PayPal Payment Question

[Yeahbaby]

Anyone have some experience with PayPal payments from US to HK? I don't have much experience using PayPal from US to HK.

Given: I have a HK Paypal account. And a US company pays me in USD through PayPal.

Question 1: Can I withdraw that USD payment to HSBC directly as USD, or must I convert the payment at Paypal to HKD before withdrawal? The exchange rate is pretty bad at PayPal.

Question 2: Can the US company convert the USD to HKD at their US bank, and deposit that HKD to US Paypal? Then pay me in HKD?

I'm trying to see if PayPal can replace a direct bank wire from US bank to HK HSBC using PayPal.

Any insight is very much appreciated.

[flameproof]

#1. It will be converted to HK$. They take (I think) 2.6% off the official exchange rate.

#2. No.

if PayPal can replace a direct bank wire from US bank to HK

Expect ~3% fees, plus that 2.6% for the exchange rate.

[Yeahbaby]

#1. It will be converted to HK$. They take (I think) 2.6% off the official exchange rate.

#2. No.

if PayPal can replace a direct bank wire from US bank to HK

Expect ~3% fees, plus that 2.6% for the exchange rate.

When I used their calculator, they were using 7.55 for converting balances. I was very surprised it was that bad. $1000 USD coverted to around 7550 HKD.

[flameproof]

2.8% then based on 7.78

Don't forget the ~3% you pay upon arrival. A wire transfer may be cheaper.

[imparanoic]

I have used paypal UK account in HK, rate seems ok, nothing excessive, I have sent and receive payments from throughout the world, relatively painless unlike the intermediary bank transfers fees from banks that don't business relationship with major banks which could be as much as US$80 ( not including outbound TT charges)

[Yeahbaby]

The PayPal exchange rate and credit card transaction-like fees (2.8% + 3%) are then a bit of a killer for these payments we're trying receive because the sums are 5K to 20K USD each. So, the flat rate bank wire transfer that flameproof suggested might be the way to go.

The strange thing is that it's actually tougher for the company to do an international wire because of multiple notarized signatories required on the wire forms from their bank. And their signers aren't all in one office in the same city.