PayPal has notified its customers that from 5 April 2018, it will be changing the way a number of fees and charges are calculated, including those that are imposed on cross border personal payments. In so doing, it seems PayPal is making a play for the fee income from a payments niche once dominated by small remittances providers. This was a thriving SME sector until Australian banks decided anti-money laundering rules made it uneconomic to police numerous small offshore remittances. These "simplified" fees will apply from 5 April, and will be a mixed benefit, particularly for those people sending money to friends and relatives outside Australia.For users sending money to a friend or family member, instead of now having to contend with two bands, each with further complex and different calculations within each band, from 5 April, they will just have two sets of fees. These will be a fixed fee of A$5.99 where an Australian bank account or a PayPal account is used for the transaction - and further charges where "any portion [is] funded by a credit card or debit card". In this endeavour, PayPal will charge A$5.99 plus 2.6 per cent of the portion funded by a card, plus a fixed fee, based on the currency used.   That is, if A$50 was sent to another jurisdiction, using a cash advance from a Visa or MasterCard account, the fee would be around A$7.50. Under the current fee arrangement, this would attract a fee of 3.9 per cent plus a "fixed fee" - approximately A$0.30 - for most APAC countries - or around A$2 for a A$50 remittance from a debit or credit card account, or A$0.50 to A$1 if an Australian bank account is used. The global payments provider added that it will also be "introducing some simpler logistics and updating its 'agreements' with other partners." For instance, if a holiday was booked and paid for using PayPal, up to $500 pre-trip cancellation cover may be available if the purchaser unexpectedly needed to cancel the trip.