PayPal · Processing fees
What are PayPal's fees in the United Kingdom?
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PayPal charges businesses in the United Kingdom 2.9% + 30p for each domestic PayPal payment, or 1.2% plus the fixed fee when the shopper pays by card without a PayPal account. Cards typed into your own checkout through PayPal card processing cost 1.2% + 30p. Payments from abroad add 1.29% from the EEA and 1.99% from all other countries. Converting currency costs 3% above the base exchange rate, and a dispute costs £12.00. Read from PayPal's United Kingdom fee page, checked 31 October 2026.
- PayPal checkout
- 2.9% + 30p per domestic payment
- Domestic card
- 1.2% + 30p (PayPal card processing in your own checkout)
- International card
- Add 1.29% from the EEA and 1.99% from all other countries
- Currency conversion
- 3% above the base exchange rate
- Disputes fee
- £12.00 (£24.00 at high dispute volume)
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC connects your own PayPal business account in the United Kingdom: the PayPal button at checkout, and PayPal card processing for cards typed into your checkout. PlatformDTC adds no fee to those sales, so the £10,000 month above costs the same £350.00 on PlatformDTC, with no plan fee. PayPal card processing can also act as the backup when a card is declined on PlatformDTC Payments or your own Stripe account.
Every rate
Every rate below is copied from PayPal's fee page for the United Kingdom, read on 31 October 2026. Each percentage is charged on the full payment, and the fixed fee of 30p is added to each payment received in pounds sterling. Payments in other currencies carry that currency's own fixed fee from PayPal's table.
| Fee | Rate | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal payment (all other commercial transactions) | 2.9% + 30p | The shopper pays with PayPal and the money comes from your own country. |
| Card payment without a PayPal account | 1.2% + 30p | The shopper pays by card in PayPal's checkout without logging in to PayPal. |
| Card processing in your own checkout | 1.2% + 30p | Visa, Mastercard and similar cards typed into the card form on your own checkout (PayPal Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments). |
| American Express through card processing | 3.5% | An American Express card typed into your own checkout. |
| International payment, sender in the EEA | +1.29% | Added to the domestic percentage when the payer's PayPal account or card is from abroad. |
| International payment, sender in all other countries | +1.99% | Added to the domestic percentage when the payer's PayPal account or card is from abroad. |
| Currency conversion | 3% above the base exchange rate | PayPal converts a payment or balance into another currency. |
| Dispute fee | £12.00 | A buyer opens a dispute or chargeback on a payment made through PayPal checkout. |
| Dispute fee at high volume | £24.00 | Applies instead when your account has a high number of disputes, under PayPal's user agreement. |
| Card chargeback fee | £14.00 | A card payment made outside a PayPal account or guest checkout is charged back by the card's bank. |
A worked month
Assumption: an average order of £50.00, every payment in pounds sterling, no refunds or disputes.
£10,000.00 of sales in 200 domestic PayPal payments: 2.9% of £10,000.00 = £290.00; 200 × 30p = £60.00; total £350.00 (3.50% of sales).
£50,000.00 of sales in 1,000 domestic PayPal payments: 2.9% of £50,000.00 = £1,450.00; 1,000 × 30p = £300.00; total £1,750.00 (3.50% of sales).
The table adds the same months with a fifth of sales coming from all other countries, where PayPal adds 1.99% to the percentage on those payments only.
| Month | Mix | PayPal fees | Share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| £10,000 in 200 payments | All domestic PayPal payments | £350.00 | 3.50% |
| £10,000 in 200 payments | 80% domestic, 20% from all other countries (+1.99%) | £389.80 | 3.90% |
| £10,000 in 200 payments | All domestic cards through PayPal card processing | £180.00 | 1.80% |
| £50,000 in 1,000 payments | All domestic PayPal payments | £1,750.00 | 3.50% |
| £50,000 in 1,000 payments | 80% domestic, 20% from all other countries (+1.99%) | £1,949.00 | 3.90% |
| £50,000 in 1,000 payments | All domestic cards through PayPal card processing | £900.00 | 1.80% |
What raises your fees
The headline 2.9% + 30p is the floor for a domestic PayPal payment in the United Kingdom. These push the real cost up:
- Shoppers paying with a PayPal account cost more than guest card payments here: 2.9% + 30p against 1.2% + 30p.
- Payments from abroad: 1.29% from the EEA and 1.99% from all other countries.
- Currency conversion: 3% above the base exchange rate whenever PayPal converts the money.
- American Express cards through card processing: 3.5%.
- Disputes: £12.00 each, or £24.00 once your dispute volume counts as high.
- Card chargebacks: £14.00 each.
- Small orders: the fixed 30p weighs more on a small basket than on a large one.
For developers
The fee PayPal took on each payment is returned on the capture in the Orders API (seller_receivable_breakdown.paypal_fee), so you can reconcile real fees against this page.
Frequently asked questions
- Does PayPal charge a monthly fee in the United Kingdom?
- The monthly fees on PayPal's UK page apply only to optional products: Website Payments Pro costs £20.00 a month. For PayPal checkout payments you pay per payment received: 2.9% + 30p on a domestic payment, plus the international and conversion fees when they apply.
- How much does PayPal charge for international payments in the United Kingdom?
- PayPal adds 1.29% from the EEA and 1.99% from all other countries to the domestic percentage, and 3% above the base exchange rate if the money has to be converted. On a £50.00 payment from all other countries that is £2.75, against £1.75 for a domestic one.
- What does a PayPal dispute cost in the United Kingdom?
- PayPal's standard dispute fee in the United Kingdom is £12.00 per dispute on a payment made through PayPal checkout, rising to £24.00 when your account has a high number of disputes. A chargeback on a card payment processed outside a PayPal account costs £14.00.
- Why is a guest card payment cheaper than a PayPal account payment?
- PayPal's United Kingdom page prices a card payment from a shopper without a PayPal account at 1.2% plus the fixed fee, and other business payments at 2.9% + 30p. Which one applies depends on how the shopper chooses to pay.
Sources
Related
- Canada — 2.9% + CA$0.30 per domestic PayPal payment; 2.7% + CA$0.30 for cards via PayPal card processing
- Australia — 2.9% + A$0.30 per domestic PayPal payment; 1.5% + A$0.30 for cards via PayPal card processing
- Germany — 2.99% + €0.39 per domestic PayPal payment; 2.99% + €0.39 for cards via PayPal card processing
- France — 2.9% + €0.35 per domestic PayPal payment; 1.2% + €0.35 for cards via PayPal card processing
- Spain — 2.9% + €0.35 per domestic PayPal payment; 1.2% + €0.35 for cards via PayPal card processing
- Italy — 3.4% + €0.35 per domestic PayPal payment; 1.2% + €0.35 for cards via PayPal card processing