PayPal Brings Its Payment Service to Ukraine Amidst Russia’s Invasion
Alison Harvard
21 Mar 2022
ayPal shut down its services in Russia earlier this month in support of Ukraine and on Thursday, announced that its services were now fully available in Ukraine. Previously Ukrainians could only send money from the country using PayPal but now they can receive money and make payments too. This decision to make its payment service fully available in Ukraine only comes after Ukraine was invaded by Russia.
In a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, the Chief Executive at PayPal Dan Schulman informed him that payments can now be made using Ukrainian cards and the transaction fees for transactions will be waived till June 30. Millions of Ukrainians have had to flee their country since the unprovoked attack by Russia on the country and this move by PayPal will be helpful to both refugees outside the country and those still in the country fighting as they will now be able to easily access funds sent by family members, charities, and NGOs. And even after the war, it can help the Ukrainians as they make a recovery.
Since 2015, Ukrainian officials have pushed to bring PayPal’s expanded service to Ukraine after Russia annexed some parts of Ukraine known as the Crimea region, but it seems their prayers have finally been answered. Ukrainians can now send and receive money in their wallets in dollars, pounds, and euros via their PayPal accounts. And after a customer transfers the funds they receive to their bank cards, the money will automatically be converted to the currency that is linked to the card.
While PayPal has waived its transaction fees some months, we are advised to keep in mind that the banks' exchange rates and transaction fees still apply.
What are your thoughts on PayPal bringing on these new developments? Please let us know in the comment section below.