The Real Cost of Getting Paid: PayPal, Wise and a Flat 0.30%

Fees Hide in Three Places

When an international client pays you, money leaks in three places: the percentage fee, the fixed fee, and the exchange rate. Most comparisons only quote the first one. This article works the numbers for a $200 invoice and a $20,000 invoice so you can see how each rail behaves at both ends.

The competitor figures below are the published rates for receiving an international business payment in September 2026. Check the current pages, they change.

The Rails

PayPal

Receiving an international commercial payment costs a percentage fee of roughly 4.49% plus a fixed fee per transaction, and if the payment is converted to another currency a spread of about 3–4% is applied to the exchange rate. Settlement to a bank account takes 1–5 business days.

Wise

Wise charges a variable fee that depends on the currency pair, typically between 0.4% and 1.5%, and converts at the mid-market rate. Receiving in some currencies is free; sending onward costs extra. Settlement takes hours to days.

Skydo

Skydo charges a flat platform fee per payment tier plus bank charges, with no FX markup on the rate. Settlement takes 1–2 business days.

PUSHIN

PUSHIN charges a flat 0.30% with 0% FX markup. Gas on Robinhood Chain is paid by the payer and is usually under a cent. Settlement is one block.

The Worked Numbers

Both invoices are priced in USD and paid by a client in Europe.

Two things stand out.

• Fixed fees punish small invoices. A flat $19 platform fee is 9.5% of a $200 payment and 0.1% of a $20,000 one.
• Spreads punish large invoices. A 3.5% spread is invisible on the fee schedule and is the single biggest cost at $20,000.

A flat percentage with no spread behaves the same at every size, which is what makes it easy to quote to a client and easy to reconcile later.

The Cost You Cannot See on a Fee Page

Settlement time is a cost too. Money that arrives in five days is money you cannot use for five days, and a payment that can be reversed is a payment you cannot fully count. On Robinhood Chain a payment is final the moment its block is produced, and the receipt is public.

Predictable fees are worth more than low fees. You can plan around 0.30%. You cannot plan around "it depends".

How to Check for Yourself

1. Take your last five international payments and write down what the client sent and what you received.
2. Divide the difference by the amount sent. That is your real rate.
3. Compare it to 0.30%.

If the gap is more than a rounding error, the calculator on the pushin.cc home page will show you the difference for any amount.