cross-border / fx
International and FX Fees: Cross-Border Cost Compared
Which gateway is cheapest for cross-border and multi-currency, and where the FX margin is the real story.
+1.5%
Stripe cross-border surcharge
Up to 4%
PayPal FX margin
1%
Stripe FX margin
Mid-market
Wise Business FX
Headline answer
Cross-border card transactions stack two separate charges: a cross-border surcharge (typically +1% to +1.5%) and an FX margin on currency conversion (Stripe 1%, PayPal up to 4%, Adyen pass-through plus markup). For receiving international bank payments, Wise Business at mid-market FX is dramatically cheaper than any card processor.
Per-gateway cross-border and FX
| Vendor | Cross-border surcharge | FX margin |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | +1.5% (3.9% + 30c total) | +1% |
| PayPal | +1.5% | Up to 4% |
| Braintree | +1% | +1% |
| Amazon Pay | +1% | Per scheme |
| Mollie | Non-EEA 3.25% + 0.25 EUR | Per scheme |
| Adyen | Quote only | Quote only |
| Wise Business | n/a (bank receive) | Mid-market + per-pair spread |
Local payment method coverage
| Feature | Stripe | Adyen | Checkout.com | Mollie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iDEAL (Netherlands) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bancontact (Belgium) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SOFORT (Germany) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Alipay / WeChat Pay | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| PIX (Brazil) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Klarna BNPL | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 50+ local methods | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ |
What matters when picking
- Cross-border surcharge is per-transaction. FX margin is per-conversion. If you settle in your customer's currency you avoid the FX margin but take the cross-border surcharge.
- Adyen's local-method coverage and direct-acquirer relationships in 30+ countries usually beat Stripe's authorisation rate on EMEA volume, even before fee comparison.
- PayPal's up-to-4% FX margin is the worst in this list. On a $1M international book it costs $40K/yr more than Wise.
- For B2B, receive payment in the customer's currency via Wise Business multi-currency account at mid-market FX, then convert in bulk.
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verified Last verified June 2026