Skip to Content

11 PayPal Transfer Questions (Quick Answers!)

By: Author Jeremy Davidson

Posted on Last updated:

Categories Financial Apps

Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be financial advice and is for informational purposes only. aTimeforCash is reader-supported. We may earn commissions if you buy through our links at no cost to you.

PayPal is a convenient and fast way to send and receive money. You can also use PayPal to transfer money. In most cases, understanding PayPal fees can be complicated. Some cases may necessitate high fees, while others aren’t clear.

Read on to learn more about the fees PayPal charges for different transfers and if PayPal transfers are instant. 

In This Post:

How much does PayPal charge for International Transfers?

PayPal charges a 5.00%, a minimum international fee of 0.99 USD, and a maximum international fee of 4.99 USD when sending international personal transactions from your PayPal balance or bank account.

When using a card, PayPal also charges a maximum international fee of $4.99 and a minimum of $0.99.

If you are sending amounts that are below $50 to countries like Canada, Europe, or others, you’ll incur a $0.99 fee.  Also, if you’re sending an amount that is between $50 and $100, you’ll be charged a $2.99 fee. The same fee will apply for amounts more than $1000 when sent to Canada or Europe. 

However, if you’re sending a payment exceeding $100 to other countries apart from Canada and Europe, you’ll pay a fee of $4.99.

How Much Does PayPal Charge for Transfers?

When sending money that comes from your PayPal balance/bank account to family or friends, you won’t incur any PayPal transaction fees, and neither will the person receiving money. 

However, if you use PayPal to send money that’s from your credit or debit card, you’ll incur 2.9% of the amount sent. PayPal also charges an extra 30 cents for each transfer from debit/credit cards. 

Do PayPal Transfers Go Through Instantly?

With a PayPal balance, you can opt to withdraw to your bank, and have an option of an instant transfer or standard withdrawal. Although standard transfers take longer, they are free.

Instant PayPal transfers take some minutes based on the bank. Transfers with a debit card may be processed in 30 minutes or less. 

For an instant transfer, you’ll need to link an eligible debit card or bank account. That also lifts payment limits and allows you to receive transfers. 

PayPal instant transfers attract 1.5% of the withdrawal amount for a fee of $0.25- $15. PayPal caps this charge at $10 maximum if the transaction is under the specified limit. 

However, you should note that PayPal instant transfers have a limit.  For example instant transfer to a bank account, you get up to $25,000 per transaction. Instant transfers to a card have a transfer limit of up to $5,000 per transaction, $5,000 per day, and $5,000 per week in total. That amounts to $15,000 per month. 

Is There a Limit on PayPal Transfers?

Yes, there’s a limit on PayPal transfers. 

Regular PayPal account holders are allowed to transact a minimum of $0.01 and a maximum of $4,000 a month. Withdrawals of up to $500 from a bank account are also allowed.

Additionally, if you don’t have an account, you can send a one-time payment of up to $4,000 to someone else. 

However, these limits can be lifted by confirming your account. That involves providing details about your identity. You can verify your identity by linking your bank account, credit card, or debit card. Alternatively, you can apply and be approved for PayPal credit. 

Once verified, you can send up to $60,000 per transaction and there’s no limit to the amount of money you can send from your account. 

Limits for Paypal Instant transfers with linked bank accounts have f $25,000 per transaction set as maximum. The limit is higher as PayPal users need to link their bank accounts to PayPal. 

Unfortunately, you can’t eliminate PayPal’s limit for instant transfer maximum sending as it’s put in place because of the quick nature of the transaction. The limit protects merchants from losing money in case of theft or fraud.

Nonetheless, you can still carry out instant transfers as much as you like with a linked bank account. The limitation only applies to every transaction. 

Why do PayPal bank transfers take so long?

PayPal doesn’t use wire transfers but instead used a payment system called Automated Clearing House or ACH. That means that your payment from your PayPal account to a bank is processed via the federal reserve. That process can take up to five days. 

Note that PayPal doesn’t control the ACH process, which means the money will reflect in your bank account once the ACH process is complete. 

ACH doesn’t operate on holidays or weekends. That means if your transfer was sent through ACH during late business hours on a Friday, the payment processing will start on Monday and can take up to five days.

PayPal bank transfers can also delay if the system is trying to prevent a mistake or fraud.  

What Banks Accept PayPal transfers?

PayPal acts as a third-party platform, which means that it works with almost every bank in the U.S. The only difference is that PayPal is specific with the banks they allow in the instant transfer option. 

Some of the banks that support PayPal’s instant transfer include:

  • Wells Fargo
  • Bank of America
  • JP Morgan Chase
  • Citibank
  • BNY Mellon
  • Suntrust
  • PNC
  • Keybank
  • BB&T

Can you set up automatic transfers in PayPal?

Yes, It’s possible to enable automatic transfers on PayPal. All you need is to:

  • Sign in to PayPal
  • Head to the money, banks, and card section
  • Select Automatic Transfers and switch on this option
  • Choose the bank account that you’d like the funds transferred to.

After this process, each time you make a transaction, it will be transferred to your bank account automatically. Note that automatic bank transfers can take up to two business days. 

Does PayPal charge for ACH transfers?

PayPal charges a rate of 1.9%-3.5% for each transaction and a fixed fee of 5 cents to 49 cents. The amount you pay depends on the product used. 

Are PayPal international transfers instant?

Yes, PayPal international transfers are instant and the funds will be received into the recipient’s PayPal account. The amount can be transferred to their bank account the next day/ 

Does PayPal do free transfers?

PayPal doesn’t charge a transaction fee when you use your PayPal balance to transfer money within the U.S.

Additionally, you can send money to family and friends using your PayPal balance or linked bank account for free. 

Money transfer from your PayPal account to a linked bank account is free. However, this only applies to standard transfers. Instant transfers incur a fee, which can get to $10.

Do PayPal Transfers Go Through Weekends?

PayPal processes payments in 3-5 business days. Weekend days are not part of working days and transfers may not work on those days. 

Wrapping Up

PayPal has different transfers with varying processing fees for both PayPal users and merchants. Hopefully, you now have an idea of the fees to pay when making certain transactions. 

References

  1. https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/paypal-now-lets-you-instantly-transfer-money-to-bank-accounts/#:~:text=Instant%20Transfers%20usually%20take%20just,and%20those%20fees%20can%20change.
  2. https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/home
  3. https://www.paypal.com/gf/webapps/mpp/send-money-abroad#:~:text=Sending%20money%20abroad%20to%20another,easily%20withdrawn%20at%20their%20convenience.
  4. https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees
  5. ​​https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fedach_about.htm