PayPal, paying US dollars - there exchange rate or nationwides CC?

slewis1972

Hi

I need to send $1400 dollars to a person via paypal.

Am I corect I can choose to use there exchange rate vs that of the card the money is coming off?

if so, the card I take money off is a Nationwide Credit card that has the low rate for currency transactions.

I think paypal take off 2.5% on the rate. Based on this, would it be better to use my creditcard rate plus would using my credit card give me better security. The money I am sending is for a private condo rental (I have rental agreements coming etc)

Any advice appreciated.

Scott

choc_mouse

Yes - you can choose to use Paypal's or your credit card's exchange rate. I would personally choose Nationwide's rate as it goes by Visa (which is much bigger than Paypal).

The only thing you need to be aware of is what you choose the money you are sending for. If you're just sending "cash" Paypal may put the charge through as a Cash Advance on your credit card and you'll be charged interest (like if you were to withdraw the money from an ATM). I'm not familiar with the Paypal sending money service but I'm sure someone else will be able to clarify this.

eslick

use the USD rate and let your credit card do the calculation. one thing to watch out on is the person you are paying will be charged 3.4% to withdraw the cash, if they arent aware of this then this can cause you problems.

we usually pay for our villas through paypal but add on the 3.4% as we deal direct with the owners. however we are thinking of using tesco for future payments as they only charge £3 and the rate though smaller than that of a credit card with no load fees is cheaper (just)than the 3.4%.

http://www.tesco.com/moneytransfer/

slewis1972

Thanks for that.

I'll put the cost down as "services" as we are renting the condo.

As the person we are sending the money specified paypal I can only assume they know about the 3.5% charge.

Scott

choc_mouse

I think "service" will be OK (no cash advance fee).

Best to confirm with the recipient in an email like "I'll send you $xxx.xx to your paypal account xxxxx". If they don't question it then I think you'll be fine

williham

I don't think it counts as a cash advance whatever you put in paypal..