8Rank 08 of 8 · Best Travel Money Cards
PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. PayPal
The clearest illustration in this ranking that a banking licence and deposit protection are two separate things — and an expensive way to convert currency.
5.5BPR score
- —Price
- Licensed CSSF bank — balances explicitly NOT deposit-protectedDeposit protection status
- 8 of 8in Best Travel Money Cards
- 5.5BPR score 0–10
Review
What this product is
Written after the analysis, from the same sources the score is built on: the manufacturer's documentation, available studies and verified owner feedback.
Included because of what it demonstrates rather than because we recommend it for travel.
PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A. holds a banking licence and is supervised by the CSSF in Luxembourg. Balances held in a PayPal account are explicitly not covered by any deposit guarantee scheme. Both statements are true simultaneously, and PayPal states the second in its own terms. If you have been using "it's a licensed bank" as a proxy for "my money is safe", this is the case that breaks it.
The currency conversion is also poor. PayPal applies a substantial spread to the base exchange rate on foreign-currency transactions — several percent, and materially worse than every dedicated provider in this ranking. On a two-week holiday's spending, the difference against Revolut or Wise is real money.
What PayPal is genuinely good at is buyer protection on online purchases and near-universal acceptance for e-commerce, including in places you would not want to hand over card details directly. Those are excellent reasons to keep a PayPal account. They are not reasons to spend on it abroad.
Practical advice: use PayPal for online purchases where buyer protection matters, and use something else at the till. Do not hold a balance in it.
Technical data
Specification
Figures from the manufacturer's documentation, verified against available outside sources. Values we could not confirm are marked as declared.
- Licence
- Banking licence, CSSF Luxembourg
- Deposit protection
- None — explicitly excluded despite the licence
- FX
- Base rate plus a substantial spread
- Buyer protection
- Yes, on eligible purchases
Component scores
Where the score
comes from.
Four components, equal weight, each on a 0–10 scale and each resting on a named source. The overall score is their mean — the full procedure is in the methodology.
What we liked
- Strong buyer protection on eligible online purchases
- Near-universal acceptance in European e-commerce
- No monthly fee
Worth knowing
- Balances are NOT covered by any deposit guarantee scheme, despite the banking licence
- Substantial exchange-rate spread — materially worse than every dedicated provider here
- Poor value for in-person spending abroad
- Account freezes are a recurring and well-documented complaint
Comparison
How it compares
within the category
All values come from the same analysis and are comparable only within the category Best Travel Money Cards.
| Product | Score | Deposit protection status | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| WiseTop score | 9.0 | E-money institution — safeguarded, NOT deposit-guaranteed | — |
| PayPalThis product | 5.5 | Licensed CSSF bank — balances explicitly NOT deposit-protected | — |
| Category average8 products analysed | 7.8 | — | — |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How can a licensed bank have no deposit protection?
Deposit guarantee schemes cover money held as a deposit. PayPal holds customer balances in a different legal form, and its terms state they are not covered. The licence governs how PayPal is supervised; it does not by itself determine how your balance is classified or protected.
From the same ranking
Other products in Best Travel Money Cards.
The same protocol, the same key parameter, the same set of sources.
-
No. 019.0/ 10
Wise
The clearest pricing in this category — the mid-market rate with a stated fee rather than a…
-
No. 028.9/ 10
Revolut
Interbank exchange rates on weekdays, free ATM withdrawals to a monthly limit, and the…
-
No. 038.7/ 10
N26
A full German bank account with deposit protection to €100,000 and no foreign-transaction fee…
-
No. 048.1/ 10
bunq
A Dutch bank with full deposit protection, unusually flexible sub-accounts, and a subscription…