PayPal vs Payoneer: The best choice for your business?

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	Send payment to a recipient without Payoneer: Up to 3% Payments to a recipient’s bank account, in local currency: 1.50 USD (USD to USD payments) 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 commercial transactions¹	Free when receiving from other Payoneer accounts Get paid by credit card: Up to 3.99% ACH bank debits: 1% Receive from PayPal: 3.99% + $0.49 Receive USD into your receiving account: Up to 1% International payments free to receive using local bank account details for available currencies²
Supported currencies	25 supported currencies³	Over 80 supported currencies Get paid in 9 currencies⁴ Withdraw locally in more than 190 countries.
Great for	Businesses needing fast transfers, additional features/add-ons, and a payment gateway solution	International business receiving payments from overseas, who prefer 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

For PayPal standard transfers, the waiting time is between 1-3 business days for PayPal to send money.

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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, Payoneer 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

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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

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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 Payoneer, 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

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
Receive international payments	Standard domestic fee (including fixed fee)+ 1.5% + currency conversion fee¹

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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	Send payment to a recipient without Payoneer: Up to 3% Payments to a recipient’s bank account, in local currency: 1.50 USD (USD to USD payments) 3% credit card fee 1% ACH debit fee Payoneer to Payoneer transactions are free²
Receive payments	Free when receiving from other Payoneer accounts Get paid by credit card: Up to 3.99% ACH bank debits: 1% Receive from PayPal: 3.99% + $0.49 Receive USD into your receiving account: Up to 1%
Receive 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, will be complete currency conversion at the transaction exchange rate that they set for the relevant currency exchange. The transaction exchange rate is adjusted regularly and includes a currency conversion spread applied and retained by PayPal on a base exchange rate to form the rate applicable to your conversion.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% fee²

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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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:

1. Fees | Merchant and Business | PayPal US
2. Low fees and no hidden costs when you work with Payoneer
3. PayPal Global - All countries and markets
4. Get paid in multiple currencies with local receiving accounts - Payoneer
5. Supported currencies - Payouts
6. About Us - Payoneer
7. Payoneer's Security Center
8. Withdraw payments to your local bank account - Payoneer
9. Instant money Transfer | Transfer Money | PayPal CA
10. Securing Your Payoneer Account: Everything You Need to Know
11. PayPal Revenue and Usage Statistics (2022) - Business of Apps
12. Simplified PCI Compliance with PayPal Payments
13. PayPal Security for Buyers and Sellers
14. Payoneer Commercial Mastercard® cards
15. PayPal Business Debit MasterCard
16. PayPal debit card - limits
17. How to Create and Send a Batch Payment - Payoneer Blog
18. Batch payments to multiple recipient bank accounts - FAQ
19. PayPal Payouts | Send Mass Payments | PayPal US
20. Payoneer Community Forum
21. Payoneer
22. Customer Assistance, Complaints and Disclosures Policies
23. PayPal Contact Us
24. Everything You Need to Know About Conversion Rates
25. Where can I find PayPal's currency calculator and exchange rates?
26. What Is the Currency Conversion/Cross Border Fee?
27. Fees | Merchant and Business | PayPal US

All sources checked June 2024.