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US$660 corresponds to around £431.5 according to all major currency converters online including Google.

PayPal takes 3.4%, so $660 becomes $637.56, corresponding to £417.

Yet PayPal gives me £399.5, so they took extra £18 (extra 0.04%).

Should I conclude that they don't take 3.4% as advertised, but really 3.8%? Are they just lying to everybody's face?

drake035
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it appears to be a question to ask PayPal. – Scott May 29 '15 at 09:24
  • You can also open Dollar account in UK and switch Paypal to USD. Then withdraw to your dollar account if you think you will get more money. – Peter MV May 29 '15 at 14:56

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PayPal's exchange rates, just like those of most banks, are not the same as the official rates and always work in the bank's favour. At the time of this writing, Google converted US$637.56 into £417.59, while PayPal gave £405.80.

In your PayPal profile, go to "Manage Currencies" to find the currency converter.

Nikita Avvakoumov
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  • So if they wanted they could apply an exchange rate that gives £10 for US$637.56 and still pretend that they only apply a 3.4% fee right? This is a form of deception IMO. Officially it's 3.4%, in reality it's the percentage they want (4%, 10%, 50%, 90%), desguised as "exchange rate". – drake035 May 29 '15 at 15:56
  • Surely there is a limit to their greed?! Anyway, this is how most if not all financial institutions handle currency exchange. The best you might be able to do is find a bank whose rates are closer to the official. – Nikita Avvakoumov May 29 '15 at 16:54