Paypal has the most complicated fee structure on the market.
In this article, we try to break down PayPal fees in Kenya for you.
The fees vary based on whether you are carrying out a consumer or a merchant transaction, and the source of your funds.
Paypal fees too expensive?
If sending money to Kenya is too expensive and complicated with PayPal, then use these two options instead:
With these options, you can send money directly to M-Pesa accounts or bank accounts.
For the tables below, we indicate currencies using country currency ISOs for each country. For instance, KES stands for Kenyan shilling, EUR for Euro, and USD for US Dollar.
Paypal fees Kenya
Here is a summary of fees for Kenyan Paypal accounts:
1) General Paypal fees for Kenyans
Transaction type | Rates |
---|---|
Opening a Paypal account in Kenya | Free |
Card confirmation charge (refunded) | $1.95 |
2) Paypal withdrawal fees.
In Kenya, you can withdraw your funds through two channels:
- Paypal to Mpesa
- Paypal to Equity Bank
Bank account withdrawal charges
Transaction description | Fees |
---|---|
When no conversion is involved, and the withdrawal amount equivalent is more than KES, 20,000 | FREE |
Withdrawal amount is less than Kenya shilling 20,000 | KES 105 |
Paypal Mpesa charges
Type of transfer | Fees |
---|---|
Withdrawing from Paypal to Mpesa | 3% |
Topping up Paypal with Mpesa | 3% + Paybill charges |
For current Thunes’ Paypal to Mpesa change rates, be sure to read our article.
3) Making purchases via Paypal
Source of funds | Paypal fees |
---|---|
Buying with your Paypal balance (Provided there’s no currency conversion involved) | FREE |
4) Sending money to other Paypal Kenyan accounts
This is called a domestic personal transaction:
Send money from (source of funds) | Paypal fees |
---|---|
Paypal balance | Free |
Bank accounts | Not applicable (you can’t link a Kenyan bank account to Paypal) |
Cards | 3.4% + fixed fee. |
Partial funding (Paypal balance plus card) | Fees will be pro-rated based on the two structures above |
5) Receiving money from other Paypal Kenyan accounts
Type of transaction | Charges |
---|---|
When no currency conversion involved | Free |
6) Sending money internationally
When you send money from Kenya to other countries, you will incur the following fees:
Source of funds | Sending to (country) | Rates |
---|---|---|
Paypal balance | Any Paypal-supported country | $ 4.99 |
Cards | Any Paypal-supported country | $ 4.99 USD + 3.4% + fixed fee |
Paypal fixed fees table
For the rates above where it includes a fixed fee, you can use the table below to check the exact fee for the country you are sending to.
For instance, if sending to the US, the fixed fee is $0.3. So here are the rates:
- Sending money from Kenya to USA (Paypal balance): $4.99
- Sending money from Kenya to the USA (with your bank card): $4.99 + 3.4% + $0.3 (i.e the fixed fee)
Fixed fees for various receiving countries:
Currency | Fee |
---|---|
Australian dollar | 0.30 AUD |
Brazilian real | 0.60 BRL |
Canadian dollar | 0.30 CAD |
Czech koruna | 10.00 CZK |
Danish krone | 2.60 DKK |
Euro | 0.35 EUR |
Hong Kong dollar | 2.35 HKD |
Hungarian forint | 90.00 HUF |
Israeli new shekel | 1.20 ILS |
Japanese yen | 40.00 JPY |
Malaysian ringgit | 2.00 MYR |
Mexican peso | 4.00 MXN |
New Taiwan dollar | 10.00 TWD |
New Zealand dollar | 0.45 NZD |
Norwegian krone | 2.80 NOK |
Philippine peso | 15.00 PHP |
Polish zloty | 1.35 PLN |
Russian ruble | 10.00 RUB |
Singapore dollar | 0.50 SGD |
Swedish krona | 3.25 SEK |
Swiss franc | 0.55 CHF |
Thai baht | 11.00 THB |
UK pounds sterling | 0.20 GBP |
US dollar | 0.30 USD |