How to receive an international wire transfer with PayPal
You can receive international transfers with PayPal in the US. Transfers can be made from one PayPal account to another in over 110 countries – but it’s helpful to know that fees may apply for the sender, and you may need to pay a charge to convert your funds to USD to withdraw or spend your money.
This guide walks through how to receive incoming international wire transfers with PayPal, and also looks at alternative providers like Wise and Revolut which let you receive payments conveniently in foreign currencies, with low costs.
Key points: PayPal receive international wire transfer
| 💡 Key points | PayPal international wire transfer |
|---|---|
| ⬇️ Fees for receiving transfers | No fee to receive a PayPal to PayPal international transfer |
| 💱 Exchange rates | Converting a foreign currency balance in your PayPal US account has a fee of 3% – providers like Wise and OFX may offer lower overall costs for conversion |
| 🔐 Safety | PayPal is a leader in global payments and considered safe to use |
| 🎯 Incoming transfer limits | Limits are likely to be set according to the country the sender’s PayPal account is based in – verified accounts in the US can send between 10,000 USD and 60,000 USD |
| 🚀 Incoming transfer speed | Transfer speed depends on payment funding method |
| ⭐ Convenience | Very convenient – all the sender needs is your name, phone number or email |
| FAQs | Answers |
|---|---|
| 💰 Does PayPal charge a fee to receive an international wire transfer? | PayPal has no incoming payment fee, but does charge 3% if you need to convert your payment from a foreign currency to USD to withdraw or spend. |
| 🎯 How long does it take to receive an international wire to PayPal? | PayPal to PayPal transfers have varying delivery times depending on how the sender pays. Alternative options may be quicker – 70% of Wise payments are instant. |
How to receive an international wire transfer to PayPal: Step-by-step instructions 🚀
One of the biggest advantages of PayPal is that sending and receiving payments is very straightforward. Here’s a quick summary of how to receive an international transfer to your PayPal account:
Step 1: Create a PayPal account if you don’t have one already
You’ll need a live PayPal account to receive your payment. If you don’t have one yet you can register a personal account for free.
If you’re sent money without having a PayPal account set up, you’ll get an email prompting you to create an account to get your payment.
Step 2: Give the sender your name, PayPal user name, email, or phone number
You don’t need any standard banking details as your money will be received to PayPal instead of your bank. This means all the sender needs is either your name, PayPal user name, email, or phone number.
Step 3: Agree who will pay PayPal fees
Fees on PayPal international transfers and currency conversion are paid by either the sender or the recipient, or both.
Your sender may need to pay to initiate the transfer, and they can also choose to pay for currency conversion or leave that for you to do upon receipt if you’d prefer.
Step 4: Receive your payment
Your money is deposited to your PayPal account after processing.
PayPal fees to receive an international wire transfer 💰
There’s no PayPal incoming international wire transfer fee, but your sender will usually have to pay fees, and you may need to pay a charge if you receive a foreign currency to PayPal and want to convert it back to USD.
If you then want to withdraw your money to your bank, a fee may apply for an urgent transfer.
| Service | PayPal incoming international wire transfer fee |
|---|---|
| 📥 Receive incoming payment | No PayPal receive fee |
| 💱 Convert payment currency after receipt | 3% of converted amount |
| ⬇️ Withdraw payment from PayPal to a bank | No fee for a standard withdrawal with no currency conversion 1.75% of withdrawn amount for instant withdrawals |
*Details correct at time of writing, 20th May 2026
Alternatives to PayPal to receive an international wire transfer ⚖️
You can only receive a payment from overseas to PayPal if the sender also uses PayPal – and there are likely to be fees for both the sender and the recipient to pay.
Instead, multi currency accounts from alternative providers can make it cheaper and easier to receive wire transfers from other countries, with local account details in foreign currencies.
| Wise | Revolut | Payoneer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💡 Eligibility | Personal and business customers in the US and many other countries | Personal and business customers in the US and many other countries | Business customers in the US and many other countries |
| 🌍 Supported currencies | 40+ currencies supported for holding and exchange including USD, EUR, GBP and CAD
| 25+ currencies supported for holding and exchange including USD, EUR, GBP and CAD | 20 currencies supported for holding and exchange including USD, EUR, GBP and CAD |
| ⭐ Local and SWIFT account details | Local account details for 8+ currencies SWIFT details for 20+ currencies | Local account details for USD and GBP SWIFT details for all other supported currencies | Local account information for 11 currencies Receive other currencies with SWIFT details |
| 💰 Fees to receive money | No fee to receive payments with local details 6.11 USD to receive USD wires and SWIFT payments Other SWIFT payments – low, fixed fees apply | No Revolut fee | Variable fees depending on the payment details |
| 💱 Exchange rate | Mid-market rate | Revolut rate with no additional fee for weekday conversion to plan limit Fair usage and out of hours fees may apply | 0.5% fee is applied to the rate provided |
| 🎯 Limits for incoming wires | No limit for most currencies | No stated limit | No stated limit |
*Details correct at time of research – 20th May 2026. About Wise pricing: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
Wise
💡 Great for: Receive 20 currencies, with mid-market rate currency exchange and low, transparent fees
Register a Wise Account in the Wise app, to receive money in 20 currencies and hold 40 currencies, all in the same account.
You’ll get local details in 8+ currencies such as USD, GBP and EUR, to receive incoming payments with ease.
There’s a low, fixed fee to receive USD wires, but incoming ACH transfers have no fee – and there’s no Wise fee to receive other available currencies with local account details.
➡️📚 More information: How to receive money internationally with Wise.
| 💡 Wise pricing & limits | |
|---|---|
| 💰 Account fees | No monthly fees Transaction fees may apply depending on account usage |
| ⬇️ Incoming transfer fees | No fee to receive non USD payments using local details 6.11 USD fees apply for USD wires and SWIFT payments. ACH payments are free to receive. |
| 🎯 Incoming wire limits | Usually no limit to account holding |
| 🌍 Supported currencies for receiving payments | Local account details for 8 currencies SWIFT details for 20 currencies |
| 💱 Exchange rates | Mid-market exchange rate |
| ⬆️Sending transfer fees | Low and transparent fees, starting from 0.57% |
*Details correct at time of research – 20th May 2026
About Wise pricing: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
📚 If you’d like to see how Wise compares to PayPal, this guide might be helpful: Wise vs PayPal
Revolut
💡 Great for: Choose from different plans which all allow you to receive 25 currencies
Revolut US customers have a choice of account plans which all support receiving foreign currency payments. You can receive USD and GBP with local account information, and 20+ other currencies using SWIFT details.
All plans offer some weekday conversion with the Revolut rate and no additional fee, allowing you to spend your funds as you choose. Standard account plans have a 0.5% fair usage fee after you exceed the plan’s 1,000 USD monthly conversion, and a 1% out of hours fee which applies on weekends.
| 💡 Revolut pricing & limits | |
|---|---|
| 💰 Account fees | 0 USD – 16.99 USD monthly fee depending on plan selected Variable transaction fees depending on plan |
| ⬇️ Incoming wire fees | No Revolut fee |
| 🎯 Incoming wire limits | No stated limit |
| 🌍 Supported currencies for receiving payments | Receive local payments in USD and GBP and other supported currencies with SWIFT details. |
| 💱 Exchange rates | Revolut rate with no additional fee for weekday conversion to plan limit Fair usage fees of up to 0.5%, and out of hours fees of up to 1% may apply |
| ⬆️Sending transfer fees | Variable fees depending on the account plan selected |
*Details correct at time of research – 20th May 2026
Payoneer
💡 Great for: Businesses receiving incoming customer funds as bank transfers, card payments or through marketplace sites
Payoneer offers international business accounts that can be used to receive customer payments from banks, PayPal, credit cards, and sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and Airbnb. You can receive 20 currencies in total, with local payments available for 11 currencies.
Payoneer currency conversion includes a 0.5% fee, applied when you convert in your account, to withdraw or to send a payment elsewhere.
| 💡 Payoneer pricing & limits | |
|---|---|
| 💰 Account fees | No ongoing account fees Transaction fees apply depending on account usage |
| ⬇️ Incoming wire fees | Fees vary depending on the currency involved |
| 🎯 Incoming wire limits | Not stated |
| 🌍 Supported currencies for receiving payments | 11 currencies supported for local payments, and 20 for global payments |
| 💱 Exchange rates | 0.5% fee applies on currency exchange |
| ⬆️Sending transfer fees | Up to 4% |
*Details correct at time of research – 20th May 2026
If you’d like to see how Payoneer compares to PayPal and Wise, this guide might be helpful: Payoneer vs Wise vs PayPal
What information is needed to receive a wire transfer at PayPal 📄
| 📁 Required information to receive payments with PayPal |
|---|
You’ll need to give the sender one of the following:
|
PayPal receive limits for incoming international wires 🎯
The amount you can receive to your PayPal account from someone sending money from abroad is likely to depend on the sender’s own limits rather than your specific receive limits.
Your sender will be able to check the sending limits which apply to them, which vary depending on their home country.
💡 To give an idea, in the US, customers can send 4,000 USD prior to completing verification, with limits set to 10,000 USD – 60,000 USD after verification has been completed.
If you need to receive a higher amount, you may like an alternative such as Wise or Revolut which have high limits on both outgoing and incoming transfers.
Relevant guide for more information: PayPal transfer limits in the US
How long does it take for PayPal to receive an international wire transfer? ⏳
The length of time to send a payment from an overseas PayPal account to a PayPal US account depends on how the sender chooses to fund the transfer.
The sender may see a delivery estimate when initiating the payment, so they can let you know what to expect.
Bear in mind that you may also need to withdraw your money to a bank, which can take a few days for a standard withdrawal. Or you can get an instant withdrawal which has a fee of 1.75% attached.
How to track an incoming international wire transfer with PayPal 🔍
As the recipient, you can’t track the wire you’re going to receive – but the sender can do so from their own PayPal account.
If you’re not sure what’s happened to your PayPal international transfer, ask the sender to do the following:
- Log into PayPal and go to Activity
- Choose the transfer you want to track
- The transaction details will show the status
If you need more information you can have the sender reach out to PayPal directly to ask where the money has got to.
What can you do if your transfer is not delivered yet
If a transfer is late or seems to be lost, you or the sender can log into PayPal and open a chat to get help. Or you can call PayPal on 1-888-221-1161 from 6:00 AM PST to 6:00 PM PST Monday through Sunday.
More information: Best ways to receive money from overseas and Best bank account to receive money internationally
