Summary
Learn everything about PayPal fees, from how they are defined, to the types of PayPal fees and deductions, to how PayPal fees are calculated. We will also show you whether PayPal buyer protection exists.
What You Experience
- What types of PayPal fees are there
- How much is left after the deductions at PayPal
- When the PayPal inactivity deduction policy applies
- How to calculate PayPal fees
- Whether PayPal Buyer Protection fees exist
