Summary
PayPal in Ukraine works, but not in full: Ukrainian accounts can use PayPal to pay for purchases and for certain transfers, but getting paid for goods directly is restricted.
This article explains how a Ukrainian seller can offer PayPal checkout through Western Bid, how settlement for sold goods works, which fees apply and how to integrate PayPal with a website or a Shopify store.
Who this article is for
- Sellers from Ukraine who want buyers to pay for their goods with PayPal.
- Owners of stores on Shopify, WordPress or WooCommerce.
- Entrepreneurs who sell to an international audience and need a clear setup for checkout and settlement for sold goods.
In short
The main idea: PayPal is a useful payment tool in Ukraine, but to get paid for goods by buyers abroad, a Ukrainian seller needs the right setup — and in this article, that setup is integration through Western Bid.
What is PayPal?
PayPal is a payment system popular in the West that lets buyers pay by credit card or from their own PayPal account. Elon Musk was among the people who built the company in its early days, and for quite a long time PayPal was part of eBay, the online auction platform. Although online payments are led by giants such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, PayPal has an audience built up over decades, and hundreds of millions of buyers around the world trust it.
In my view, PayPal is especially popular for three reasons:
- It is a very old and reliable brand that almost everyone trusts. You can safely link a bank account and any card (debit, credit, virtual and so on) to PayPal.
- PayPal lets buyers pay for any item in installments, while the seller gets the full amount right away.
- PayPal has introduced a buyer-focused system of complaints and disputes that allows the buyer (subject to certain conditions) to back out of a purchase within 180 days of the sale and return the item to the seller.
Does PayPal work in Ukraine?
It does, but only partially.
PayPal works with different countries at roughly four levels.
- Full functionality. Residents of these countries can pay for purchases, receive donations, send personal payments to friends and family free of charge, and get paid for goods and services. Examples: the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom.
- Limited functionality. The difference from full functionality is that only businesses officially registered in the country can get paid for goods and services. Personal payments between private individuals are not available.
- Payments, donations and transfers to friends. Residents of these countries cannot get paid for goods or services, but they can make payments and receive donations or personal transfers. Ukraine is one of these countries.
- PayPal does not work at all. Example: Turkey.
So PayPal does work in Ukraine, but with limited functionality. This means that, for now, you cannot get paid for goods and services through PayPal directly in Ukraine. Read on to find out what to do about it.
Registering a PayPal account in Ukraine: who needs it?
Even though you won’t be able to get paid for goods and services through PayPal in Ukraine, it is still very useful to register your own PayPal account and link a card to it (for example, a PrivatBank card). A great many transactions in the e-commerce world go through PayPal. Topping up ad accounts on marketplaces, paying for shipping and paying overseas suppliers for goods or raw materials, for example, are best done through PayPal, because the buyer is far better protected against fraud than with any other payment method.
Paying with PayPal: why is it convenient?
What makes PayPal convenient is how widespread it is in the West. Almost all major stores and marketplaces offer PayPal at checkout, and they very rarely decline payments made through it. Sellers trust PayPal too, because it runs a Seller Protection program for honest sellers. Under this program, PayPal may (though not always) compensate the seller for a refund if it is impossible to establish that the seller was at fault for the failed deal, or if there are serious doubts about the buyer’s good faith.
How can a Ukrainian seller get paid via PayPal?
A Ukrainian seller cannot get paid for goods through PayPal. When a buyer tries to pay a Ukrainian PayPal account, they see an error, and the sale inevitably falls through.
However, if you sell physical or digital goods, you can join the Western Bid platform, and your buyers will then be able to pay with PayPal. To join, you go through a simple registration process and upload the required documents, and your buyers can start paying with PayPal as soon as you are connected. PayPal checkout on our Lavky.com marketplace and in Facebook stores goes live the same day. To connect a Shopify or WordPress store, you need to submit a request and meet a few simple requirements; our manager will then connect your store online at a time of your choosing.
PayPal in Ukraine: how does settlement for sold goods work?
Once you are connected to the Western Bid trading agency platform, Western Bid can settle payment for your sold goods by any available method. In Ukraine, Western Bid settles payment for sold goods to monobank and PrivatBank card accounts, whether you are a private entrepreneur or hold FOP (Ukrainian sole proprietor) status, and in cash at the nearest pickup point. The methods available in all other countries work too: bank transfer, USDT cryptocurrency, Wise and Revolut.
What are the PayPal fees?
When you are connected to Western Bid, the PayPal fee is 1.9% + $0.30 on each payment from a US resident and 2.9% + $0.30 on payments from other countries. PayPal charges no monthly fees or membership fees. You can read more about fees here.
How do you connect PayPal to your website?
Website builders usually let you integrate PayPal as a payment button or as part of the checkout process. Almost any reasonably well-known website builder lets you add PayPal to the cart. To connect your website to PayPal checkout through the Western Bid platform, you need to sign up and submit a request.
How do you set up PayPal to get paid for your goods?
The Western Bid platform sets everything up automatically so that buyers can pay for your goods. Every payment a buyer makes for your goods is reflected in your Western Bid account in real time. We also handle all complaints and disputes with buyers. These disputes appear in a dedicated section of your account, where you can follow how each case is progressing and add your comments and any information needed to resolve the dispute.
As a reminder, Western Bid also accepts returns in the US at its warehouse in Miami, and you decide what happens to returned items (resend them to another buyer or have them returned to you). You can read more about this here.
Which platforms does Western Bid work with?
We work with every platform where buyers can pay for goods with PayPal (and not only those). The most popular ones are Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Facebook Stores and EzVid. The number of websites that offer PayPal at checkout keeps changing, so there is no fixed list.
How do buyers pay with PayPal through Western Bid?
At checkout, when they move from the cart to the payment step, buyers choose PayPal and then confirm the payment. At that moment PayPal sends them a transaction email showing the amount and the purpose of the payment. Their credit card statement then shows a charge labeled PAYPAL*WESTERNBID. To avoid misunderstandings, we recommend adding a disclaimer to your store stating that it is connected to the Western Bid platform. Here is an example of such a disclaimer, although in our experience buyers, for a number of objective reasons, very rarely pay attention to the name of the business they are paying:
This store is integrated with the Western Bid™ e-commerce platform, and Western Bid, Inc. is the Merchant of Record for all purchases made on this store. Therefore, “Western Bid” will be listed as the Payee on your PayPal account and credit card statement.
For sellers from Ukraine, PayPal remains an important tool for international sales, but it works best when buyers’ payments for goods, disputes and settlement for sold goods are handled through the right infrastructure.
What you need to know about PayPal in Ukraine
| Question | What the article says | Practical benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Does PayPal work in Ukraine? | Yes, but payments for goods and services are restricted | A realistic view of what PayPal can do |
| Can you get paid for goods directly? | No, getting paid for goods directly to a Ukrainian account is restricted | Fewer false expectations when you start selling |
| How can buyers pay you with PayPal? | By joining the Western Bid platform | A practical way to start getting paid for your goods |
| Where can settlement for sold goods go? | To monobank, PrivatBank, Wise, Revolut, USDT and other methods available through the platform | Flexibility for sellers from Ukraine |
| Which websites does it work with? | Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Facebook Stores and other platforms | A clear view of which sales channels are supported |
Frequently asked questions
Does PayPal work in Ukraine?
Does PayPal work in Ukraine?
Yes, but only partially. PayPal works in Ukraine with limited functionality: the service is not available in full, and getting paid for goods directly to a Ukrainian account is restricted.
Can a Ukrainian seller get paid for goods directly through PayPal?
Can a Ukrainian seller get paid for goods directly through PayPal?
When a buyer tries to pay a Ukrainian PayPal account, they get an error, so selling goods through PayPal requires a different setup.
What are the PayPal fees?
What are the PayPal fees?
When you connect through Western Bid: 1.9% + $0.30 for payments from US residents and 2.9% + $0.30 for payments from other countries.
So how do you get paid for sales through PayPal?
So how do you get paid for sales through PayPal?
We suggest joining the Western Bid platform. Once you have registered and uploaded your documents, buyers can pay for your goods with PayPal, and you can see these payments in your account.
Why register your own PayPal account in Ukraine if payments for goods are restricted?
Why register your own PayPal account in Ukraine if payments for goods are restricted?
Your own PayPal account is still useful for e-commerce: it is a convenient way to pay for advertising, shipping, suppliers and purchases abroad with extra buyer protection.
