PayPal Business Account Review 2023

PayPal business account offers solutions for SMEs and also enterprise customers. This guide will focus on the PayPal solutions out there for small and medium sized businesses first and foremost. Check out the enterprise solutions online on the PayPal website if this suits your needs better.

You can either set up a new business PayPal account, or upgrade your existing personal PayPal account to business if you’d rather. Each individual is able to hold both a personal and a business account, so whether you start a new account or upgrade is down to personal preference.

Depending on the type of business you run, and where your customers are, a PayPal business account may not necessarily be the best option. Do some research to help you decide which type of business account might work for you, taking into account convenience and cost.

If you’re frequently taking payments in foreign currencies, PayPal’s currency conversion and foreign transaction fees may quickly mount up. One option here is to select a multi-currency account provider instead, which lets you get paid in a range of foreign currencies. You can then choose to hold or spend the foreign currency, or switch back to dollars and withdraw when you're ready.

Providers to consider include as alternatives to PayPal business account:

Revolut Business - range of account options to suit growing businesses, select a free account or upgrade for a broader suite of features. Paid plans can access mid-market rate currency exchange and some free international transfers
Payoneer - Solutions for ecommerce sellers, entrepreneurs and SMEs to receive and send global payments, and make withdrawals to your linked US bank account
Wise Business account - save up to 19x on fees with online multi currency account and a linked international debit card, mid-market exchange rate currency conversion for international transfers, local receiving accounts in major currencies, and Xero integration

Standard transfers are free but take 1 - 3 business days to arrive in your account.

Instant transfers - as the name suggests - are quicker, but do come with a fee. We’ll cover this in more detail a little later. There are limits to the amount of money per transaction you can withdraw using a standard transaction - and limits on the amount you can withdraw by transaction, day, week and month in the case of instant withdrawals.

If you’d rather get your balance using a check you can request this within the PayPal app or by logging into your account online. It’ll take 5 - 10 business days to get your payment this way.

Finally, if you have a PayPal Business Mastercard you can make withdrawals up to 400 USD a day using your card, although you may pay a fee for this service - more about the PayPal business card coming right up.

While there is no cost to open a PayPal business account, there are charges for some transaction types.

PayPal offers a really broad array of payment processing services to business account customers - including invoicing, QR code transactions, support for charities receiving donations and other niche services. We have listed out some of the key costs you’re likely to encounter below - however, it’s important to check out the PayPal business account fees in full before you sign up to make sure you know the cost of all transactions you’re likely to make.


Service	PayPal business account fee
Receiving domestic commercial payments	- PayPal checkout: 3.49% + fixed fee - Send/receive money for goods and services: 2.89% + fixed fee - Standard credit and debit card payments: 2.99 + fixed fee - American Express payments: 3.5% + fixed fee
Receiving international commercial payments	- Domestic payment fee (as above) + 1.5% - If your customer pays through PayPal in a foreign currency, they may also pay currency conversion fees
Currency conversion spread	3% - 4% currency conversion fee applies when spending or sending in foreign currencies
PayPal payouts	2% when sending PayPal payouts to multiple recipients at once
Withdrawals	- Standard withdrawal to a local account in USD: no fee - Instant withdrawal to a local account or linked card in USD: 1.5% - If you withdraw in a foreign currency, currency conversion spread will apply

Although it’s easy to upgrade from a personal to a business account, moving back to a personal account is harder. You won’t be able to do this in the PayPal app or online - call the customer service number or send a secure message to have the support team change your account status manually. Alternatively close your business account and open a personal account afterwards.

If you are a freelancer looking to open a business account and get paid, this guide may be helpful: How to receive payments as a freelancer

Once you have a PayPal business account you can apply from within your account for a PayPal Business Debit Mastercard.

The process of getting a PayPal business card is:

Head to the Summary page of your PayPal business account
Select Business Debit Card to learn more and start your application.

PayPal will assess your eligibility once you complete the application form and if approved you’ll have your card in 7 - 10 business days. With your PayPal business account card you can:

Make withdrawals or payments from your PayPal business account
Earn 1% cashback on spending if you sign up to the cashback scheme
Protect yourself from fraud with the Mastercard Zero Liability Policy

Once you have your physical card, you’ll need to activate it online or by calling PayPal on the customer service number provided along with your card.

It’s important to check through the terms and conditions of your card so you know all the fees you may need to pay. Charges may apply for making ATM withdrawals or spending in foreign currencies, for example.


Withdrawal type	PayPal business account limits
Standard withdrawal	25,000 USD per transaction
Instant withdrawal	- 50,000 USD per transaction - 100,000 USD per day - 250,000 USD per week - 500,000 USD per month