Ive tried searching as well as looking on paypal's own site but havent found anything so though Id try here. In paypal, if i make a purchase in one currency, for instance, buying an ebay auction priced in pounds sterling, and the money in my paypal account is in us dollars, will paypal automatically convert the currency for my payment, or will the transaction bounce even if there are sufficient funds to cover it, just in the wrong currency? I am hoping that it would convert automatically, since it is very annoying and expensive to be converting funds within paypal unnecessarily at their poor exchange rates. thanks in advance for any help!
Yes, it will auto-convert for you at the day's exchange rate determined by Paypal's plus a 2.5% currency exchange fees. The conversion will be automatic. My Paypal account is in US$ and I paid items in UK pounds before. It will definitely not bounce at all. If you lack existing paypal funds, Paypal will allow you to fund using all of your existing paypal funds and the remaining will be funded by your credit card or bank account.
ok. so basically there's no benefit to moving your funds between currencies until you actually need to use them then. good to know. thanks for the prompt response
Yup, moving currency probably may just be useful if you want to hedge against the currency fluctuation. However, if you do not have too huge an amount, the difference might just amount to a few cents.