PayPal charges explained: What you need to know about fees in Ireland

Curious about the PayPal account and wondering how the fees actually work? In this article we’re going to explore exactly that, looking at what you’d have to pay as an Irish account holder when you spend, send and receive money using your PayPal personal account.

We’ll also look at what the Wise Account offers and what the fees are in Ireland, so you can decide which might better suit your needs.

Wise: +40 currencies
in one account 💰

PayPal fees in Ireland: When do you have to pay?

Whether or not you have to pay fees and what those fees are depends on what you’re trying to do. Certain things like opening a PayPal account or spending money locally without any currency conversion don’t have any fees. Other actions do.¹

Here are two of the main situations where you can find yourself needing to pay fees to PayPal.

• Sending a personal international transaction
• Converting currency

PayPal transaction fees for sending and receiving money

What PayPal charges to send and receive money depends largely on the context of the situation: is it a domestic transfer within Ireland, or an international transaction? Is it a personal transfer or are you paying a business?

Looking specifically at the PayPal transaction fees for sending and receiving money, here’s what personal Irish customers will need to pay.

Transaction Type	Fee¹
Personal transactions within Ireland	No fee for sending or receiving money unless a currency conversion is involved, at which time you’ll be charged a fee of 3% of the base exchange rate.
International personal transaction	1.99 EUR fee for sending money to Canada, US and the Europe I, Europe II and Northern Europe regions. 3.99 EUR fee for sending money to any other region. No fee for receiving money from abroad unless a currency conversion is involved and a fee of 3% of the base exchange rate is incurred.

European PayPal regions

In case you’re curious, Europe I, Europe II and Northern Europe are the regions PayPal uses to group certain European countries together. This is a complete list of the countries in each.

PayPal regions
Europe I	Austria, Belgium, Channel Islands, Cyprus, Estonia, France (including French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion and Mayotte), Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom, Vatican City State
Europe II	Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine
Northern Europe	Aland Islands, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden

How to avoid PayPal fees when receiving money

When receiving money through PayPal you may find the amount is slightly less than you’d expected if there’s a currency conversion that takes place.

This is because there is the 3% PayPal fee for converting the currency, decreasing the final amount that goes into your account when compared to the mid-market rates you’d see in websites like Google.¹

To avoid losing this money, you may be better off using an alternative account that allows you to receive money in multiple currencies, without currency conversion.

An example of this is the Wise Account. Among the many benefits of this account, you can receive local account details for 9+ currencies, including EUR, GBP and CAD. With these details you’re able to receive money in those currencies for free.

The Wise Account also allows you to hold and convert +40 currencies, pay with the Wise card, transfer money or withdraw in ATMs around the world.

Discover the Wise Account 💡

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PayPal currency conversion fees: How much Does it cost in Ireland?

When you complete a currency conversion with your Irish PayPal account there’s a cost built into the exchange rate. Rather than using the mid-market rate, like Wise does, PayPal exchanges money at a fee of 3% of the base exchange rate.¹ This can add up over time, especially if you’re receiving frequent payouts in other currencies or often spend money abroad.

The mid-market exchange rate

If you haven’t heard of the mid-market rate before, it’s the mid-point between the buy and sell prices on the currency exchange market. It’s a fair way to determine the conversion rate and to ensure it’s kept up to date, Wise formulates it using real time data, updated at every minute.

Send, receive and spend money with Wise

If you're seeking an alternative way to send and receive money, and handle multiple currencies, it’s worth considering opening a Wise Account.

With a Wise Account, you can hold money in over 40 currencies and transfer money to more than 160 countries.

There are no fees for opening or maintaining the account in Ireland, and you can easily send money to bank accounts or other Wise users. Plus, you'll receive account details for 9+ currencies, allowing you to receive payments in these currencies just like a local.

After setting up your account, you might want to order the Wise card or use the virtual card options for daily transactions. These cards allow you to make payments in over 150 countries, with automatic currency conversion when required. You can also withdraw cash as needed.

With Wise there are no hidden fees or exchange rate margins to worry about, and you can check what a transfer will cost via the website or through the Wise app.

Open your Wise Account
for free 🚀

Here are some of the main fees associated with using a Wise Account:

Activity	Fee
Register for a Personal Wise Account	Free
Sending money	A variable fee starting at 0.33% depending on the currency
Receiving money to local account details	Free
Converting currencies	A variable fee starting at 0.33% depending on the currency
Getting a Wise Debit card	One off payment of 7 EUR
Spending with your Wise Debit card	No fee unless there is a currency conversion

What are the fees for paying with PayPal?

With a PayPal account you can pay for goods and services online or in-store.¹ There’s no fees for doing this unless there’s a currency conversion that needs to take place.

Fees for withdrawing money from PayPal to your account

If you want to withdraw money from PayPal to your bank account there are no fees to worry about, unless a currency conversion is involved.¹

ATM withdrawals with PayPal

Unfortunately, there isn’t a PayPal debit card available to personal Irish accounts, which prevents you from being able to withdraw cash directly from PayPal at an ATM.

To get around this you’d need to send the money to a different account with an attached debit card and use that.

Other PayPal fees in Ireland

There are some other fees that PayPal charges but due to the nature of them you may not encounter them that often.¹ The complete list is on the PayPal website, but here’s an idea of what they are.

Activity	Fee¹
Bank return on a withdrawal or transfer out of PayPal	3.00 EUR
Record request	12.00 EUR
Credit Card and Debit Card confirmations	1.50 EUR for Euro cards which is refunded when the verification process is successfully completed

Sources used:

1. PayPal Consumer Fees

Sources last checked on date: 16 September 2024