PayPal Friends and Family (called “Sending to a friend” in some places) lets you send money to someone you know, such as a relative, flatmate or friend. In the UK it is free. In the US it is free when you pay from your PayPal balance or bank account, but a debit or credit card costs 2.90% + $0.30. Sending money to another country adds a 5% fee, and changing currency costs extra. In India, you cannot use it at all.
One more thing matters just as much as the fee. Friends and Family payments are not covered by PayPal Purchase Protection. If you are buying something, using this option can cost you far more than any fee.
Fees checked against PayPal’s official fee pages on 10 November 2026. PayPal’s US page was last updated on 19 May 2026 and its UK page on 22 January 2026.
Is PayPal Friends and Family Free?
It depends on where you are and how you pay. It is free when you send money within your own country and no currency conversion is involved. In the UK, PayPal lists no fee for domestic personal payments. In the US, it is free from your PayPal balance or a linked bank account.
PayPal charges you in three situations:
- You pay by card in the US. A debit or credit card adds 2.90% plus a fixed fee. PayPal’s UK pages list no card fee for personal payments.
- The payment is international. Sending to an account in another country adds a 5% fee, with a minimum and maximum.
- The money changes currency. PayPal adds a margin to the exchange rate. You pay this in the rate, not as a separate fee.
“Domestic” means both accounts are in the same country. PayPal treats payments between the UK, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man as domestic. If you pay with a credit card, your card provider may also add its own cash-advance charge, so check with them first.
| Country | Funded by | Domestic fee | International fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Card, bank account or PayPal balance | £0 | 5% (min £0.99, max £2.99) |
| US | PayPal balance or bank account | $0 | 5% (min $0.99, max $4.99) |
| US | Debit or credit card | 2.90% + $0.30 | 2.90% + $0.30, plus 5% (min $0.99, max $4.99) |
| US | Amex Send account | $0 | 5% (min $0.99, max $4.99) |
| India | Any | Not available. PayPal cannot currently allow personal payments to or from India. | |
PayPal Friends and Family Fees by Country and Payment Method
PayPal Friends and Family Fees in the United States
The sender pays any fee. The person receiving the money pays nothing, unless the money is converted into another currency. The fee depends on how you fund the payment:
| Payment method | Domestic fee | Cost to send $100 | Cost to send $500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal balance (including PayPal Debit Card) | Free | $0 | $0 |
| Linked bank account | Free | $0 | $0 |
| Debit or credit card | 2.90% + $0.30 | $3.20 | $14.80 |
| Amex Send account | Free | $0 | $0 |
International personal payments from the US cost 5%, with a minimum of $0.99 and a maximum of $4.99. This is added on top of the domestic fee, so a card-funded international payment pays both.
PayPal Friends and Family Fees in the United Kingdom
PayPal UK says there are no transaction fees when you send money to friends and family within the UK. This applies whether you pay with a debit card, credit card, bank account or PayPal balance. Receiving a personal payment is also free when no currency conversion is involved.
| What you are doing | Fee |
|---|---|
| Sending within the UK (card, bank or balance) | £0 |
| Receiving a personal payment (no currency conversion) | £0 |
| Sending abroad | 5% of the amount (minimum £0.99, maximum £2.99) |
| Sending money that needs converting | Currency conversion fee on top |
PayPal gives one international rate for all countries. The maximum is what keeps larger transfers cheap. The chart shows how the £2.99 cap flattens the fee as the amount grows.
PayPal UK international Friends and Family fee by amount sent
Fee in pounds. The red bars show where the £2.99 maximum applies.
Calculated from PayPal UK’s published rate: 5%, minimum £0.99, maximum £2.99. Currency conversion costs are not included.
Is PayPal Friends and Family Available in India?
No. PayPal states that it is currently unable to allow personal payments to or from India. That means an Indian PayPal account cannot send or receive a standard Friends and Family payment, and you will not find a domestic Friends and Family fee for India.
PayPal in India is set up for international payments instead:
- Paying for a purchase is free unless a currency conversion is involved, according to PayPal India’s fee page.
- Receiving commercial payments (for example, from overseas clients) falls under PayPal’s merchant fees, not personal payment fees.
- Currency conversion carries its own charge.
PayPal India’s consumer fee page does not list any personal payment fee. Check the PayPal India consumer fees page for the current rates before you pay or invoice anyone.
PayPal International Friends and Family Fees
An international personal payment is one sent to a PayPal account in another country. A payment from the UK to the US counts. So does a payment from the US to the UK.
PayPal works out the fee as 5% of the amount you send, then applies a minimum and a maximum. You, as the sender, pay it. The recipient pays nothing to receive, unless their money is converted. If you fund a US payment by card, the 2.90% + $0.30 card fee is added as well.
| Sent from | International fee | Minimum | Maximum | Card fee on top? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 5.00% | $0.99 | $4.99 | Yes, 2.90% + $0.30 |
| United Kingdom | 5% | £0.99 | £2.99 | No card fee listed |
| India | Personal payments not available | |||
Because of the minimum and maximum, small transfers cost the most in percentage terms:
| Amount sent | US fee | Share of amount | UK fee | Share of amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10 / £10 | $0.99 | 9.9% | £0.99 | 9.9% |
| $50 / £50 | $2.50 | 5.0% | £2.50 | 5.0% |
| $100 / £100 | $4.99 | 5.0% | £2.99 | 3.0% |
| $500 / £500 | $4.99 | 1.0% | £2.99 | 0.6% |
The fee is only part of the cost when you cross currencies. This chart shows what it costs to send $200 four different ways from the US.
What it costs to send $200 from the US
PayPal fees plus the 4% currency conversion margin where the recipient gets another currency.
Worked example from PayPal’s published US rates: $4.99 international fee (5% is capped), 4.00% currency conversion margin ($8.00) and, for card payments, 2.90% + $0.30 ($6.10). The conversion margin is built into the exchange rate, so the real figure may differ slightly.
PayPal Currency Conversion Fees Explained
Currency conversion happens when the money you send is in a different currency from the one your recipient will hold. PayPal does not charge this as a line item. Instead, it adds a margin (called a spread) to the exchange rate.
- US: 4.00% for a Friends and Family payment where the recipient receives a different currency, or another amount disclosed during the transaction. Other conversions are 3.00%.
- UK: PayPal’s fee page lists 3% above the base exchange rate for some conversions. It does not list a separate figure for personal payments, so rely on the rate shown at checkout.
- India: PayPal India lists its own conversion charges on its fee page, so check it before you pay or invoice anyone.
The two charges are different. The international fee is a percentage with a cap, and PayPal shows it as a fee. The conversion spread has no cap and sits inside the exchange rate, so a larger payment pays more of it.
To see the real cost before you confirm, look at the exchange rate on PayPal’s review screen. Then search the same currency pair on Google (for example, “GBP to USD”) to see the mid-market rate. The gap between the two is what the conversion costs you.
PayPal Friends and Family vs. Goods and Services: What’s the Difference?
Friends and Family is for personal payments, such as a gift or your share of a bill. Goods and Services is for buying an item or service. PayPal labels them “Sending to a friend” and “Paying for an item or service” in some places.
| Feature | Friends and Family | Goods and Services |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Personal transfers | Buying goods and services |
| Buyer protection | No | Available for eligible purchases |
| Seller protection | No | Available when requirements are met |
| Who pays the fee | Sender, if a fee applies | Seller |
| Report a problem through PayPal | No | Yes, through the Resolution Center |
| Suitable for online purchases | No | Yes |
Which Payment Type Should You Choose?
Use Friends and Family only for people you know and trust, and only for personal things: a birthday gift, your half of the rent, a shared taxi. Use Goods and Services for everything else, including online shopping, tickets and paying a stranger for a service.
Picking the wrong one is the costly mistake. PayPal says payments cannot be cancelled or reversed once sent. If you choose the wrong type, you have to ask the recipient for a refund. If they refuse or disappear, PayPal cannot step in for a Friends and Family payment.
What Does PayPal Buyer Protection Actually Cover?
PayPal Purchase Protection can cover eligible Goods and Services payments in two main cases:
- Item not received: you paid, and the item never arrived.
- Significantly not as described: what arrived is very different from the listing.
To claim, you open a dispute through the PayPal Resolution Center within the time limit PayPal sets. Eligibility rules and exclusions apply, so read the policy before relying on it. For example, PayPal says real estate, including residential and rental property, is not eligible for Purchase Protection.
Friends and Family is excluded completely. PayPal’s help page says you cannot report a problem for a payment sent as Family and Friends. Your only route is to ask the recipient for a refund.
Why Do Sellers Ask for PayPal Friends and Family Payments?
There are two reasons, and one is harmless. Some sellers want to avoid PayPal’s selling fee, which comes out of their side of a Goods and Services payment. The other reason is the one to worry about: without Purchase Protection, a buyer has no way to dispute the payment through PayPal.
Either way, your risk is the same. PayPal’s own advice is to refuse a request to pay Friends and Family when you are buying goods or services. If a seller will not accept Goods and Services, walk away. Sellers who want lower fees have better options, such as an ecommerce platform with a proper checkout or a checkout tool like ThriveCart. If you sell second-hand items and other products online, build the fee into your price instead of asking buyers to give up their protection.
Red Flags to Watch for When Someone Requests Friends and Family
These scams often start where people meet strangers online, and social media platforms now reach billions of people. Watch for these situations:
| Where it happens | How the scam works | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook Marketplace | A “seller” says PayPal fees are too high and asks for Friends and Family, then goes quiet. | Pay by Goods and Services or on collection. Refuse if they insist. |
| Craigslist and Reddit sellers | A good price, a quick chat and a request to pay personally “to save fees”. | Treat it as a red flag. Walk away. |
| Rental deposits and holiday lets | A fake listing asks for a deposit to “secure” the property before you view it. | Never pay before you have seen the place. Even Goods and Services does not cover rental property. |
| Concert and event tickets | Tickets are “sold out” everywhere else, but this person has some. Payment must be personal. | Buy from the official seller or a protected resale platform. |
| Online shopping and second-hand items | A shop or seller offers a discount if you pay as a friend. | Use the checkout’s normal payment method. |
| Unknown people demanding urgent payment | Someone you have never met pushes you to pay immediately, or claims to be an official, a company or a romantic partner. | Stop. Do not pay. Check who they are another way. |
PayPal also lists imposter, romance, extortion, investment and property scams as common uses of personal payments. Before you buy from an unfamiliar reseller, it helps to check whether a resale marketplace such as GOAT is legit first.
Can You Get Scammed on PayPal Friends and Family?
Yes. Scammers like payments that are hard to reverse, and a Friends and Family payment is one of them. Once you send the money, you cannot cancel it or open a purchase dispute with PayPal.
These figures cover all payment methods, not PayPal alone. They show the wider pattern. In the US, bank payments caused the highest reported losses in 2025, and credit cards were the most often named payment method. In the UK, scams where you are tricked into sending the money yourself are growing, and purchase scams make up most of them.
Purchase scams are most UK “authorised push payment” fraud cases
Share of the 248,070 UK authorised push payment fraud cases in 2025.
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026. The data covers bank payments in the UK and is not specific to PayPal.
One distinction decides how much help you can get:
- Unauthorised payment: someone gets into your account and sends money without your permission. Contact PayPal straight away and change your password.
- Authorised payment: you were tricked, but you pressed send yourself. This is generally treated as a payment you chose to make, which is why Purchase Protection does not apply.
What Should You Do If You Get Scammed?
Act quickly. The sooner you report it, the better your chances.
- Contact the recipient and ask for a refund. PayPal encourages you to keep working with them, though a scammer is unlikely to reply.
- Report it to PayPal through the app or website. The FTC advises reporting to the payment app straight away and asking it to reverse the payment.
- Call your bank or card provider if you funded the payment through them. Ask whether a chargeback or Section 75 protection could apply (our guide to paying safely abroad and Section 75 explains how it works). Success depends on the facts.
- Change your PayPal password if there is any chance your account was compromised.
- Report it to the authorities and keep screenshots, messages and receipts.
| Country | Where to report |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Report Fraud (reportfraud.police.uk, 0300 123 2040) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It replaced Action Fraud in December 2025. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101. |
| United States | Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov |
| India | National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. For financial fraud, call the 1930 helpline straight away. |
How to Send Money Through PayPal Friends and Family
- Log in to your PayPal account and go to Send and Request.
- Enter the recipient’s name, username, email address or mobile number, then continue.
- Enter the amount and choose the currency. Add a note if you like.
- If PayPal asks, choose “For Friends and Family” (or “Sending to a friend”).
- Choose how to pay. Your PayPal balance or bank account avoids card fees in the US.
- Check the fee, the exchange rate and the payment type on the review screen.
- Confirm the payment.
Wording and options vary by country and app version, and PayPal does not always ask you to choose a type. Always read the payment type before you confirm. If the person has not yet claimed the money, you may be able to cancel it from your Activity page.
Are There Limits on PayPal Friends and Family Payments?
Yes, but PayPal does not publish one fixed figure for everyone. Your sending limit depends on your country and your individual account, and it can change if you verify your details. That means two people in the same country can have different limits.
Check your own limit in your PayPal account or in PayPal’s help centre before sending a large amount. Business accounts can send Friends and Family payments. In the US, though, business accounts can only receive Goods and Services payments from US PayPal accounts.
Frequently Asked Questions About PayPal Friends and Family Fees
Is PayPal Friends and Family free?
In the UK, yes, for domestic payments. In the US, yes from your PayPal balance or bank account, but cards cost 2.90% + $0.30. It is not available in India. Sending abroad always costs extra.
Why did PayPal charge me a fee for Friends and Family?
The usual causes are paying by card in the US, sending to a recipient in another country, or a currency conversion. Check the review screen to see which applied.
What is the PayPal Friends and Family credit card fee?
In the US, it is 2.90% plus a fixed $0.30 for a domestic payment. Your card provider may charge a cash-advance fee as well. PayPal UK lists no card fee for domestic personal payments.
Does PayPal charge a fee to receive Friends and Family money?
No, not when no currency conversion is involved. If the money has to be converted into your currency, a conversion margin applies.
What is the PayPal international Friends and Family fee?
It is 5% of the amount. In the US the minimum is $0.99 and the maximum $4.99. In the UK the minimum is £0.99 and the maximum £2.99.
Can I avoid PayPal Friends and Family fees?
Yes, for genuine personal payments. Pay from your PayPal balance or bank account, and keep the payment domestic. Do not use Friends and Family for a purchase to dodge fees.
Can I get my money back from a Friends and Family payment?
Only if the recipient agrees to refund you, or if they have not yet claimed the payment and you cancel it. Purchase Protection does not apply, and you cannot report a problem through PayPal.
Is PayPal Friends and Family safe for strangers?
No. It is meant for people you know and trust. For anyone else, use Goods and Services.
Can a business account receive Friends and Family payments?
Not in the US. US business accounts can only receive Goods and Services payments from US PayPal accounts, though they can send Friends and Family.
Can I use PayPal Friends and Family in India?
No. PayPal says it is currently unable to allow personal payments to or from India.
Can I change a Friends and Family payment to Goods and Services after sending it?
No. PayPal says sent payments cannot be cancelled or reversed, so you cannot switch the type afterwards. Ask the recipient for a refund and pay again with the right type.
Where to Check the Latest PayPal Friends and Family Fees
PayPal changes its fees from time to time, so check the official page for your country before you pay.
- PayPal US consumer fees
- PayPal UK consumer fees
- PayPal India consumer fees
- PayPal help: personal payments vs goods and services
- PayPal Purchase Protection policy
- PayPal help: Friends and Family payment scams
Statistics sources: FTC testimony on the scam economy (2026), UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 and FTC: what to do if you were scammed.