As more Westerners explore and set up shop in Eastern Europe, they often wonder if the services they use and rely on will work in countries like Ukraine. While millions of people rely on payment processing services each day, some are more well-received in certain countries than others. Today, we’re discussing one of the most popular questions we receive here at Expat Ukraine: “Does Paypal work in Ukraine?”

Does Paypal Work in Ukraine?

Like most things in Ukraine, it’s tricky.

The answer is: yes, and no.

You can certainly access Paypal from Ukraine, carry out transactions, and use the service. The website is not blocked, and the mobile app works just fine.

But, that’s where the benefits end. Essentially, Paypal only works if you’re a foreigner living in Ukraine.

If you’re Ukrainian, you can basically forget about using Paypal. Ukrainians are not eligible to sign up for the service, due to ridiculous currency controls from the Ukrainian government. The great irony here is that this just further complicates the lives of people who are already struggling economically.

In other words, if you’re trying to send a little cash to a friend in Ukraine, chances are you won’t be using Paypal to do so.

On top of that, you cannot link a Ukrainian bank account to your Paypal account. Then again, there is absolutely no reason to use the banking system in Ukraine.

Unlike in the United States, the money you place into an account is not insured. In fact, during the last financial crisis, many of the largest banks in the country collapsed, and depositors lost a big chunk, if not all of their savings.

That’s right. Gone, just like that. Can you imagine? Better yet, plenty of people still use these very same banks today!

Like it or not, it’s things like this that make Ukraine akin to being the wild, wild West. And, like many things in a developing country, using Paypal will simply require a little ingenuity on your part.

How To Make Paypal Work in Ukraine

Fortunately for Westerners, there are a few easy tips you can follow to continue using Paypal while living in Ukraine. I have done so for years, and currently, I use the service each day.

1. Sign up for a Paypal account before going abroad.

This is obvious. Make sure you sign up while you’re still at home, just in case you have to verify your account.

2. Sign up for a Charles Schwab Investor Checking Account.

This is one of the only bank accounts that allow you to make surcharge-free withdrawals at any ATM on earth. The Charles Schwab Investor Checking Account is the best bank account you can have as an expat. Period.

That’s right. They will refund every ATM fee you may encounter, no questions asked.

There are no foreign transaction fees or anything like that. The account is fully FDIC insured. It’s a free account that charges you nothing to use your money, whatsoever. If you’re an expat with a normal bank account, chances are you’re getting slammed with extra fees every time you use your debit card or withdraw money from the ATM.

Best of all, if you make a withdraw in Ukraine, it will usually have the option of dispensing in either dollars or hryvnia, depending on the ATM.

3. Link the two.

Again, very obvious. You have to fund your Paypal account somehow.

This should take no more than 5 minutes.

4. Receive payments via Paypal, use Ukrainian ATMs to withdrawl cash, and rejoice.

And, now you have a completely free, safe way of sending and receiving money and getting cold, hard cash while living in one of the Easternmost parts of Europe.

I can get paid via Paypal, and withdraw cash in the Ukrainian currency whenever I need to pay rent, purchase groceries or hit the bars.

For years, this has one of the biggest hurdles of living in Ukraine. But today, it’s easily solved by a few simple steps.

Alternatives

If you haven’t already noticed, the steps above will only work if you’re a Westerner. Like I said earlier, if you’re Ukrainian, Paypal is generally off the table for you.

But honestly, that’s fine. There are numerous payment processors that you can use as a Ukrainian citizen, and Paypal kind of sucks for sending international transfers anyways.

If you’re sending money and it involves a currency exchange, you can pretty much guarantee that Paypal is going to gouge you on the exchange rate before charging a 3% fee, no matter the amount! It’s a total racket, and honestly, I avoid using Paypal from time to time for that reason.

Paypal is great for receiving and sending payments in one currency. But, you’ll find it pretty useless, if not cumbersome for anything beyond that.

If you’re ineligible to use Paypal in Ukraine, or you are getting paid by a Ukrainian company, I suggest checking out one of the following services instead…

• TransferWise – My personal favorite. The lowest fees out of any money transfer service, wire transfers that take less than 24 hours, and grade A customer support. You can hook your TransferWise account to almost any bank account in the world.
• Payoneer – A decent Paypal alternative for accepting payments. While I suggest you use Transferwise, Payoneer only charges a 1% transfer fee, maxing out at 10 euros.
• Skrill – Another decent money transfer service where you can both send and receive international payments. While fewer people use the platform than either Transferwise or Payoneer, transfers are completely free if you meet a certain number of transactions each year.

Conclusion

With a little bit of finagling, you can certainly use Paypal while living in Ukraine. If you can’t seem to make it work, there are plenty of alternatives to ensure that you will still be able to send and receive payments while living abroad.

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