NOTE: Since I published this article, PayPal has improved their withdrawal process. Now they clearly tell that they charge a currency conversion fee. However, they still don’t provide a receipt of that charge.
How I avoid paying unnecessarily for currency conversions is by routing payments to an account on Wise (formerly Transferwise), which has worked extremely well for me and many colleagues.
PayPal is used by millions. You can pay for pretty much everything from dollhouses and jumping castles to real apartments with it.
And if you run a small business, especially online, you’re going to at least consider using it to process payments because PayPal’s fees seem very reasonable.
It’s easy and free to set up. It works in most countries on this planet (I hear they’re expanding to Mars, too). And it gives you enough options to run a small business.
The transaction fees are also smaller than what you’d pay for similar services with most other companies.
But, if you look closely, and if you tally up the hidden fees, the real PayPal fees aren’t as favorable as they seem on the surface.
Simply put, PayPal steals from its customers.
Edit: PayPal has made some updates to the visuals. My point still stands, though: PayPal doesn’t provide a receipt for the charges—and that amounts to stealing (or maybe it’s “fraud” or some other legal term).