How To Send Money Through Paypal Without Fees

Paypal Fees

Paypal is one of the safest and most popular online money transfer service providers. It is a widely accepted digital payment method for online retailers, merchants, auction sites, etc. The company now has over 305 million active registered users.

How to send money through PayPal?

To get started, you need to sign up for free to open an account using your email address
Link your PayPal account to a debit or credit card, or your bank account
Once the verification is done, you can send money to the recipient using their email or mobile number either through the PayPal app or its website.

The sender and the receiver should be both PayPal account holders for the transaction to occur. Thus, you can transfer money through PayPal to your friends and family and also make payments for goods and services. You have the option to open a personal PayPal account or a PayPal business account.

Can I send money internationally using PayPal?

Yes, you can send money internationally through PayPal to another PayPal account holder. If you want to send money to a bank account, pay international bills, reload phones, etc, you will be redirected to Xoom, a PayPal service for international money transfers.

There are many reasons why Xoom is one of our most reviewed and recommended money transfer service providers and our favorite is their speed and exchange rate. And if you are a PayPal account holder, the best part is that you will still be within the PayPal network. You will be paying zero transfer fees on international money transfers for amounts above $1000 through Xoom if you are using your PayPal balance to fund your remittance.

You can send money, pay bills and reload your mobile phones from the US to countries like China, India, the Philippines (to more than 70 countries).

How to send money through PayPal without transfer fees?

PayPal fees vary based on several factors. It depends on our account type (personal or business), your country of residence, payment method, what currency you are dealing with, etc. Before you decide to make a PayPal payment, let us first understand the fee structure to avoid paying unnecessary transaction fees.

Sending money within the United States to friends and family is free via a PayPal balance or linked bank account
If you use a debit or credit card to fund the transfer, you'll be charged a 2.9% plus a fixed fee
Money transfer from your PayPal account to your linked bank account is free but there are charges for instant transfers (1% of the amount transferred which can go up to $10)
PayPal doesn't charge transaction fees for your purchases whether online or in stores
You will have to pay a currency conversion fee when you purchase goods in other currency (cross-border payments), or when you receive money in a currency you don't use or withdraw money to your linked bank account that is in a currency that you don't use

PayPal Merchant Fees

There are a variety of packages and services available to merchants
You will have to pay a fee if you receive payments for goods and services
There are different monthly fees associated with PayPal business accounts such as Standard and Pro plans
Fees vary based on the country. For example, the standard fee is 3.7% plus $ 0.30 when you receive money from another US Paypal account or 2.9% in Canada. If it is outside the US or Canada, the fee incurred is 3.9% plus a fixed fee on the currency

If you are in the US, you can send money to friends and family through PayPal without any fees.

Following are the steps on how to send money to friends and family through PayPal:

Go to PayPal.com to sign up for free
Click "Sign Up" to create an account. Either you can pick a personal or business account. Click personal account for sending money to friends and family
Then get your bank account or credit/debit card to link your PayPal account.
Once the account creation is completed, go to the homepage
Select "Send & Request" from the menu bar at the top to transfer money to another PayPal account (or to request money)
Type in the recipient's email address or phone number
Enter the amount you want to send and select send to a friend. If you are paying for goods and services, click "Change" (in this case, the seller would need to pay a fee)
Then, you will be directed to "How do you want to pay?" To avoid the charges, pick either PayPal balance or your linked checking account. Choosing a credit card will come with a fee. Once, you choose the payment method, click next
You will see a confirmation page showing your fee, the recipient, the sending amount, and the payment method. Click "send payment now" to confirm
Your transaction information will be sent to you via an email from PayPal.

Here are some of the ways to reduce or avoid PayPal fees

Avoid the fee for each transaction by opting to get paid less often. If you have clients that are paying you weekly, try going for a monthly payment schedule to reduce the frequency of transactions fee charges
Withdraw money from your PayPal account to your linked bank account through the standard transfer. It may take a few days for the money to get transferred but you don't have to pay the fee that comes with instant transfer (can go up to $10)
To avoid paying for the seller fee when you get paid, your clients can send the money through the friends and family option in PayPal. Both you and your client won't have to pay any fee via this method
To avoid fees on a currency conversion, you can request to be paid in your original currency
You can include your PayPal fees while filing for tax return

In conclusion, the only way to send money through PayPal without fees is to fund your transfer using PayPal balance, whether you are sending money domestically or internationally through Xoom. Make sure you compare the factors that impact international money transfers such as; exchange rates, conversion fees, speed, and security to find the cheapest way to send money.