Money transfer between my Belgium & USA accounts

[LarsThorson]

Hey Paypal Community,

First post here, thank you in advance for your advice. 

I'm a Belgium citizen who is moving to the United States on a visa at the end of the month. Shortly after receiving a social security number upon my arrival, I will be opening my first bank account in the US. Hoping to find the most convenient and low-cost way to tranfer money, I was wondering if it is possible/allowed - from in the US - to tranfer money (3-5k) from my Belgian current account to my new American account through Paypal? If so, do only the regular currency conversion fees and transactions fees apply, or do I have to take into account additional fees? 

Regards,

Lars

[nevadasmith]

you want to transfer money from a Belgian bank account to a US bank account using your Paypal account?

you need to open a US based Paypal account and link your US bank account to it,Paypal will expect you to confirm it is your bank account.

It is a good idea to link a credit card as well.

one problem is you cannot link the same credit card t o two account,so you may have to remove the card from your Belgian account to your US account,if you want to use the same card ,or better link another credit card if you have one.

as to conversion,yes,there will be a 3% conversion fee from Euro to US $,

yo can also ask your bank to give you an intl  cashier check in US $ AND BRING It to USA and deposit in your US bank account,or wiretransfer from Belgium to US bank accounts and pay a wiretransfer fee,which ever is convenient for you..

Your US bank may charge you a fee for clearing the intl casher check,or charging you an incoming wiretransfee fee like $5-$7 .

Paypal customer service is VERY POOR,so if you need your money,I would go the bank route    

[nevadasmith]

PAYPAL could also charge $1.99 fee when transferring fund from one country t o another using friend and family.

[LarsThorson]

Thank you for all the advice! All clear!

I'll also see my bank later this week, and see what my options are with an international cashier check. Thanks as well for the customer service warning, well noted.

Lars

[Oregon11]

@LarsThorson

Hi Lars,

Here is a PayPal link with details on this situation.

https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/can-i-have-multiple-paypal-accounts-faq762

https://www.paypal.com/be/smarthelp/article/can-i-change-my-paypal-address-to-another-country-faq143...

If you plan on traveling back and forth to live in each country, this would change your situation and options.

[LarsThorson]

Thank you!

I will indeed be traveling back and forth. As I am temporarily moving to the US and will be a resident in two countries, I'll have to open two accounts I see. Thanks for sending over the info!

Lars

[Oregon11]

@LarsThorson

Hi Lars,

When you open a second account in the US it will need to be a Business account since you already have a Personal account in Belgium (I'm assuming you do not already have an additional PayPal account in Belgium). When you open the US account while physically in the US there will be an option in the set up asking about the business type. If you do not have a business you should select the "Individual/Sole Proprietorship" option.

Keep in mind that you should log into your Belgium account only while physically in Belgium, and the same goes for the US account. Just because you have a PayPal account from another country doesn't mean you can log into that account while you're in another country and use it whenever you want.

Also, when and if transferring funds from one PayPal account you own to your other PayPal account, you should only send funds that are in your PayPal balance. You should not send funds to your other PayPal account using a linked card or linked bank as the funding source, this would be considered a cash advance (with the card), and I would not recommend sending funds to yourself with a linked bank as the funding source from your alternate PayPal account.

I hope this helps.