How to receive an international wire transfer with PayPal
You can receive international transfers with PayPal in Canada. Transfers can be made from one PayPal account to another in over 110 countries - but it’s helpful to know that fees may apply for the sender, and you may need to pay a charge to convert your funds to CAD to withdraw or spend your money.
This guide walks through how to receive incoming international wire transfers with PayPal, and also looks at alternative providers like Wise and OFX which let you receive payments conveniently in foreign currencies, with low costs.
Key points: PayPal receive international wire transfer
💡 Key points | PayPal international wire transfer |
|---|---|
⬇️ Fees for receiving transfers | No fee to receive a PayPal to PayPal international transfer |
💱 Exchange rates | Converting a foreign currency balance in your PayPal Canadian account has a fee of 4% - providers like Wise and OFX may offer lower overall costs for conversion |
🔐 Safety | PayPal is a leader in global payments and considered safe to use |
🎯 Incoming transfer limits | Limits are likely to be set according to the country the sender’s PayPal account is based in |
🚀 Incoming transfer speed | Transfer speed depends on payment funding method |
⭐ Convenience | Very convenient - all the sender needs is your name, phone number or email |
FAQs | Answers |
|---|---|
💰 Does PayPal charge a fee to receive an international wire transfer? | PayPal has no incoming payment fee, but does charge 4% if you need to convert your payment from a foreign currency to CAD to withdraw or spend. |
🎯 How long does it take to receive an international wire to PayPal? | PayPal to PayPal transfers have varying delivery times depending on how the sender pays. Alternative options may be quicker - 70% of Wise payments are instant. |
How to receive an international wire transfer to PayPal: Step-by-step instructions 🚀
One of the biggest advantages of PayPal is that sending and receiving payments is very straightforward. Here’s a quick summary of how to receive an international transfer to your PayPal account:
Step 1: Create a PayPal account if you don’t have one already
You’ll need a live PayPal account to receive your payment. If you don’t have one yet you can register a personal account for free. If you’re sent money without having a PayPal account set up, you’ll get an email prompting you to create an account to get your payment.
Step 2: Give the sender your name, PayPal user name, email, or phone number
You don’t need any standard banking details as your money will be received to PayPal instead of your bank. This means all the sender needs is either your name, PayPal user name, email, or phone number.
Step 3: Agree who will pay PayPal fees
Fees on PayPal international transfers and currency conversion are paid by either the sender or the recipient, or both. Your sender may need to pay to initiate the transfer, and they can also choose to pay for currency conversion or leave that for you to do upon receipt if you’d prefer.
Step 4: Receive your payment
Your money is deposited to your PayPal account after processing.
PayPal fees to receive an international wire transfer 💰
📌 There’s no PayPal incoming international wire transfer fee, but your sender will usually have to pay fees, and you may need to pay a charge if you receive a foreign currency to PayPal and want to convert it back to CAD.
If you then want to withdraw your money to your bank, a fee may apply for an urgent transfer.
Service | PayPal incoming international wire transfer fee |
|---|---|
Receive incoming payment | No PayPal receive fee |
Convert payment currency after receipt | 4% of converted amount |
Withdraw payment from PayPal to a bank | No fee for a standard withdrawal with no currency conversion 1.75% of withdrawn amount for instant withdrawals |
*Details correct at time of writing, 21st May 2026
Alternatives to PayPal to receive an international wire transfer ⚖️
You can only receive a payment from overseas to PayPal if the sender also uses PayPal - and there are likely to be fees for both the sender and the recipient to pay.
Instead, multi currency accounts from alternative providers can make it cheaper and easier to receive wire transfers from other countries, with local account details in foreign currencies.
Wise | OFX | Payoneer | |
|---|---|---|---|
💡 Eligibility | Personal and business customers in Canada and many other countries | Business customers in Canada and many other countries | Business customers in Canada and many other countries |
🌍 Supported currencies | 40+ currencies supported for holding and exchange including USD, EUR, GBP and CAD | 30 currencies supported for holding and exchange including USD, EUR, GBP and CAD | 20 currencies supported for holding and exchange including USD, EUR, GBP and CAD |
⭐ Local and SWIFT account details | Local account details for 8+ currencies SWIFT details for 20+ currencies | Local account information in CAD, USD, GBP, and EUR Receive other currencies with SWIFT details | Local account information for 11 currencies Receive other currencies with SWIFT details |
💰 Fees to receive money | No fee to receive payments with local details 6.16 CAD to receive CAD SWIFT payments Other SWIFT payments - low, fixed fees apply | No fee to receive payments with local details 5 CAD for SWIFT payments | Variable fees depending on the payment details |
💱 Exchange rate | Mid-market rate | OFX rate which may include a markup | 0.5% fee is applied to the rate provided |
🎯 Limits for incoming wires | No limit for most currencies | No stated limit | No stated limit |
*Details correct at time of research - 21st May 2026
About Wise pricing: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
Wise
💡 Great for: Receive 20 currencies, with mid-market rate currency exchange and low, transparent fees
Register a Wise Account in the Wise app, to receive money in 20 currencies and hold 40 currencies, all in the same account.
You'll get local details in 8+ currencies such as USD, GBP and EUR, to receive incoming payments with ease. There’s a low, fixed fee to receive CAD SWIFT payments, but incoming non-SWIFT transfers have no charge - and there’s no Wise fee to receive other available currencies with local details.
💡 Wise pricing & limits | |
|---|---|
💰 Account fees | No monthly fees Transaction fees may apply depending on account usage |
⬇️ Incoming transfer fees | No fee to receive payments using local details 6.16 CAD fees apply for CAD SWIFT payments |
🎯 Incoming wire limits | Usually no limit to account holding |
🌍 Supported currencies for receiving payments | Local account details for 8 currencies SWIFT details for 20 currencies |
💱 Exchange rates | Mid-market exchange rate |
⬆️Sending transfer fees | Low and transparent fees, starting from 0.48% |
*Details correct at time of research - 21st May 2026
About Wise pricing: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
OFX
💡 Great for: Businesses looking for currency risk management tools, and receiving accounts in foreign currencies
OFX is a specialist in currency risk management, payments and business account services. You can receive incoming payments in 30+ currencies overall, with local account information available for CAD, USD, GBP, and EUR. Payments with local details have no receive fee, while incoming SWIFT transfers may cost you 5 CAD.
If you send a payment overseas yourself the OFX rate applies which may include a small markup on the mid-market rate.
💡 OFX pricing & limits | |
|---|---|
💰 Account fees | 0 CAD - 75 CAD monthly fee |
⬇️ Incoming wire fees | No fee for incoming payments with local details, 5 CAD for wires |
🎯 Incoming wire limits | No stated limit |
🌍 Supported currencies for receiving payments | Receive 30+ currencies, local account information available for CAD, USD, GBP, and EUR |
💱 Exchange rates | OFX rate applies which may include a small markup on the mid-market rate |
⬆️Sending transfer fees | 20 CAD |
Payoneer
💡 Great for: Businesses receiving incoming customer funds as bank transfers, card payments or through marketplace sites
Payoneer offers international business accounts that can be used to receive customer payments from banks, PayPal, credit cards, and sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and Airbnb. You can receive 20 currencies in total, with local payments available for 11 currencies.
Payoneer currency conversion includes a 0.5% fee, applied when you convert in your account, to withdraw or to send a payment elsewhere.
💡 Payoneer pricing & limits | |
|---|---|
💰 Account fees | No ongoing account fees Transaction fees apply depending on account usage |
⬇️ Incoming wire fees | Fees vary depending on the currency involved |
🎯 Incoming wire limits | Not stated |
🌍 Supported currencies for receiving payments | 11 currencies supported for local payments, and 20 for global payments |
💱 Exchange rates | 0.5% fee applies on currency exchange |
⬆️Sending transfer fees | Up to 4% |
*Details correct at time of research - 20th May 2026
What information is needed to receive a wire transfer at PayPal 📄
📁 Required information to receive payments with PayPal |
|---|
You’ll need to give the sender one of the following:
|
PayPal receive limits for incoming international wires 🎯
The amount you can receive to your PayPal account from someone sending money from abroad is likely to depend on the sender’s own limits rather than your specific receive limits.
Your sender will be able to check the sending limits which apply to them, which vary depending on their home country.
If you need to receive a higher amount, you may like an alternative such as Wise which has high limits on both outgoing and incoming transfers.
How long does it take for PayPal to receive an international wire transfer? ⏳
The length of time to send a payment from an overseas PayPal account to a PayPal Canadian account depends on how the sender chooses to fund the transfer. The sender may see a delivery estimate when initiating the payment, so they can let you know what to expect.
Bear in mind that you may also need to withdraw your money to a bank, which can take a few days for a standard withdrawal. Or you can get an instant withdrawal which has a fee of 1.75% attached.
How to track an incoming international wire transfer with PayPal 🔍
As the recipient, you can’t track the wire you’re going to receive - but the sender can do so from their own PayPal account. If you’re not sure what’s happened to your PayPal international transfer, ask the sender to do the following:
Log into PayPal and go to Activity
Choose the transfer you want to track
The transaction details will show the status
If you need more information you can have the sender reach out to PayPal directly to ask where the money has got to.
What can you do if your transfer is not delivered yet
If a transfer is late or seems to be lost, you or the sender can log into PayPal and open a chat to get help. Or you can call PayPal on 1-877-569-1116 from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM CDT Monday through Sunday.