Paypal overcharge - Gbp to Euro?

lightspeed

Hey, im not sure if this is the correct forum to ask this but it relates to paying with paypal which is obviously widely used on ebay

It wasnt on ebay or auction site but less than 30 minutes ago i logged on my accountant to pay for outstanding exam fees on the ACCA website.

The amount came to £724. I chose the option to pay with paypal and to my surprise the amount that came to was €884.28.

I checked the XE website it says the above amount should convert to €851.27. I know its never completely accurate to use XE but its usually quite close. I queried it with ACCA chat support who said the couldnt explain why paypal has converted the amount due at a higher amount.

I took a chance and paid on the website just using my debit card. It doesnt show the euro amount so i had to pay £724 not fully aware what ACCA determine to be the amount in euros.

Well i just checked on banking history and the amount in euro was actually €849.11.

So paying with paypal would have resulted in paying €35.77 more than just through the website using my debit card.

Im open to correction, but i thought it was free to pay with paypal and that paypal only make their money off the merchant selling the product/service and accepting paypal as a payment method.

Can anyone explain why such a difference and if it worth escalating it further?

Walter2016

Paypal make a little profit on currency exchange.

Same with banks.

Same with currency exchange kiosks.

L1011

XE rates are interbank mid-market - nobody gets to pay those normallly. I suspect you managed to catch a falling knife, so to speak, with your bank not having updated rates for that day/weekend. Sterling has gained about 6p in the past 14 days.

There is nothing to escalate with Paypal - they make a profit and sell it as "convenience". That's basically their entire business model. ACCA are unlikely to care, and even if they do they can't stop Paypal offering the local currency option.

ED E

The Visa Debit rate is usually better than the paypal/amazon rates by a good margin. You still lose some on the fee the bank will apply on top but 9 times in 10 its still a saving.

A Dub in Glasgo

This is why I always get Visa or Mastercard to do the conversion rather than Paypal or any other website

runawaybishop

This is why I have a revolut account. 0 fees at intra bank rates

daheff

Paypal can set whatever FX rate they want.

Generally if you are paying outside your card currency its best to pay in that currency rather than have the vendor convert to your home currency as the vendor always puts a premium on it (as its free income for them).

Melendez

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daheff

Melendez wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

then dont pay through a paypal account?