Two prices hide inside a multi-currency account
Most comparisons stop at the exchange rate, and that leaves the bigger cost out. A multi-currency account also charges for moving money, and the gap between providers is wide: exchange fees across the accounts in our multi-currency rankings run 0% to 6.7%. Two accounts can quote a similar headline rate and still leave your balance in very different places once the transfer fee is counted.
Start with how the rate behaves. PayPal Colombia quotes a variable rate, with a headline rate of 3.3% sitting alongside exchange fees of 3% to 4% and a margin of 3% to 4%. A variable rate means the quoted figure can move, so the margin deserves as much attention as the headline.
Skrill publishes exchange fees of 3.99% with a margin of 4.99%. The wording on its fees page matters: transfers between Skrill accounts carry a percentage charge, bank transfers cost nothing, and international transfers cost more because the charge already includes the exchange rate mark-up. Judge a provider on the payment you will actually send, not on the cheapest line in the schedule.
PayPal Colombia is free to send from a PayPal balance or a linked bank account, costs more when a card funds the send, and adds an international charge on top. That suits frequent, modest transfers and suits large international ones poorly. Write down your usual amount and direction before comparing anything.
What kind of account you are opening
Account type shapes both the cost and the protection. PayPal Colombia is an easy-access account: a monthly fee of $0, a minimum deposit of $0, free ATM withdrawals and no credit check. It suits expats, travellers and businesses who want money available straight away rather than tied to a term, and the company behind it, PayPal, Inc., has been running since 1998.
Skrill is an e-money account from Paysafe Payment Solutions Limited, based in IE and running since 2001. It carries a monthly fee of €0 and a transfer fee amount of €0, so the cost sits in the conversion rather than in the account.
Monthly fees are not where this market separates. Across the accounts in the rankings monthly fees run €0 to €876.96. Choose on the exchange margin, the protection scheme and the payout speed, then treat the monthly fee as a rounding error.
How many currencies you need
Coverage is the easiest line on a product page to misread. PayPal Colombia holds 24 currencies and Skrill holds 47, while the accounts we rank span 2 to 360. Neither end of that span is automatically the better one for you.
Work from your own list instead. Both providers name expats, travellers and businesses as their audience, so the deciding questions are which currencies you receive, which you spend, and whether you need to hold one while holding another. Pair the currency count with how long a transfer or conversion actually takes.
Where the money sits, and who stands behind it
Deposit protection is the part people check once and forget. PayPal Colombia shows deposit protection of FDIC up to USD 250,000, so the balance sits under a United States deposit scheme. Skrill shows EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, a European scheme. Those two are not interchangeable, and neither covers a foreign currency the way it covers the domestic one.
Skrill is registered for e-money in Europe, and in the United States it holds a money transmitter registration, 935195, alongside its headquarters in IE. PayPal Colombia moves local money over US ACH rails, and PayPal, Inc. is headquartered in US. Before you park a large balance, read which scheme covers your currency and the country you live in.
How money moves in and out
Access terms decide whether an account is usable for you. PayPal Colombia is reachable on the web or in the app at any hour. Deposits pull into PayPal Balance from a linked debit card or a confirmed bank account, and withdrawals go back to PayPal Balance first, so a card is rarely the fastest route to your own money. Delivery reads Seconds, payouts reach a bank account or a card, and support runs by email and phone.
Skrill takes longer, at 24 - 72 hours, but pays out to a bank account, a card or a wallet and gives you a help centre alongside email and phone. That gap is what decides which account you keep as your main one and which you fund only for a single payment.
A shortlist routine
Run these steps in order. List the currencies you receive and the currencies you spend. Pull the exchange margin and the transfer fee for each account and cost a real transfer, in the direction you will send it. Match the deposit protection to the currency and the country where you live. Check how money leaves the account, then confirm the monthly fee and the support channels.
Then narrow the list with the multi-currency account rankings and read the full entries for PayPal Colombia and Skrill side by side. Both are free to hold and both are built for expats, travellers and businesses, so the choice comes down to the margin you pay, the scheme holding your deposit and how fast you need the money back.