Example transactions with PayPal payments

Considering fees and payment flow, transactions can be quite complex. Here are some examples to better understand how PayPal works.

Updated over a week ago

Here are some examples of how money is moved in transactions and how fees are applied. For reference, read more about commissions and PayPal's payment processing fees.

Example 1. Currency is USD, the marketplace commission % is 10, and the minimum commission is $5. Both buyer and seller are in the US.

The buyer pays $100. PayPal's fee for domestic purchases in the US is 2.49% + 0.49, which totals $2.98. The remaining $97.02 is transferred to the seller's PayPal account.

10% of $100 is $10, which is higher than the minimum commission of $5. This means that $10 is transferred from the seller's PayPal account to the marketplace administrator's PayPal account. Because the marketplace administrator has enabled micropayment fees for their PayPal account, PayPal applies its micropayment fee to this transaction. In USD, it's 4.99% + $0.09 which, totals $0.589. The marketplace administrator receives $9.41 in their PayPal account.

The seller will keep $87.02. The marketplace administrator will keep $9.41. PayPal will keep $3.57.

Example 2. Currency is GBP, the marketplace commission % is 5, and the minimum commission is £1. The seller is in the UK, and the buyer is in France.

The buyer pays £10. PayPal's fee for UK sellers selling to France is 3.9% + £0.20, which totals £0.59. The remaining £9.41 is transferred to the seller's PayPal account.

5% of £10 is £0.50, which is less than the minimum commission of £1. This means £1 is transferred from the seller's PayPal account to the marketplace administrator's PayPal account. Because the marketplace administrator has enabled micropayment fees for their PayPal account, PayPal applies its micropayment fee to this transaction. In GBP, it's 5% + £0.05, which totals £0.10. The marketplace administrator receives £0.90 in their PayPal account.

The seller will keep £8.41. The marketplace administrator will keep £0.90. PayPal will keep £0.69.

Example 3. Currency is EUR, the marketplace commission % is 5, and the minimum commission is 2€. The seller is in Spain, and the buyer is in Italy.

The buyer pays 50€. PayPal's fee for Spanish sellers selling to Italy is 3,4% + 0.35€, which totals 2.05€. The remaining 47.95€ is transferred to the seller's PayPal account.

5% of 50€ is 2.50€, which is more than the minimum commission of 2€. This means 2.50€ is transferred from the seller’s PayPal account to the marketplace administrator's PayPal account. Because the marketplace administrator has enabled micropayment fees for their PayPal account, PayPal applies its micropayment fee to this transaction. In EUR, it’s 5% + 0.05€, which totals 0.18€. The marketplace administrator receives 2.32€ in their PayPal account.

The seller will keep 45.45€. The marketplace administrator will keep 2.32€. PayPal will keep 2.23€.

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