PayPal review

Founded in 1998 and based in San Jose, USA, PayPal is a money transfer provider. PayPal is authorised and regulated by FinCEN, FCA, Various, which means customer money is safeguarded separately from company funds. It currently holds a Trustpilot score of 1.4 out of 5 from roughly 41,228 reviews, which we rate poor.

On the fee side, expect 5% with $0.99 min, $4.99 max, but the bigger cost is usually the exchange-rate markup of 3% - 4% above mid-market, which is built into the rate rather than shown as a line item. Transfers run from a minimum of $1 up to $60,000 per transaction. In our own rate collection, across the 89 corridors we track for PayPal, its exchange rate has averaged 4.60% from the mid-market rate.

Delivery speed is quoted at instant to 3 days, and the service reaches 200+ countries across 25+ currencies. You can fund a transfer by Bank Transfer, Debit Card, Credit Card and PayPal Balance, with money delivered via PayPal Account and Bank Deposit. The mix of funding and payout options is a good guide to which corridors PayPal handles best.

On the plus side: widely accepted globally, instant transfers to paypal users and buyer protection available. That makes it a sensible choice for people who send to a wide spread of countries from one account. Worth keeping in mind: high exchange rate markup (3-4%) and transfer fees can add up.