PayPal Activates All Its Services for Ukrainian Citizens and Refugees

While hundreds of companies escape Russia in wake of the war it started, Ukraine, on the other hand, finally embraces many services that it has been cut from. One of the most prominent is the long-awaited arrival of PayPal. Now, both Ukrainian refugees abroad and those who remain will enjoy all its services.

While Ukrainian users could create PayPal accounts before and transfer funds to their accounts and make payments to other PayPal accounts, it was impossible for them to withdraw funds. Now, this feature is finally activated. No matter if a Ukrainian PayPal user is still in Ukraine or has gone abroad as a refugee, they can access the full range of PayPal services. PayPal also waives all the transaction fees for Ukrainian users until June 30.

The decision followed the public address by Mykhailo Fedorov, the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, who broadcasts the situation in Ukraine to the world’s governments as well as businesses. Via PayPal, it becomes easier for foreign charity organizations and Ukrainian volunteers to collaborate and help Ukraine to stand its ground.

Recently, PayPal stated that it would suspend its operations in Russia. This was also caused by the war Russia started and the common trend to not have anything in common with this country, even despite the inevitable losses caused by the decision. For a certain period of time, Russian PayPal users would be still able to withdraw their funds.

Ukrainians have long wanted PayPal to start fully operating in Ukraine. The reason why the company lingered was the position of Ukrainian authorities that took no steps in legitimating this sort of financial operations (while, for example, Payoneer has been operating in Ukraine for years). The war, though, made both Ukrainian authorities and businesses act lightning fast. Could it happen if not for war, and when? Share your thoughts in the comments!