Yes, a Canadian can open a US PayPal account, but it requires having US-based credentials, including a US address, a US phone number, and a US bank account. It is not possible to simply change the country on an existing Canadian account. The process often involves using a VPN (though PayPal has strong anti-VPN detection) and, for business, a US EIN and potentially a US LLC.
You can get a US PayPal account in Canada, but you or your business needs to be registered in the US to qualify. We've put together information about how to set up a US PayPal account for yourself or your business, including the documents you need to apply.
To open a Personal account, you need to provide your:
To confirm your US PayPal account as a non-resident, PayPal will ask you to connect a U.S.-based bank account. There are some alternatives to that: Traditional American Banks: You can have a remote opening by some banks provided you give company documents, a copy of the passport, and an address.
If you're moving abroad, you'll need to close your existing account and open a new account. You can have two PayPal accounts as long as only one is a business account if you maintain residences in two countries.
Can have more than 1 PayPal account? Yes. You can have 1 Personal account and 1 Business account. Each account must be registered with a unique email address.
The PayPal "$600 rule" refers to an IRS requirement for third-party payment apps (like PayPal, Venmo) to report payments for goods/services over a certain threshold to the IRS via Form 1099-K, a rule delayed multiple times but originally set to become $600, though recent legislation has scrapped the low $600 threshold, replacing it with a much higher one (around $20,000 and 200 transactions for 2025), meaning most casual users won't get a 1099-K for personal payments, though all business income must still be reported.
If you're asked by PayPal to provide your SSN and you do not, your account may be limited or closed.
It is possible to use PayPal without linking a bank account. You could choose to fully verify your PayPal account by linking a credit card instead of a bank - or you could leave your account unverified. Unverified accounts have lower transaction limits, and you may find you can't access all services.
Unfortunately, you can't change the country or nationality of your PayPal account. Although PayPal is available in 200 countries, the laws governing how PayPal operates are different in each country, making it impossible to change your country on PayPal¹.
Connect to a VPN server in your home country and PayPal will think you're logging in from that location. This allows you to access your account and transfer money in countries where PayPal is blocked.
Paypal can be used to send and receive money across US and Canada. You do need to watch out for fees which can vary with your payment method. As we have seen in the guide, the exchange rates and currency conversion fees add to how much you need to pay as well.
With PayPal, you can send money internationally to another PayPal account in over 110 countries just like you would domestically. Xoom, a PayPal service, offers more delivery options like cash pick up, bank deposit, and more. Xoom also allows you to send money to friends and family in over 160 countries.
To avoid PayPal's 3% fee, use the free Friends & Family option for personal payments (funding from bank/balance), use your PayPal balance or linked bank account (not cards) for purchases, avoid currency conversion, and for businesses, integrate lower-fee alternatives or offer bank transfers directly. For selling, you can't fully avoid commercial fees, but you can reduce them by asking customers to use bank transfers or by negotiating rates.
Example 1: You send an invoice to a client for $500, to be paid via credit card using PayPal Guest Checkout. The percentage fee for receiving money via PayPal Guest Checkout is 3.49% of the total amount, which is $17.45. The fixed fee for receiving money via PayPal Guest Checkout is $0.49.
It's free to send money domestically using your PayPal balance or bank account. Money sent from a credit or debit card will incur a 2.9% transaction fee plus a $0.30 flat fee. International fees apply for money sent abroad.
For questions about your specific tax situation, please consult a tax professional. Payment processors, including PayPal, are required to provide information to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about customers who receive payments for the sale of goods and services above the reporting threshold in a calendar year.
Does PayPal have monthly fees? No. Unlike many payment processors, PayPal does not charge monthly fees for its basic credit card processing services. PayPal Payments Pro, an optional add-on that includes a virtual terminal and allows you to accept payments directly on your website, costs $30 per month.
While the PayPal transfer limit for normal users is $4,000, verified users can send or accept a maximum of $10,000 in a single payment. Additionally, users with a linked bank account can send a maximum of $25,000 per transaction.
Creating multiple PayPal accounts using the same personal information can lead to restrictions or even outright bans. PayPal analyzes IP addresses, browser fingerprints, and payment data to link multiple accounts. Therefore, to safely manage multiple PayPal accounts, you must use unique data for each one.
How long does PayPal hold funds? Your funds are usually held for up to 21 days.
When an email address is linked to a PayPal account, it identifies that account uniquely and cannot be added to any other PayPal account at the same time. If you wish to use an email address that is already linked to a different account, you must first remove it from that account.