How to receive money on PayPal in Australia

These days, there's a whole range of ways to receive money. From cash exchange, bank transfers, to online remittance services, getting money from someone is a whole lot easier and faster than it used to be.

If you’ve ever used PayPal, you know this is another popular way to send and receive money online. If you haven’t used PayPal, then keep reading to learn how to receive money on PayPal in Australia.

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Who is PayPal in Australia

PayPal in Australia is a digital payment platform used by over 7 million Australians, both for personal and business transactions.¹ PayPal as a corporation originated in the USA in 1998 and has since expanded to over 200 markets around the world.² It began operating in Australia in 2005 and holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).

With a PayPal account, you send, receive and move money in more than 100 currencies, hold money in 25 currencies and withdraw funds in 56 currencies. ¹

Ways to receive money via PayPal in Australia

To receive money via PayPal, you are going to need to create and hold an active account.³ To open an account, you will need to provide⁴:

• Your name
• Address
• Phone number
• Email

To finalise the account set-up, you’ll have to set up a password, set up two security questions and confirm your email address. Once this is all sorted, you can decide to hold the money in the PayPal account or transfer it out to a bank account.³ To open a PayPal account is free, but it is the only way you will be able to receive a payment in PayPal.

What are the fees to receive money via PayPal

If you have an Australian denominated PayPal account, there are no fees to receive money in AUD.⁵ If you are receiving money from someone in a different country and the currency is not denominated in AUD, a fixed fee will be deducted from the amount. This fee varies on the currency you are receiving.⁶ If the foreign currency needs to be converted, then there will be a currency conversion fee applied.⁷

What about the exchange rates

PayPal charges an exchange transaction fee on top of the base exchange rate. The base exchange rate is the available wholesale rate for the currency market. This fee can range from 3% to 4%, depending on the type of transaction.

Generally the sender is responsible for paying the currency conversion fee. It’s important to note though that this may mean you receive less than anticipated if the sender does not factor the fee into the transaction.⁷

What details to provide to receive money on PayPal in Australia

Depending on who's sending and how will determine what details you need to provide to receive money on PayPal. Here are some situations that you may need to receive money via PayPal and the details required.

No PayPal account

A payment can be sent from an existing PayPal account to your email or phone number even before you have opened an account. However, to access that money, you’ll be redirected to open a PayPal account.⁷

Add money

If you want to add money to your PayPal balance, you can make a transfer from your bank account. This is a good option if you don’t want to link any cards or bank accounts and just want to have some money held in PayPal.⁸

Request or receive money

If you have an account and want to receive money from friends or family, you can either give them your:

• Email that was used to sign up
• Phone number
• PayPal.me link

A PayPal.me link is set up in the app and acts like your PayPal account identifier. These are all searchable through the PayPal search function when setting up payments⁹

How long does it take to receive money via PayPal in Australia

If you are looking to receive money from your bank account, it can take up to 5 business days to show in your PayPal balance.⁸ Payments sent by friends via an email, PayPal.me link, or phone number can appear instantly if transferred via the PayPal app.⁹

How to spend your money from your PayPal account

You can use your PayPal balance to shop at a large range of online retailers. At checkout, you will just need to choose PayPal when you need to pay. This will connect your PayPal account to that retailer and draw from your available balance or other payment method set up within your PayPal account.¹⁰

What to keep in mind

Sometimes a payment could get delayed. There are generally two reasons for this to occur. The first could be caused by PayPal placing a hold on the transfer coming from the sender's account. These can last for up to 24 hours. You should check in with the sender to see if this could be what is causing the delay.¹¹

The second reason could be the sender has chosen the wrong payment type. If this is the case, a hold on the transaction could last up to 7 days.¹²

The Wise Account

A good online money alternative to PayPal is the Wise Account, providing you with one online account that can be used to store money in multiple currencies.

The Wise Account can be opened for free and allows you to hold money in 40+ currencies and send money to 160+ countries.

You can also use the Wise Debit card to spend money in 150+ countries without markups and hidden transaction fees. The mid-market rate is used when switching between currencies, helping to keep costs low when sending money internationally.

Join over 16 million customers currently enjoying Wise. It’ll only take a few minutes to register and see what’s inside.

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Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

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