Update, 2020-01: Paypal has removed the option to disable currency conversion by default. For a while, a direct link to the option still worked, even though the path to it had been removed. Now, even the direct link does not work anymore. There does not seem to be an alternative way of turning it off. Dick move, Paypal.
To be clear, you can always disable currency conversion in each transaction you make with paypal, you just have to remember to do it every time.
PayPal is great if you’re shopping at a place you don’t entirely trust and/or if you want to keep your credit card number private. Well, between you and Paypal at least. Their fees, however, can be horrendous. This hits merchants harder than consumers, but even as a buyer they have ways to get you. One example is their currency conversion fee, which amounts to 3% of the transaction value and is applied automatically if you buy from a(n international) seller whose currency differs from your card’s.
3% is a lot, and your bank can probably do better (mine does conversions at 1%). Thankfully, there is a way to disable PayPal’s automatic currency conversion, though they haven’t made it easy to find. Go figure.
How To Permanently Disable PayPal’s Currency Conversion in 6 Steps
Step 1
Step 1
Log into PayPal and click on the options icon.
Step 2
Step 2
Go to the Payments screen, then to “Manage automatic payments”.
Step 3
Step 3
Once again, click “manage automatic payments” to get to the classic view.
Step 4
Step 4
Above your automatic payments list, got to “Set Available Funding Sources”.
Step 5
Step 5
Next, hit “Conversion Options” behind your credit card (or other funding source).
Step 6
Step 6
Finally, choose to be billed in the currency listed on the seller’s invoice. Don’t forget to hit submit.
If applicable, repeat from step 5 for any additional cards on your account.
There, all done. Now your bank will handle the conversions at probably much more favorable rates. Wasn’t that process straightforward and intuitive? /s
If buying from EBAY, uncouple your Paypal account from your EBAY account. You then get EBAY conversion option on checkout, and can elect to be charged in original currency.
For other markets, I do not know – I only used to use PP for EBAY and donations, now avoiding it entirely. Most merchants, even small ones, seem to have other options. if concerned about card security, get another card and reserve it for online shopping. The major banks are fairly good on protecting card client from fraud.
Now I can’t disable paypal’s currency convertion even at checkout. This option seems to not exist anymore.
On Ebay, clicking on the exchange rate link (e.g. Exchange rate: EUR 1.00 = USD 1.1225 – just below the paypal card info at checkout) would open a popup with seemingly disabled radio buttons to switch the currency PayPal would charge you in.
Once I enlarged the popup window the buttons were suddenly clickable and allowed me to change the currency.
Always had been charged in my currency by PayPal, so that I did never benefit from the better exchange rates of my bank account. I do not own a credit card and all infos seem to always refer only to credit card owners. With a Mastercard you can more easiily choose options for currency conversion – and what if you only link PayPal with bank account as funding source? I fear no exchange rate link for these PayPal users would popup anywhere?
Hello,
This doesn’t work for me at this time. Now when I go to manage, you cannot choose the currency option for the cards anymore…. do you have another solution ?
Did you read the notice at the very top of the post?
Ok everyone, don’t believe the PayPal shills and Sophists wanting you to believe they got the default conversion working for them. They haven’t. Don’t waste your time. The end. PayPal is becoming like AliExpress and Ebay, very slimy and unethical.
I have mostly used PayPal on EBAY purchases, and have been having difficulty to consistently avoid their currency conversion (i.e. allow my credit card to do the conversion as its rates are better). Sometimes it worked, sometimes the option was hard to access, and at times it even defied my selections, PayPal converting even when I had selected otherwise. In frustration I just decoupled PayPal from my EBAT account and guess what – on the first foreign purchase after this change, it presented me with a clear option to have my credit card convert, and it did what I chose. Maybe a solution at least for EBAY purchases? Will see if it is conssitent.
I am having problem when pulling money to my bank account, Visa. My acc is in EU, but on Paypal withdrawal shows my domestic RS valute(dinars) even though I withdraw eu or usd. Why RS valute conversion than on Paypal? And there is on option on my Paypal account as described on the step 3 left link confirmation.
There is NO option as shown in step 3!
Mila, as mentioned at the top of the page, this method no longer works. Paypal removed the option to disable currency conversion completely.
You sill can fix this, for repeated payments.
– go to “https://www.paypal.com/myaccount/transactions/”
– select transaction where unnecessary conversion has occurred
– click Manage payments
– “Automatic payments” opens
– there in section “Funding sources” select “change funding source” (not sure about exact text)a
– then in list of sources you will FINALLY see “See Conversion options” link
– then in popup “Currency Conversion” select “Convert with …” with correct conversion option (in my case it was “Convert With Mastercard”)
in my case I was able to save about 4%
That’s good but like you said, only for subscriptions.
But you can still select fundig sources at checkout, you just have to remember to check.
Not anymore. I have no option to switch form paypal exchange rate even at checkout.
Alex is a shill just like everyone else saying this still works in 2020. His and other comments are bogus. There’s no way of doing this. This blog page should be removed to avoid further confusion and frustration.
Thank you so much, I just did it and it worked
Dobar dan Mila
Video sam da imas isti problem kao ja pa se pitam da li si uspela da ga resis na bilo koji nacin.
Bas katastrofa sto su ovo uradili,nije uredu.
Petre, jesam. Ali dokle će trajati, videćemo.
Pozdav,
Isti problem imam kad je u pitanju transfer sredstava na svoju karticu. Koleginica koja ima nalog u OTP nema tih problema, dok ja koja sam u Intesi imam. Da li može do toga biti problem? I da li ste uspeli da nađete neko rešenje?
Rešili su da mi prebace na EU(iako ja primam u dolarima, pa mi odmah vrše konverziju bez moje dozvole kao što znamo PayPal ima lošiju konverziju od banaka) kad sam poslala poruku preko Message Centra, objasnivši da kartica preko koje povlačim novac je vezana za devizni, ne dinarski račun. I to da njihovom postavkom, oni mene teraju da prodam devize, izgubim u koverziji i onda za te dinare tako povučene kao default, banka mi po najskupljem kursu prodaje eure. Da mi se to ne isplati, niti oću nastaviti da budem njihov korisnik. Odgovor je bio da shvataju moju zabrinutost i prebacili su, bez pitanja izbora valute odmah na EU. Do kada će trajati toy ne znam. Trenutno jeste valuta eu. Ali odmah nakon mene je probalo još ljudi, II rekli su da je takav dogovor postignut s našim bankama. Iskreno nisam dobila nikakvo obaveštenje vezano za promene u vezi deviznih priliva da bi potvrdilo promene na Paypalu.
Užasni su, stvarno nemam reči! Imajući u vidu trenutnu situaciju, stvarno mi nisu jasni (ni PayPal ni banke). Vođena tvojim primerom, pisala sam im malopre da vidim šta se dešava i da vidim da li će hteti da vrate na evre. To be continued. 🙂 Hvala puno za info!
Drage moje imamo isti problem, pisala sam im prvi put gde su rekli kako su napravili dogovor sa bankom o povlacenju samo u RSD valuti, sto je potpuno bezazleno, nakon vidjenja vase poruke odlucila sam im ponovo pisati, u nadi da ce prebaciti valutu, sada cekam, pozdrav!
Ono sto sam ja dobila kao informaciju iz Credit Agricole Bank jeste da je sistem sada blokiran… navodno zbog novonastalog stanja zbog virusa i da ni oni nemaju najnovije informacije. Navodno bi trebali da se obratimo Paypallu za objasnjenje. Kod mene se desava da mi prilikom transfera novca automatski prebacuju na dinarski racun, a pri tom i sami vidite kolika je razlika u kursu, takodje se uplate iz USD automatski konvertuju u EUR. Ako neko ima nekih novih informacija, pisite , Pozdrav i svako dobro svima
Pozdrav Mila, evo moze se reci da sam u slicnoj situaciji, u januaru sam prebacivao pare sa paypala na Intezin devizni racun i sve je funkcionisalo normalno, pre par dana kad sam probao da podignem novac, paypal je automatski krenuo da ga prebacuje is EUR u RSD, sto je apsurdno jer je razlika ogromna u kursu. poslao sam im par poruka na paypalu medjutim uvek me ugase sa chat robotom, cim im napisem neko pitanje autamtski odgovori mi uvek napisu da im pisem poruke tokom radnih sati i da ce odgovoriti, ali naravno te se jos nije desilo jer cim se zavrsi konverzacija poruka se brise…
Malopre sam kupio orion karticu za interkontinentalne pozive, i pozvao ih medjutim opet ne radi… sacekacu da krenu da rade pa cu opet da ih zovem, hvala vam na vasim odgovorima iskreno receno ulili su mi nadu da ovaj problem moze da se resi. Hvala vam jos jednom
Molim te javi ovde šta se na kraju desilo, ima nas mnogo sa istim problemom!
I just paid with PayPal and there was no link in the transaction either. No option at all to disable the damn thing!
I have called Paypal out on this but it is unlikely to have any effect. Here is an edited version of the exchange:
Me: Why have hidden the ability for us to change the default conversion option to “Bill me in the currency listed on the seller’s invoice.” aside from milking us with your poor exchange rates?
Paypal: This feature has been removed as we at PayPal would like for our customers to use the currency which the country our customers are located. This is because it makes it easier to handle cases in which we have to contact the bank for our customer if something goes wrong.
Me: Easier for you, more profitable for you, more expensive for all us users. One example: your conversion fee is 3%, the bank charges 1%.
Thank you for doing that! In my case the difference is actually 6% on top of the whole sum. Their rates are outrageous. I’m definitely not using them again if I can help it. You have made me feel less alone in my rage. And a lot less angry. Thank you!
Exactly, a very ill way to take someones hard earned money.
Poor souls!
Paypal has buried the option somewhere else…
Instead of clicking on “Manage Automatic Payments”, click on a specific provider that is setup for auto payment. It will bring up details for that provider. Under “Payment method”, click on the credit card. A new window will open showing your credit card details, along with the “See conversion options” !
That only works for subscriptions.
This doesn’t seem to work in 2020 anymore… There’s no more “Manage automatic payments” link available anymore.
Like I said.
I have two paypal balances in my account (Canadian and USD).
Today when I receive a payment in USD, paypal automatically converted it to CAD and added to my CAD paypal balance. Frustrating because I want it to remain as USD.
Any idea how to prevent that going forward?
this works, login and refresh the page many times https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_profile-merchant-pull-funding
Doesn’t seem to work anymore. Can’t find anything to change it.
Complain to PayPal. They may not make the option accessible to us but it’s important to tell them we know what they’re doing and don’t approve.
I doubt they will care. They try to trick you into paying against horrible rates, so that they can gain even more money. I try to avoid Paypal as much as possible.
Works for the existing automatic payments: select one of active, click the card, now “See conversion option” appear under the card in the next popup window.
Dude it works ! I haven’t submited 6th step yet, ill try it tomorrow, But if you want to get that window like in 4th step, go like that –
Settings -> Account Settings -> Type in search “Manage automatic…” and press update and you will be in the same screen and you can edit everything
Hey dude, now I checked, and tested, WORKS WELL, just the settings page changed.
Go to settings / Payments -> Automatic Payments. Profile merchant… Sorry, I have hungarian PP. But under the automatic payments list you have a button.
You see the “Available Funding Sources”, and in the end of the line you find the Conversation Options.
Here is the link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_profile-merchant-pull-funding
WORKS, TESTED!
This only works for automatic payments, i.e. subscription payments though. Not, for example, if you order something at an online store and use paypal, which is what the setting described in this guide was for. A global setting for all paypal transactions.
It still works.
Go on Settings > Payments > choose your automatic payment > click on your Credit Card > Select conversion by VISA/Mastercard
That doesn’t work for me. There is no option or further step after selecting the credit card.
Also, even if it did work (different options for different countries maybe?), the fact that it’s under Automatic payment settings tells me that it would only apply to automatic payments i.e. subscriptions.
Ya it wont let me..def a dick move. But you say you can change it when you request money?
Did I?
But what about buyer protection?? Just heard that You lose when fees are dusconected.
Why would you? And where did you hear this?
Not verified yet, Just waiting for more info .
Hi, I sent a withdrawal request, which will take 24hrs. But I quickly remembered and changed the conversion to “bill me..”
Will it take effect after I have already placed the withrawal request but hasnt reflected in my account yet?
Looks like you can select while checking out now, for my CSR card, it defaulted to EUROS when I tried to pay whereas other cards defaulted to paypals conversion system.
If you are using Paypal with eBay, you can get around currency conversion in eBay. At checkout, choose credit card as payment method instead of Paypal. Enter your card number and then there will be an link “More currency option.” There you can choose to pay in your local currency (at exorbitant exchange rate) or in seller’s currency.
Good to know. That seems more like an eBay solution than a PayPal solution though. Or do the settings stick for PayPal after?
it doesnt change anything. i payd ebay – choose credit card, they converted by paypal fess
It works for me, but just in another way.
Ebay and Paypal have changed the following:
Paypal: In recurrent/automatic payments, PayPal now allows to choose the payment method.
Example: Bank Or Card On File or choose the creditcard (in the currency) you want
Ebay: The conversion options are now in Ebay. You can choose the conversion options during the checkout process.
https://snbchf.com/paypal-conversion-options-2/
It did not always work perfectly, for example when I had 3 currencies involved.
It is still possible if your paypal is conn but you have to click on a specific
On a specific blank?
Seems like the direct link doesn’t work anymore 🙁
Any other way to still do this?
direct link doesn’t work any more.
At least for me direct link to conversion settings no longer works (tested on 2020-01-03). Link now redirects to new UI to manage card automatic payments (no possibility to change conversion options).
Direct Link appears to not work any more.
Happy New Year 🙁
Now even the direct link has stopped working.
The direct link doesn’t seem to work for me, anyone else having issues?
Thanks.
They have changed the settings again.
Click the settings icon (select Account Settings).
Click on “Payments settings” under “PRODUCTS & SERVICES” located in the left.
Click “Update” on the “My automatic payments”.
Click on the “My preapproved payments” link.
Click “Available Funding Sources” link.
Click “Conversion options” link.
And then select “Bill me in the currency listed on the seller’s invoice”
Thank you very much
Thank you for this.
Only direct link still works.
Now the direct link doesn’t work anymore, either.
doesn’t seem to work anymore. No option to change anywhere
Seems Paypal is shutting this option down so they can earn more money on exchange rates. The direct link still works but for how long. Everyone needs to let them know we noticed and aren’t happy.
Great tread…Insane’s trick worked for me!…Thanks to all who contributed!
Lloyds bank, in the UK, is an absolute rip off… They charge a flat fee and THEN a percentage which works out to be WAY higher than PayPal 🙁
They have now removed “Cant find what you’re looking for?” Try the “Manage Automatic Payments” option at the bottom left of the page.
SMH
the direct link still works. Even if the option does not exist anymore.
After login use this link:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_profile-merchant-pull-funding
This saved me. Thanks!
thanks a million finally found this option to switch from paypal conversion after reading through endless sites
Oh man you are the lord for me now. How the heck can paypal just enforce the conversion on our transaction and even removing the option to chose whether we agree or not? (some link that you have to enter direct to the script to set? Really grande paypal???!!).. Isn’t there any consumers’ rights violation here? I never really paid attention because I seldom use paypal for my online purchases, untill today, just out of curiosity I checked the amount they billed on my last purchase with XE currency and boom I was suddently awaken. Really pissed me this kind of shitty way they operates.. I wonder isn’t there any jurisdictional path to seek, just to stop them doing whatever they want???
Thank you for the direct link!
Does not work for me 🙁 maybe because I have paypal in German language
Is there any way to avoid the conversion fees when withdrawing money to your own bank account? forgive me if I misread this, but the solution above is for paying in another currency. Thanks in advance
Unfortunately not.
I think there is a way, via transfer wise, there is a fee but its way lower then what paypal charges
Step 3 is now Manage Funding Sources. Thank you very much for the info. To me paypal is always trying to hide this feature from us. smh
Thank you so much for this! Made my day
I did this soon after you posted it, and it worked.
But:
today I was making a payment and it was defaulting to Paypal Currency Conversion. I was able to change it for that one transaction. So I went to check my default settings, and Paypal have “improved the user experience” by changing the menu layout, and also, it appears, removing this option to set the default currency conversion.
I had a good look around via the Paypal Site Map and could not find a way to set a default. So either they’ve hidden the option even deeper, or they’ve removed it altogether.
Thank you very much for this manual!!!
Sorry but it didn’t work for me. I followed all the steps then hit “Submit” and then “Save”. The second option is currently saved, but the conversion was still active when I withdrew the sum. Good luck to everybody else who wants to avoid this rip-off
This doesn’t apply to withdrawals, for obvious reasons.
Hi! Thank you so much for this. It works for me.
Thanks!
It is a shame… Paypal is absolutely incorrect
Oh men, you are the best 🙂
Thank you sir, I really appreciate this.
I really appreciate your help and your dedication. That means a lot for me. Thank you
Hi!
Does it work for withdrawing?
Yo man. Thank you so much for this. No more will I pay ADDITIONAL COSTS FOR NO REASON! NO MORE!
Real hero here! Thanks.
Thank you very much!
How could you name it in another words than “legal robbery”?
Each time I return buying on ebay after some break I feel like they hide their conversion options deeper and deeper… But THIS is jush hilarious…
thk
Well, this option is good if Visa or Mastercard credit cards are used, but if Discover/Diners or Amex credit cards are in use – you will not have the option to choose and PayPal will always do the conversion for you 🙁
Thank you! Very helpful!
Note that there is even one more step:
You need to hit an other ‘save’ that appears after step 6, on the then again step 5 page.
Only then do they confirm the change….
Written by another visitor but you should really include it in the guide 🙂
Thanks!
Is this still working for you? I changed the option but paypal is still trying to do the conversion.
Still working here. Did you save the changes at the end?
Thank you so much for this!
This is ridiculously deeply hidden…
Note that there is even one more step:
You need to hit an other ‘save’ that appears after step 6, on the then again step 5 page.
Only then do they confirm the change….
They really try to prevent you from not letting them steal your money.
How the heck did you ever find that?
I was wondering if I can disable their currency conversion and did some research 🙂