Fees for money from abroad: what five routes publish

From the Export Desk, chapter 7 · Look inside the Export Desk

What does each route publish?

Published fees for receiving money from abroad, read on 1 November 2026

Route	What its page says	Proof of receipt
Payoneer	1% (minimum US$1) into a receiving account in a currency that isn’t your local one; 1.2% to 4% to withdraw to a bank with conversion; US$29.95 a year if under US$6,000 arrives in 12 months. A global page, “last updated on 1 January 2026”; it doesn’t say how it applies in India (source 1).	Not stated
PayPal	4.40% plus a fixed fee (US$0.30 on US dollars) on international commercial receipts; 3.0% above the base rate to convert. Page “last updated” 28 March 2024 (source 2).	Not stated
Razorpay, bank transfer	1%, with a flat ₹1,000 on transactions below ₹1,00,000; GST on top; “0% FX markup”; settled in 1 day; a digital FIRC “within 24 hours of settlement” (source 3).	Digital FIRC
Razorpay, card	Up to 3% a successful payment, plus 18% GST on the fee. Page “last updated” May 2026 (source 4).	Not stated
Skydo	US$19 up to US$2,000; US$29 from US$2,001 to US$10,000; 0.3% above that; “Zero FX margin”; 18% GST on the fee in its own worked example (source 5).	“Instant FIRA”
Wise Business	Receiving is “currently available only for business customers” in India; the conversion fee “depends on the currency”, with no figures on the page; 18% GST on Wise’s fees; and “a free eFIRC for every transfer” (sources 6 and 7).	eFIRC
Your bank, SWIFT	Its own inward-remittance charge and its own rate, and any intermediary bank’s deduction.	Ask your bank

What does each cost at three invoice sizes?

The published fees, worked at three invoice sizes (arithmetic, in US dollars unless marked)

Route	On US$500 · US$1,000 · US$3,000	Worked as
Payoneer	10.94 to 24.80 · 21.88 to 49.60 · 65.64 to 148.80	1% in, then 1.2% to 4%
PayPal	36.63 · 72.97 · 218.33	4.40% + 0.30, then 3.0%
Razorpay, bank transfer	₹1,000 + ₹180 GST · ₹1,000 + ₹180 GST · 35.40	Flat fee, or 1%, + GST
Razorpay, card	up to 17.70 · up to 35.40 · up to 106.20	Up to 3% + GST
Skydo	22.42 · 22.42 · 34.22	Flat fee + GST
Wise Business	No figures published; check your own account	Not published
Your bank	Ask your bank for its schedule	Its own schedule

How the figures are worked: Payoneer, 1% in, then 1.2% or 4% on the rest, before any annual fee. PayPal, 4.40% plus US$0.30, then 3.0% on the rest. Razorpay’s flat fee applies to US$1,000 while the dollar is under ₹100. Razorpay and Skydo include 18% GST on the fee. None includes the client’s own bank charges.

Two patterns are worth seeing. A flat fee costs more than a percentage on a small invoice and less on a large one. And a floor makes small payments dear: on US$500, Razorpay’s bank-transfer fee is the flat ₹1,000, not 1%.

What else should you check?

• The record of each receipt, and whether your CA accepts it. The FIRA, FIRC and e-BRC guide says which paper does what.
• The purpose code the route reports for you.
• When the money reaches India. The nine months for an exported service run from the invoice date to the day the money is realised and repatriated (source 8, regulation 5(1)). The guide to exporting services from 1 October 2026 has the dates.
• Your own dashboard. The page is what a route publishes; your account decides what you pay.

quietlybuild takes payment for its kits in India through Razorpay, as a customer. No route here pays quietlybuild anything, and there are no affiliate links.

From the kit. In the Export Desk, chapter 7 sets these routes side by side, dated, and the workbook’s Register keeps the route and fee beside each invoice. This is that chapter’s page.

Free: check an export invoice, and see the ten lines on one A4 page, free.

Questions to ask your bank and your CA

1. Bank: what do you charge to receive a SWIFT payment, and what rate do you convert at?
2. CA: does my platform’s credit count as payment in convertible foreign exchange for GST?
3. CA: is the record my platform gives enough for my books and any refund claim?
4. CA: how do I account for the platform’s fee and the GST on it?

Sources

1. Payoneer. Pricing, “last updated on 1 January 2026”. The company’s own page. Read on 1 November 2026.
2. PayPal. Merchant fees, India, “last updated: 28, March 2024”: receiving international transactions and currency conversion. The company’s own page. Read on 1 November 2026.
3. Razorpay. Money Saver Export Account: the Standard Plan, its footnotes and the digital FIRC. The company’s own page. Read on 1 November 2026.
4. Razorpay. Pricing, “last updated” May 2026: international card payments. The company’s own page. Read on 1 November 2026.
5. Skydo. Home page and fees, with its worked example. The company’s own page. Read on 1 November 2026.
6. Wise. Fees for receiving money, India: receiving for business customers only. The company’s own page. Read on 1 November 2026.
7. Wise. Fees for receiving money, for businesses in India: conversion fee, eFIRC and GST. The company’s own page. Read on 1 November 2026.
8. Reserve Bank of India. Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, Notification No. FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, as amended up to 22 September 2026. Regulation 5(1). Primary source. Read on 1 November 2026.

What changed in this guide

• 1 November 2026. Every fee read again before publishing, and the worked figures done again. Nothing to change.
• 20 October 2026. Written, and checked against the sources above. Every fee will be read again on the day this guide is next updated, and any change listed here.