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You can accept donations from supporters in other countries by adding PayPal’s Donate Button to your organization’s website. Donors complete payment on PayPal; your organization pays processing fees when it receives a donation. Before sharing the button, confirm that your PayPal account can receive funds in its market, check whether your organization qualifies for charity pricing, and use the fee schedule for the market where the receiving account is registered.

How international PayPal donations work

The receiving organization sets up a PayPal Donate Button and adds it to its website. Donors click the button and complete the payment on PayPal. PayPal’s US help article says donation button payments have no monthly or setup fee, but processing fees apply when a donation is received. The no-monthly-fee statement is not a promise that donations are fee-free.

PayPal describes options for a button optimized for mobile and for automatic monthly donations. Choose recurring donations only if they suit your fundraising plan, and explain clearly to donors whether they are making a one-time or recurring gift.

Set up the donation route

  1. Identify the market of the receiving account. Record the country or region in which the organization’s PayPal account is registered. PayPal’s published fee schedules are specific to the recipient account’s market, so a rate published for the US or UK is not a worldwide rate.
  2. Create a Donate Button. Use PayPal’s donation-button setup for the organization and add the resulting button to its website. The donor completes the donation on PayPal. PayPal’s help article describes mobile-optimized and automatic monthly donation options; review the selected option before publishing.
  3. Apply for charity confirmation and pricing if eligible. PayPal’s US help guidance says it may link a charity bank account or ask for evidence of legal registration and proof that the account holder represents the organization. Its US and UK fee schedules make charity pricing subject to eligibility, application, and PayPal preapproval. Requirements can vary by market, so do not advertise a discounted rate until PayPal confirms approval for the account.
  4. Check which fees apply to each expected donation. Determine the sender and recipient account markets, the currency the organization will receive, the applicable domestic or international rate, the fixed fee for that currency, and any currency-conversion cost.
  5. Explain the payment route to supporters. Tell donors that the organization accepts donations through PayPal and direct them to the button. Do not imply that PayPal covers fees for a direct donation to the organization.

How PayPal determines whether a donation is international

PayPal’s fee guidance determines international status using the sender’s and recipient’s registered or identified account markets. Some markets may be grouped for fee purposes. A donor’s apparent physical location alone is not a reliable way to determine the applicable rate: check the account-market rules and the recipient account’s current fee schedule.

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The currency credited to the organization also matters. Fixed fees vary by currency, and conversion can affect the net proceeds. Before estimating how much a donation will raise, check PayPal’s conversion terms and the schedule for the receiving account’s market.

Published donation rates: US and UK examples

The figures below are market-specific published examples, not a quote for another country or a particular organization. PayPal’s US merchant fee page says it was last updated October 1, 2026. PayPal’s UK fee pages were accessed October 3, 2026.

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Receiving account market and transaction type Published rate What to note
US standard domestic donation through Donate Button or PayPal Checkout for Donations 2.89% plus a fixed fee For a donation received in USD, the US page lists a fixed fee of $0.49.
US standard international donation through the listed donation payment types 2.89% plus a fixed fee, with an additional 1.50% for an international donation For a donation received in USD, the US page lists a fixed fee of $0.49.
Eligible, preapproved US charity domestic transaction 1.99% plus a fixed fee The charity rate requires eligibility, an application, and PayPal preapproval. For USD, the listed fixed fee is $0.49.
Eligible, preapproved US charity international transaction 1.99% plus a fixed fee, with an additional 1.50% for an international charity transaction The charity rate requires eligibility, an application, and PayPal preapproval. For USD, the listed fixed fee is $0.49.
UK standard domestic donation 2.9% plus a fixed fee The fixed fee depends on currency received; the cited UK schedule does not establish a universal fixed fee for all currencies.
UK standard international donation 2.9% plus a fixed fee, with an additional 1.29% for senders in the EEA or 1.99% for senders in other markets PayPal’s UK schedule distinguishes these sender-market groups.
Eligible, approved UK charity domestic transaction 1.4% plus a fixed fee Charity pricing requires application and PayPal preapproval.
Eligible, approved UK charity international transaction 1.4% plus a fixed fee, with the applicable international surcharge The UK fee page applies the international surcharge to the domestic charity fee for international charity donations.

For a particular donation, do not treat the percentages as the whole cost: the fixed fee and any conversion cost may change the net amount. Confirm the current schedule and currency treatment in the receiving account’s own market before publishing a net-proceeds estimate. The US and UK figures above should not be applied to accounts registered elsewhere.

PayPal Donate Button versus PayPal Giving Fund

A Donate Button payment is a direct donation to the organization’s PayPal account, and PayPal’s fee guidance lists transaction charges for the recipient. PayPal’s separate statement that fees are covered applies to donations made through PayPal Giving Fund, subject to that service’s terms; it does not describe direct Donate Button payments. PayPal says funds from Giving Fund can take up to 45 days to reach the selected charity, so consider the timing as well as the fee treatment when choosing a route.

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Before publishing: a short checklist

  • Verify that the organization’s PayPal account can receive funds in its market; the available information does not establish that every organization can accept donations from every country.
  • Check whether the organization is eligible for charity pricing, complete the local confirmation and application requirements, and wait for PayPal’s approval before quoting the discounted rate.
  • Use the recipient account’s market-specific fee schedule and identify how PayPal classifies the donor’s account market.
  • Check the currency received, fixed fee for that currency, and any conversion terms before estimating net proceeds.
  • State plainly whether the button accepts one-time gifts, recurring gifts, or both, and distinguish a direct donation from a PayPal Giving Fund donation.
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Or let it run in the cloud

This is separate from accepting donations; it is an option for organizations that also want to keep a prerecorded YouTube channel live around the clock. StreamNeo is a cloud service for looping uploaded videos on YouTube: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. Nothing has to stay on at home. Each slot streams the upload as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one price per slot; it can automatically recover if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card. Monthly pricing is $9.99 per month. Learn more at StreamNeo, or start the free day.

Quick Recap

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