Currency Conversion

[aklinz]

UNBELIEVABLE !  Not only does PayPal extort large "user fees" on every transaction, they are currently adding a 8% surcharge on Canadian users !   By this, I mean the fact that PayPal currently values the Canadian dollar at 94 US cents.  EXCUSE ME ????   The bloody Canadian dollar has been at 1.02 (or above that) for over a month !  At what point are you going to "get with the program" and actually adjust your currency values ?  Maybe a year from now ? I will simply refuse to use your fraudulent company from now on ! 

In disgust,

Andrew

P.S.  With policies like these, no wonder why the rest of the world hates Americans !

[fitbidder]

CultureOfOne...I just Googled "paypal exchange rate". It was the first link.

Edit: Actually, the second link is even more detailed regarding the conversion fee.

Edit 2: There's also the fee disclosure under the main "Sending Money" fee page (see the fee disclosure under the "Outside the US" table):

https://cms.paypal.com/cgi-bin/marketingweb?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=marketing_us/send_money_f...

Needless to say, the fee is documented in a number of places on the Paypal website, both in their FAQ and in the introductory Help area.

[CultureOfOne]

Hah!  I did the same, and it worked, but an earlier search of PayPal via their own help search didn't return this result.  Odder still, when I do the same search on the page to which Google links, I get 6 results.  When I did it earlier (by entering from PayPal Help) I only got 3 results.  What's more, my earlier search only revealed 196 related help forum entries, while the new one revealed 10,043!  Very weird.  Thanks!

So, here's the correct link:

https://www.paypal.com/helpcenter/main.jsp;jsessionid=dnvGLGSCmWlYPqDRhRSPNf42ndMt9v84M94SVStn3ynZWY...

[fitbidder]

No problem, Culture. This is the other one I mentioned as the second link:

https://www.paypal.com/helpcenter/main.jsp;jsessionid=FsCDKwwLdkDspHhmD0W9VTX2c2n1hsBJPwVJpC1FQw18Kp...

[CultureOfOne]

Thanks again for this info.  I suspect the presence of the currency conversion fee info is a recent development, as I'm pretty sure the 2.5% info wasn't there way back when I first posted; all I could find then was vague reference to an unspecified fee.  I wonder if perhaps this thread has resulted in greater transparency, or perhaps I'm just really blind!  Either way, good to see it there now.

[fitbidder]

I'm pretty sure the info has been there for at least as long as I've been with Paypal (years), although perhaps they've reproduced it in more places now to make it more transparent and accessible.

If the thread has helped, good stuff!

[ian_parenteau]

It would be simple and clear if any and all fees were shown on each transaction, instead of making customers "hunt down" answers to questions that keep coming up.  Obviously there is a communication problem when people keep complaining about the currency exchange math again and again in these forums....

[Imasnore]

I was trying to navigate thru the site and could not find any easily accessible information on Exchange rates, so I went to forum, it appears that other 'customers' have the same concern.It did not sound good... rather than add my voice to the chorus of unhappy customers.  I suggest:

1) Vote with your dollars, find the lowest rate at whatever business-take your business there. Concerns here are not be

    addressed; but you get to 'vent' (let off steam). This disfuses the situation.

2) Buy one share or ten shares in Paypal, and raise it as a concern at the Annual Shareholders Meeting. I have seen it done with Banks and Church and other social groups hilight their concerns. The Board of Directors have to handle this situation (delegate downwards to Corporate Magnates). Shares can be purchased and save on commissions at Stock Market Conventions held in major centers or may be purchased on line with regular commissions.

PS Banks are charging BUY SELL Rate 5.5 % -  SELL 100 USD = 99.85 Cdn BUY 100 USD = 105.36 Cdn

If you do not need the money just sit.

[Crimper]

To all of the debunkers (who frankly I grow tired of their insults) the only argument you have for me when I provided proof that my Canadian bank provided a fairer exchange rate than PayPal was to claim that my bank made a mistake.

I have provided the proof...look at old messages from months ago. The currency exchange rate fees by PayPal are way higher. That is not debatable. So shove your condescending attitude!

[fitbidder]

Crimper. Seriously. I never claimed your bank made a mistake. They didn't. I claimed, and rightfully so, that YOU made a mistake. You were proven wrong in this very thread on that specific transaction.

In case you missed it, here is the carefully documented rebuttal to your "proof" that I posted for you and others several pages ago...

--- SNIP ---

Crimper's wife, for instance, was charged about 2.5% (250 basis points) by the very same bank based on the exchange rate for the day she converted CAD to USD, and the Client Buy rate for USD displayed right on the receipt that Crimper posted here.

The details of his wife's transaction are:

For April 8, CAD/USD exchange rate was about 1.043 (previous day's close) which equates to USD/CAD -> 0.959. I could have used the current day's average exchange rate instead, but 1.043 fell within that day's range, so it's perfectly applicable.

Her funds were exchanged at a rate of 0.985, which means she was charged a conversion fee of 0.985-0.959 = 0.026. That's 260 basis points, or 2.6%.

With the fee, US$680 x 0.985 = CAD$669.80, which was debited from her account.

With no fee, US$680 x 0.959 = CAD$652.12, which did not apply here.

The receipt clearly shows she was charged the higher amount -> she was charged a 2.6% conversion fee. Again, ScotiaBank does not convert for free.

The math doesn't lie. The fact that Crimper hasn't figured this out yet shows that a few people in this forum are clearly misinformed on how to apply exchange rates and conversion fees to the real world.

No tricks, folks...no smoke and mirrors. Just simple math.

--- SNIP ---

[fitbidder]

Crimper said:

"So shove your condescending attitude!"

I fail to see what you find condescending about a little math and a helping hand. The spirit of these threads is to help folks out and to point out where they made a mistake, not to engage in character assasinations based on your lack of understanding of some simple concepts.

Perhaps if you show the math to your wife, she will be able to understand it and explain it to you. I seem to be unable to get through to you...