The mysterious Php200 Paypal Withdrawal Fee

The recent Paypal withdrawal feature got everybody thrilled especially that bank fees are practically free for amounts greater than Php7,000USD 119INR 10,112EUR 114CNY 869 (and it’s only Php50USD 0.85INR 72EUR 0.81CNY 6 if less than that.) Never mind the lower exchange rates as that’s the only way banks benefit from this setup with eBay/Paypal.

The mystery though is that there still seem to be some form of bank fees as I personally experienced the other day. A week ago, I withdrew an amount of $200PHP 11,737INR 16,950EUR 190CNY 1,456 from my Paypal account to see how much lower the exchange rates would go. It basically hovers somewhere around Php0.90USD 0.02INR 1EUR 0.01CNY 0.11 less than current day exchange rates. That means my $1PHP 59INR 85EUR 0.95CNY 7 dollar went from Php40.60USD 0.69INR 59EUR 0.66CNY 5 to just ~Php39.70USD 0.68INR 57EUR 0.64CNY 5 when I transferred it to the bank.

Another withdrawal for the amount of $1,000PHP 58,686INR 84,750EUR 952CNY 7,278 a few days later showed the same discrepancy in the exchange rates. Now we know why bank fees are free.

However, the actual amount that reflected in the bank is Php200USD 3INR 289EUR 3CNY 25 short. See screen shots below from Paypal transaction history and Banco de Oro online banking report.

Obviously, the missing Php200USD 3INR 289EUR 3CNY 25 was not reported as a transaction fee. My other theory is that it could be another exchange rate since the dates of transaction span around 3 days (though it’s weird that the rates ended up an with exact Php200USD 3INR 289EUR 3CNY 25 difference).

I withdrew again to another bank to see if there’s gonna be the same Php200USD 3INR 289EUR 3CNY 25 difference. Sent an email to eBay’s PR for SEA to clarify this as local banks are still oblivious of Paypal.