PayPal vs Payoneer: The best choice for your business?

Panna Kemenes

24.11.22 (updated more than 1 year ago)

7 minute read

PayPal and Payoneer are two payment processors servicing millions of customers globally. But which one is best for your business? And is one better suited to facilitating international transactions?

In this PayPal vs Payoneer comparison, their main features will be put side-to-side, so you can decide the one that’s best for you.

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Table of Contents
PayPal vs Payoneer: Quick overview Payoneer vs PayPal key features Payoneer fees vs PayPal PayPal vs Payoneer Pros and Cons compared Try Wise: a safe, straightforward way to make payments

PayPal vs Payoneer: Quick overview

Here’s a quick-fire comparison of PayPal vs Payoneer, before we go into the details.

	PayPal	Payoneer
Send money fee	2.99% for goods and services¹	3% credit card fee 1% ACH debit fee Payoneer to Payoneer transactions are free²
Receive money fee	2.99% for goods and services 3.49% + fixed fee for most standard commercial payments 2.99% + fixed fee for debit and credit card Additional 1.5% fee for international transactions¹	Free when sending to other Payoneer accounts Up to 2% fee when paying non-Payoneer customers (recipient’s bank fees may apply) International payments free to receive using local bank account details for available currencies $1.50 EUR/GBP/USD fixed fee when using EUR, GBP or USD to send to a bank account if: it’s in the same currency it’s in a country where the local currency matches the payment currency it’s in the same country that is listed on your Payoneer profile²
Supported currencies	25 supported currencies³	Available balances: USD, EUR,GBP, HKD, JPY, AUD, CAD, SGD⁴ 120 Supported transaction currencies⁵
Great for	Businesses needing fast transfers, additional features/add-ons, and a payment gateway solution	International business, with an easy to understand fee structure

Can I use Payoneer instead of PayPal?

Payoneer can be used instead of PayPal to send and receive payments. Both providers share similar functions. They allow you to get paid, as well as send payments to clients, domestically and internationally.

With Payoneer, you can also receive international payments using local account details in a wide range of currencies.

Payoneer vs PayPal key features

Founded in 2005, Payoneer is a payment processor that facilitates international and domestic transactions.⁶ It’s supported by many leading digital brands such as Airbnb and Google.⁷

Likewise, PayPal is a payment gateway and processor that supports millions of users worldwide. It’s one of the world’s most used digital brands, being around since 1998.

Let’s take a closer look at PayPal vs Payoneer features.

Speed

With Payoneer, transfers take between 2-5 business days to arrive in your account, with transfers within the US taking on average 2-3 business days.⁸

In contrast, PayPal allows you to make instant transfers for a fee of 1.75%, transferring your funds within minutes. For standard transfers, the waiting time is between 1-3 business days.⁹

Security

Both Payoneer and PayPal follow strict security practices.

Payoneer supports over 4 million customers worldwide, and is trusted by leading digital companies from Upwork to Amazon. It’s PCI Data Security Standard level 1 certified, as well as SOC 2 Type II and SOC 1 Type II. This means Payoneer has high standards of cybersecurity, tested and verified by external, industry leading auditors.⁷

Additionally, Payoneer uses a multilayered approach to tackle account-take-over (ATO) prevention and detection. From 2-step verification and CAPTCHA requests, to behaviour profiling, Payonner invests in its customers' security.¹⁰

As of 2022, PayPal supports over 426 million users.¹¹ It’s PCI compliant, and holds a range of other regulatory certifications.¹²

What makes PayPal stand out is its Seller Protection feature. If your customer claims they never received their product, then PayPal can help you get your payment.¹³

In addition, PayPal uses end-to-end encryption, two-factor authentication and fraud prevention technology to secure your account.¹³

Business card

Payoneer and PayPal both offer their users a business debit Mastercard.

The Payoneer business debit card can be used for any transaction where Mastercard is accepted. It also allows you to withdraw cash from ATMs anywhere in the world. It has a daily limit of $200,000 USD and no monthly maximum, and is available both in virtual and physical form.¹⁴

You can also sync your Payoneer card with Xero and QuickBooks, so all your business expenses are tracked in the one place. On top of this, you can order multiple cards.¹⁴

The Payoneer debit Mastercard comes with an annual fee of $29.95 USD.²

Just like with Payoneer, the PayPal business debit Mastercard can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted. It’s also available in digital format.

You can configure your PayPal debit card for recurring payments, and order up to four debit cards. There are no monthly fees, or minimum balance required.¹⁵

Your PayPal debit Mastercard has a daily withdrawal limit of $400 USD, and a spending limit of $3,000 USD.¹⁶

You can also earn unlimited cashback on certain purchases, as well as receive up to 20% in rebates at over 50,000+ businesses.¹⁵

Batch payments

The ability to make batch payments saves you time when paying multiple users.

Payoneer currently allows you to make batch payments only within the US and to pay with your bank details.¹⁷

With Payonner, you can send up to 200 payments in one batch.¹⁸

PayPal offers batch payments with its Payouts function. You can make up to 15,000 payments in one batch, in 24 different currencies, and send to a total of 156 countries.¹⁹

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Customer service

Payoneer has a dedicated online customer support center with a range of FAQ-based articles. It also has a community forum, connecting users to help solve each other’s queries. On top of this, Payoneer customer support teams can be reached via phone, post and email.²⁰ ²¹ ²²

PayPal has its own help center with many articles on common issues. It also has a dedicated resolution center for dealing with transaction and account issues, as well as a community forum. Customer support agents can be reached via online chats, email and phone.²³

Customer service

Payoneer fees vs PayPal

PayPal vs Payoneer fees and their structures are quite different, and crucial to understand. Let’s now take a look at PayPal vs Payoneer charges.

PayPal fees

Despite its lack of start up or monthly fees, PayPal’s fee system can be complex.

Here’s a quick overview of the main fees when sending and receiving domestically and internationally. For many transactions, a fixed fee is applied which varies depending on the currency received.¹

	PayPal fees
Monthly fee	None
Send payments	2.99% for goods and services
Receive payments	2.99% for goods and services 3.49% + fixed fee for most standard commercial payments 2.99% + fixed fee for debit and credit card
International payments	Standard domestic fee (including fixed fee)+ 1.5% + currency conversion fee¹

Payoneer fees

For the most part, Payoneer is relatively fee-free. Here’s a quick summary of Payoneer vs PayPal fees.

	Payoneer fees
Monthly fee	None
Annual fee	$29.95 USD (only paid when your account is inactive for more than 12 months)
Send payments	Free when sending to other Payoneer accounts Up to 2% fee when paying non-Payoneer customers (recipient’s bank fees may apply) $1.50 EUR/GBP/USD fixed fee when using EUR, GBP or USD to send to a bank account if: it’s in the same currency it’s in a country where the local currency matches the payment currency it’s in the same country that is listed on your Payoneer profile
Receive payments	3% credit card fee 1% ACH debit fee Payoneer to Payoneer transactions are free
International payments	Free to receive using local bank account details for available currencies Currency conversion fees apply for certain currencies²

PayPal vs Payoneer conversion rate

At the time of the transaction, Payoneer uses wholesale currency market rates from various financial institutions to determine its exchange rate.²⁴

PayPal, on the other hand, receives a wholesale rate quote twice per day from its bank, and then adds its own percentage fee to this. PayPal’s exchange rate can be found in your PayPal wallet.²⁵

With Payoneer, either a conversion fee or a cross border fee will be applied, as well as additional Mastercard fees when making purchases.²⁶

With PayPal, the conversion fee, plus the standard domestic fee, fixed fee and cross border fee will be applied when sending and receiving international payments.¹

PayPal Conversion fee	Payoneer Conversion fee
3-4% (depending on transaction type)²⁷	0.5-3.5% fee²⁴ ²

PayPal vs Payoneer Pros and Cons compared

Now that all of their key features have been examined, let’s look at PayPal vs Payoneer payment pros and cons.

Payoneer vs PayPal pros

Here’s a quick overview of the PayPal vs Payoneer pros.

PayPal	Payoneer
Payment gateway solution Instant transfer capability Range of customer support resources Debit Mastercard available	120 currencies supported Simple to understand fee structure, and relatively few fees Range of customer support resources Debit Mastercard available with daily limit of $200,000 USD and no monthly limit

PayPal vs Payoneer cons

And now here’s an overview of PayPal vs Payoneer cons.

PayPal	Payoneer
Only 25 currencies supported Complex fee structure High fees associated with international transactions Ability to make 15,000 payments in one batch Card limited to $3,000 USD daily spending limit	Limited to 200 payments in one batch Not a payment gateway Transfers take longer on average

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With Wise, you could save up to 19x compared to using PayPal when sending business payments. You can also use 10 major local account details to get paid like a local with no PayPal cross border fees to worry about.

You’ll always get access to the mid-market exchange rate, with no hidden fees when you convert your money.

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Source:

All sources checked November 28. 2022.

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