How to avoid PayPal exchange rate

Investing / Funding & Currency conversions
1

Hi all,

I currently have a side gig which is paid in USD through PayPal (cannot choose another platform, unfortunately). However, PayPal exchange rate for USD.CHF is quite bad compared to the market rate. Hence, I would like to optimize this aspect.

  1. Do you know any way I can transfer USD from PayPal to my CHF bank account (Neon) by getting a better exchange rate than the one offered by PayPal?
  2. I invest most (if not all) of the earnings from this side gig by buying VT through IBKR. Thus, I theoretically would be able to do everything in USD. Is there a way I can transfer USD from PayPal to IBKR? (Afaik, direct payment from PayPal to IBKR is not possible, but perhaps there is a roundabout way.)

Thanks for your help!

2

Try Wise

3 Likes
3

As mentioned on this article from PayPal, they only support transfers in local currency. If you withdraw money from a foreign currency balance, there will be a conversion fee.

If you must use PayPal, I guess your best option would be to open another account which base currency is USD. Problem here is that you can link only bank accounts from a bank in the same country (i.e., for a US PayPal account, you need a US bank account). I don’t know if any are available to CH nationals/residents.

Or if you know someone you really trust and whose local currency is USD, you can transfer P2P and ask this person to wire you the money through another channel.

1 Like
4

Switch to receiving at Revolut?

5

Thank you all for your answers!

Try Wise

That was also my thought, but after experimenting, I do not think this will work alone. I can open an account in USD on Wise, but I cannot register it in PayPal.

Switch to receiving at Revolut?

I’d really like to do that, but this is not an option. The platform I am using only supports PayPal.

If you must use PayPal, I guess your best option would be to open another account which base currency is USD. Problem here is that you can link only bank accounts from a bank in the same country

This does sounds like the best option. I can have a US account (using Wise). The problem is that I then need a US PayPal account, which I probably can’t get. (It seems I would need a proof of residency).

Seems like I have no choice but to swallow PayPal hidden fees. Oh well…

6

I use WISE