As a freelancer, online business owner or just someone who receives money via PayPal in South Africa, you’re likely familiar with the fees that come with receiving payments from international clients. It can be tough to determine exactly how much you’ll be charged by PayPal and the bank with the ever fluctuating currency exchange rate.
There are two parts to the calculator. The first part helps you determine how much to charge your clients, taking into account the fees that PayPal will deduct from your invoiced amount. The second part helps you calculate the amount you’ll receive in ZAR into your South African bank account after fees have been deducted.
How to use Digital Creative Lab’s Paypal fee calculator?
Enter the amount that you would like to receive for your product or service. After inputting the amount, press Enter:
- The total Paypal transaction fee will be displayed
- The amount that you will receive after the Paypal fee is deducted
- The amount that you should ask for if you want the customer to cover the Paypal fee.
It’s that simple! Just enter the amount, and the calculator will display how much you will receive. The percentage used in the calculation is for Paypal users based in South Africa. Based on the “You should ask for” result, you can adjust the amount to invoice your client.
Keep in mind that Paypal only allows South African users to send and receive money in USD $. FNB in South Africa will still apply a currency conversion fee when withdrawing funds from your Paypal account into South African Rands ZAR.
**Adjust the USD $ Amount that you want to receive after fees to get the amount in your bank account in ZAR closer to what you would like. When you’re happy, check the field with the amount you should ask for in USD $
Disclaimer: Understanding PayPal Fees
Please be aware of the following info regarding PayPal fees as a freelancer based in South Africa:
- PayPal’s Own Fees: Transactions through PayPal are subject to fees ranging between 3.4% to 4.99%. Additionally, a fixed fee of $0.49 USD is applied.
- Cross Border Payment Fee: For international transactions, there is an added 1% cross border payment fee.
- Fee Variations: The fee percentage (3.4% to 4.99%) depends on whether the payment is domestic or international.
- Currency Conversion: To avoid currency conversion fees, ensure that payments are made in USD rather than other currencies like EUR. Currency conversion can result in higher charges.
