Payments

PayPal or Wise: Getting Paid by a Client in Spain Without Losing Money to Fees

Author:: Editorial team, serviceexportguide.com
Verified by:: Editorial team
Published: 31 October 2026
Last modified: 31 October 2026
Fees checked on: 28 October 2026
Reading time: 9 min read

Short answer

PayPal charges 4.40% plus 0.35 EUR per international payment, then a 3.0% or 4.00% conversion fee.¹ Wise charges a 2 USD equivalent per transfer (India help article; its India receive pricing page describes a free e-FIRC) and does not publish its INR conversion fee as a percentage.²³ On EUR 1,800, Razorpay and Karbon Business cost about 1.00 to 1.18%.⁴⁵ Each export needs an EDF from October 2026.⁶

Applies to	Rules involved	Platforms compared	Last verified
Indian freelancers and firms invoicing clients in Spain in EUR⁷	FEMA Export and Import Regulations, 2026; PA Master Direction; IGST Act sections 2(6) and 16⁶⁸⁷⁹	Razorpay, Karbon Business, Winvesta, PayPal, Wise⁴¹⁰¹¹¹²	31 October 2026

Invoice amountCurrencyHow the client pays

900 EUR = ₹93,742 at the reference rate for 13 November 2026 (European Central Bank data).

Estimated rupees received, on published fees

Sorted by estimated rupees received, highest first. Only providers that publish both their fee and their conversion markup for this currency and method can be estimated.

#	Provider and route	Best for	Fee (+GST)	Markup	You receive	Cost
1	Karbon BusinessLowest estimated costBank transfer to a Karbon virtual USD account	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	₹937plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹92,636 to ₹92,804	1.00 to 1.18%
2	RazorpayMoneySaver Export Account: bank transfer to virtual account details (Standard plan)	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	₹1,000plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹92,562 to ₹92,742	1.07 to 1.26%
3	WinvestaGlobal Collections Account, standard plan (up to 2,000 a month per currency)	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee	₹1,710	0%	₹92,032	1.82%
4	SkydoTransfer to Skydo local account details or international SWIFT account	Local bank transfers from major markets	₹2,113	0%	₹91,629	2.25%
5	PayoneerLocal bank transfer to Payoneer receiving account details	Marketplace payouts such as Amazon or Upwork	₹0no GST stated	1 to 4%	₹89,992 to ₹92,804	1.00 to 4.00%
6	PayPalInternational commercial transaction received into a PayPal account (PayPal checkout or invoice)	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	₹4,161no GST stated	3 to 4%	₹85,997 to ₹86,893	7.31 to 8.26%

Not estimated because pricing is not fully published: Cashfree Payments, Dodo Payments, PingPong, Tazapay, TransFi, Wise.

Where a provider says GST applies to its fee but not at what rate, the range runs from no GST to 18%, the rate Skydo, Stripe and Winvesta state on their pages. Estimates use each provider's published fee, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charge, checked 2026-10-28, against the reference rate. They exclude charges taken by intermediary banks and your own bank, and the rate a provider actually applies at the time of conversion. Check the provider's pricing page before you choose. The order is calculated only from these published numbers; no provider can pay to change its position, and there are no affiliate links.

A client in Spain asking "how do I pay you?" usually expects one of two answers: a PayPal invoice, or bank details it can pay in euros. Wise is the name most freelancers reach for on the bank side. This page compares PayPal and Wise with the providers that cost least on published fees for a EUR 1,800 receipt,⁴⁵¹¹ and sets out the Indian rules that apply to the payment. For country detail, including the India-Spain tax treaty, see receiving money from Spain to India.

How do PayPal, Wise and other platforms compare for getting paid by a client in Spain?

PayPal charges a percentage fee plus a conversion fee on each payment, while Wise and the bank-transfer platforms let a client in Spain pay euros to account details by a domestic transfer.¹²¹² Spanish clients can pay those euro details through SEPA, which the European Central Bank says covers 41 European countries.¹³ Rows are ordered by estimated cost on EUR 1,800, cheapest first; Wise, which does not publish enough to estimate, follows.⁴¹⁰¹¹¹

Platform	Best for	Fee	FX markup	Settlement	FIRA	RBI PA-CB status	Source
Razorpay	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	MoneySaver bank transfers: 1% plus GST, or a flat ₹1,000 below ₹1,00,000	0% on MoneySaver bank transfers, per Razorpay	T+1 for push bank transfers	FIRS emailed within 24 hours of settlement; no separate charge published	Listed PA-CB for inward and outward transactions	⁴¹⁴¹²¹⁵¹⁶
Karbon Business	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	1% transaction fee, per its PayPal alternative page	0% (freelancer page); 0.5% to 1.0% (PayPal alternative page)	24 to 48 hours, per Karbon	FIRA for every transaction from an unnamed banking partner; cost not published	Not on the RBI list itself; its terms run export receipts under a partner the RBI lists as a PA-CB	¹⁰⁵¹⁷¹⁶
Winvesta	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee	0.99% plus a fixed fee per payment up to 2,000 a month per currency (for example $3, EUR 5, SGD 10); 18% GST on fees	Advertises 0% forex markup	USD 1 business day, EUR and GBP 2 business days after processing	Free e-FIRA within 24 hours	Says it is an online payment gateway service provider; not on RBI's PA-CB list or status tables	¹¹¹⁸¹⁹²⁰²¹¹⁶²²²³
PayPal	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	4.40% plus a fixed fee per international commercial transaction (for example 0.30 USD, 0.35 EUR, 0.50 SGD)	3.0% or 4.00% above the base rate; the fee page does not say which applies to INR withdrawals	Up to 5 business days to the bank	Free weekly digital FIRA from February 2026	OPGSP under its user agreement; RBI status list shows in-principle PA-CB authorisation	¹²⁴²⁵²⁶²²¹⁶
Wise	Bank transfers to local account details	2 USD equivalent per transfer to the INR account (help article); free e-FIRC (receive pricing page); 18% GST on fees	Mid-market rate plus a fee that depends on the currency; no INR percentage published	INR within 1 to 2 days, per Wise	e-FIRC for each transfer within 3 working days	Listed PA-CB for inward transactions, authorised 12 March 2026	²³¹⁶

Lowest published cost at EUR 1,800: Razorpay and Karbon Business at about 1.00 to 1.18%, then Winvesta at about 1.50%.⁴⁵¹¹
PayPal: about 7.29 to 8.24% at EUR 1,800, because the 4.40% fee plus 0.35 EUR is followed by a 3.0% or 4.00% conversion fee.¹
Wise: not estimated, because Wise does not publish its conversion fee to INR as a percentage.³

The order follows published fees only and changes with invoice size.

Which RBI rule governs money from a client in Spain?

Money from a client in Spain for services is governed by the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, from 1 October 2026, and by the IGST Act's export test for GST.⁶⁷ A platform that collects the euros for you is a cross-border payment aggregator or works through one, under RBI's payment aggregator rules.⁸¹⁶

Rule	Best for	Plain meaning	Source
IGST Act, section 2(6)	Every exporter billing a client in Spain	Payment in convertible foreign exchange, such as EUR, is one of the five export conditions	⁷
FEMA (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, regulations 3 and 4	Every service exporter	File an Export Declaration Form (EDF) with your bank within 30 days from the end of the invoice month, or for non-software services on or before the payment date	⁶
Regulation 5, as amended on 22 September 2026	Exporters with long payment terms	Collect payment within nine months of the invoice, or twelve months if invoiced in rupees	²⁷
Master Direction on Regulation of Payment Aggregators, paragraph 11(d)	Exporters using a platform's EUR account details	A cross-border aggregator transaction is capped at ₹25 lakh	⁸
A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84 of 29 February 2012	Every receipt	Receipts carry a five-character purpose code starting with P	²⁸

You can check any provider against RBI's list of authorised payment aggregators.

What does each option charge for a payment from Spain?

Each option charges for a payment from Spain in a different mix of fixed fee, percentage fee and conversion fee, and GST at 18% applies to platform fees where the provider says so.¹¹¹² PayPal needs full KYC before you can receive more than a single small payment.²⁹

Option	Best for	Published charge on a EUR receipt	Who can sign up	Source
Razorpay	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	1% plus GST per bank transfer, or ₹1,000 below ₹1,00,000; 0% FX markup	Indian businesses with Razorpay KYC; Individual and Sole Proprietorship are listed business types	⁴¹²
Karbon Business	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	1% transaction fee	Must be incorporated under Indian law, per its forex terms	⁵¹⁷¹⁰
Winvesta	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee	0.99% plus EUR 5 per payment up to 2,000 a month; 18% GST on fees	Freelancers (PAN, Aadhaar, a marketing channel link, bank details) and businesses	¹¹³⁰²³
PayPal	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	4.40% plus 0.35 EUR per international commercial transaction, then a 3.0% or 4.00% conversion fee	Indian residents with a verified PAN, an Indian bank account, a purpose code and full KYC	¹²⁹²⁴
Wise	Bank transfers to local account details	2 USD equivalent per transfer (help article); free e-FIRC (receive pricing page); 2.39 EUR per EUR Swift payment on the general business fee table; 18% GST on fees	Wise Business only: sole traders with a personal PAN, proprietorships, companies, LLPs and partnerships	²³¹³²³

PayPal Lite KYC: PayPal says Lite KYC allows one payment under $200 before full KYC.²⁹
Wise personal accounts: Wise personal accounts in India cannot receive money.³³

Which option is cheapest at EUR 1,800, EUR 4,500 and EUR 9,000?

The cheapest option for a client in Spain depends on invoice size, because flat fees weigh more on small invoices.³⁴¹¹ The table works out the INR received on published fees at today's rate.

Platform	Best for	INR on EUR 1,800	INR on EUR 4,500	INR on EUR 9,000	Cost on EUR 4,500
SkydoMost INRTransfer to Skydo local account details or international SWIFT account	Local bank transfers from major markets	₹1,85,371	₹4,65,484	₹9,34,193	0.69%
Karbon BusinessBank transfer to a Karbon virtual USD account	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	₹1,85,271 to ₹1,85,609	₹4,63,178 to ₹4,64,022	₹9,26,356 to ₹9,28,043	1.00 to 1.18%
RazorpayMoneySaver Export Account: bank transfer to virtual account details (Standard plan)	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	₹1,85,271 to ₹1,85,609	₹4,63,178 to ₹4,64,022	₹9,26,356 to ₹9,28,043	1.00 to 1.18%
WinvestaGlobal Collections Account, standard plan (up to 2,000 a month per currency)	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee	₹1,84,679	₹4,62,619	₹9,25,852	1.30%
PayPalInternational commercial transaction received into a PayPal account (PayPal checkout or invoice)	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	₹1,72,030 to ₹1,73,822	₹4,30,127 to ₹4,34,608	₹8,60,289 to ₹8,69,251	7.28 to 8.23%

Not estimated because pricing for EUR is not fully published: Wise.

Ranked by INR received on EUR 4,500. Reference rate: European Central Bank data for 13 November 2026. Fees, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charges as published by each provider, checked 28 October 2026. Ranges appear where a provider publishes a range or does not state its GST rate. Intermediary bank charges are excluded. See the methodology.

For example, on published fees a EUR 1,800 bank transfer from a Spanish client costs about 1.00 to 1.18% with Razorpay or Karbon Business and about 1.50% with Winvesta, while the same amount through PayPal costs about 7.29 to 8.24%.⁴⁵¹¹¹ At EUR 4,500, Skydo's flat USD 29 fee works out to about 0.68%, and Winvesta's to about 1.30%.³⁴³⁵¹¹

What documents and GST apply to payments from Spain?

A payment from a client in Spain for services is an export when all five conditions in section 2(6) of the IGST Act hold, and an export of services is a zero-rated supply.⁷⁹ Under the default rule, the place of supply is the location of the recipient when the client is outside India.³⁶

Document or rule	What it does	When	Best for
Export of services test, IGST Act section 2(6)	Five conditions: supplier in India, recipient outside India, place of supply outside India, payment in convertible foreign exchange (or INR where RBI permits), and the two not merely establishments of one person⁷	Before you invoice	Checking a new foreign client
Letter of Undertaking (LUT) in FORM GST RFD-11	Lets a registered supplier invoice exports without IGST; deemed accepted when the ARN is generated³⁷⁹	Once for each financial year	GST-registered freelancers and firms
Export Declaration Form (EDF)	Declares the export to your authorised dealer (AD) bank; one EDF can cover a month's invoices⁶	Within 30 days from the end of the invoice month, or for non-software services on or before the payment date⁶	Every service exporter from 1 October 2026
Purpose code	Tells the bank what the receipt is for, as a five-character code starting with P²⁸	When the money arrives	Matching the receipt to the service
FIRA, FIRC or e-FIRC	Advice or certificate showing the foreign payment reached India, usually with the rate and purpose code	For each receipt, from the bank or platform	Matching each payment to its invoice
e-BRC	Self-generated by the exporter on the DGFT portal from the bank's inward remittance (IRM) data³⁸³⁹	After the bank reports the receipt	Proving realisation for GST refunds and schemes
Rule 96A, CGST Rules	IGST with interest becomes payable if payment is not received within one year of the invoice, or the FEMA period with any extension, whichever is later⁴⁰	Tracked per invoice	Exporters with slow-paying clients

PayPal FIRA: PayPal issues a free weekly digital FIRA from February 2026 in business accounts.²⁶
Wise e-FIRC: Wise emails an e-FIRC for each transfer within 3 working days.²

The export invoice generator adds the LUT endorsement, and GST on export of services covers zero-rating in detail.

What changes in 2026 for exporters paid from Spain?

The 2026 changes that matter for exporters paid from Spain are the new FEMA export regulations from 1 October 2026, the EDF for every service export and the nine-month realisation period.⁶²⁷

Change	From	What it means	Best for
FEMA (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026	1 October 2026	Replace the 2015 export regulations for goods and services⁶	Every exporter
EDF for all services	1 October 2026	Every exporter of services gives an EDF to the AD bank, not only software exporters⁶	Freelancers and agencies new to the EDF
Realisation period	1 October 2026	Nine months from the invoice date, or twelve months if invoiced or settled in rupees²⁷	Exporters with long payment terms
GST Council recommendation on condition (v) of section 2(6)	Recommended 8 October 2026	A recommendation only; it needs a change in the law and is not in force⁴¹	Exporters billing a related foreign entity
PA-CB cap and list	Master Direction of 15 September 2025	Each cross-border aggregator transaction is capped at ₹25 lakh; RBI's list as on 16 October 2026 names the authorised entities⁸¹⁶	Anyone choosing a payment platform

Wise: RBI's list shows Wise Payments India Private Limited authorised as a PA-CB for inward transactions on 12 March 2026.¹⁶
PayPal: RBI's status list as on 16 October 2026 shows PayPal Payments Private Limited with in-principle PA-CB authorisation.²²

See the EDF for service exporters. Your tax position depends on your facts, so confirm it with a chartered accountant.

How did we verify this?

We checked this page against the sources below on 31 October 2026. Provider fees, conversion markups and RBI payment aggregator (PA-CB) status were checked on 28 October 2026. Rupee amounts use European Central Bank reference rates for 13 November 2026. Read our methodology or report an error.

Frequently asked questions

How can I receive payments from my Spanish client in India?+

A Spanish client can pay you by PayPal, by a domestic euro transfer to account details from a platform such as Wise, Razorpay or Winvesta, or by a SWIFT wire to your Indian bank.¹²¹²¹¹ Platforms convert the euros and pay rupees into your Indian account.

Is PayPal or Wise cheaper for a payment from Spain?+

On published fees PayPal costs about 7.29 to 8.24% on EUR 1,800, from its 4.40% fee, fixed fee and conversion fee.¹ Wise charges a 2 USD equivalent per transfer (India help article; its India receive pricing page describes a free e-FIRC) but does not publish its INR conversion fee as a percentage, so compare the INR each quotes.²³

Can my client in Spain pay me by SEPA transfer?+

A client in Spain can pay by SEPA transfer to euro account details that a platform gives you, such as Wise, Razorpay or Winvesta.²¹²²³ SEPA covers 41 European countries, so it does not reach an Indian bank account directly; a direct payment to India goes by SWIFT.¹³

Do I need to charge Spanish VAT or Indian GST to a client in Spain?+

Indian GST is not charged on an export of services, which is zero-rated, provided all five conditions of section 2(6) of the IGST Act hold.⁷⁹ A registered supplier files a Letter of Undertaking each financial year to invoice without IGST.³⁷ Spanish VAT rules are for your client to apply.

Does PayPal give a FIRA for payments from Spain?+

PayPal says it issues a free weekly digital FIRA from February 2026, downloadable in a business account under Reports and Tax for the last 12 months.²⁶ A custom FIRA costs 100 INR plus GST per transaction for up to 20 transactions.²⁶

Which purpose code do I use for a payment from a client in Spain?+

The purpose code depends on the service, not the country. Common codes are P0802 for software consultancy and implementation, P1006 for business and management consultancy, and P1007 for advertising.⁴²²⁸ RBI receipt codes are five characters starting with P under Circular No. 84 of 2012.²⁸

How long do I have to collect payment from a Spanish client?+

You have nine months from the invoice date to realise payment from a client in Spain, or twelve months if you invoiced or settled in rupees.²⁷ Under GST rule 96A, IGST with interest becomes payable if payment is not received within one year or the FEMA period, whichever is later.⁴⁰

This page is general information for Indian service exporters, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your facts, so confirm with a chartered accountant before acting.

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