Transferring money with PayPal requires little more than an email address. Whether you’re making a purchase or sending money to friends, PayPal lets you do so without revealing your credit card information or bank account number to the recipient. Fees can be avoided with the right payment method and a variety of currencies can be used, enabling you to transfer money on a global scale.
Sending Money
As a PayPal account holder, you can send and receive money using the email address and bank account or credit card that is linked to your PayPal account. To transfer money, log in to your PayPal account and select the “Send Money” option. Type the email address of the person you wish to send money to in the space provided. Select “I’m paying for goods or services” if you’re sending the money as payment for a purchase. Select “I’m sending money to family or friends” for non-purchase related money transfers. Confirm details on the resulting page and include a message for the recipient if desired. Click the “Send Money” button to process the transfer. PayPal automatically takes funds from your PayPal balance for money transfers. If the amount you’re transferring exceeds your balance, your additional payment method, which might be a bank account, credit or debit card, will kick in.
Fees
When sending money for a purchase, all PayPal fees are covered by the seller. Non-purchases work differently, as fees may be assessed depending on payment method. If you send money to friends or family using your PayPal or linked bank account, you will not be subject to PayPal fees. If you send money from a linked credit card, PayPal charges a fee of 2.9% of the amount transferred plus an additional flat rate of 30 cents. For example, if you want to send $25 using a credit or debit card, you will be charged a total of $26.03, with $25 going to the recipient and the remaining $1.03 going to PayPal.
Upon Receipt
When you transfer money, the recipient will be notified by PayPal, via email, of the transaction. If that person does not have a PayPal account, they’ll be prompted to create one. Sending money to non-account holders without prior warning can look suspicious due to the prevalence of phishing and money laundering scams on the Internet. Discuss your plans to transfer money ahead of time whenever possible, urging your recipient to set up and confirm an account and email address. This can reduce delays in money being processed and credited from one account to another.
Issuing Refunds
You can transfer money to cover full or partial refunds for up to 60 days following receipt of the initial payment. Log in to your PayPal account and select the “History” tab at the top of your dashboard. Find the transaction you want to refund from the list on the resulting page. Click the “Details” link and select the “Issue a Refund” option. Provide the refund amount, confirm the data and click the “Issue Refund” button to process the transfer. Refunds can be issues for transactions with a status of “Completed,” “Cleared,” “Pending” or “Uncleared.”
Currency Conversion
To support PayPal’s international use, money transfers can be in any one of the 24 supported currencies. To send money in an alternative currency, log in to your account and select the “Send Money” tab. Use the drop-down menu beside the “Amount” box to select your desired currency. Note that fees are assessed for currency conversions and that further information is available in the PayPal User Agreement (see link in "Resources" section).
References
Writer Bio
Carolyn Luck has developed an extensive technical background in social media, online marketing, event planning, business development and small business management while serving as editor of "iMarketing Magazine." She has been published in "IPTV Magazine" and has contributed to many websites. Luck holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.