Scope matters: PayPal’s “Countries and supported features” matrix is specifically a PayPal Payouts reference for merchants sending payouts. Its feature labels are useful, but they do not replace the consumer or merchant terms for every PayPal product in a country.
Three separate questions to answer
“Does PayPal work in my country?” is too broad to answer reliably. Check each of these separately:
- Sending: can your account send personal or commercial payments, and to which countries?
- Receiving: can you receive personal transfers, ecommerce checkout payments, marketplace payouts or other business payments?
- Withdrawing: can you withdraw to a local bank or eligible card, in which currency, and under what limits or verification requirements?
How to read PayPal’s official payout matrix
PayPal’s supported countries and features page, last updated 10 September 2026, defines the main feature sets like this:
| Feature set | Meaning on the Payouts page | Example shown in the source |
|---|---|---|
| Send, receive and withdraw | Merchants can send payouts from the country; PayPal account holders can receive and withdraw money. | Argentina, Indonesia |
| Send, receive and withdraw in local currency | Those capabilities are supported with local-currency receiving and withdrawals. | Cyprus and some other markets |
| Fully localized | Send, receive and withdraw in local currency, with the PayPal app available in the local language. | United Kingdom, United States |
| Receive and withdraw | Merchants cannot send payouts from that country using this feature set; account holders can receive and withdraw money. | India and Mexico |
These are PayPal’s labels in its payout documentation, not a promise that every PayPal product, domestic payment type, card, currency or integration works the same way. The source also lists country-specific restrictions and currency exclusions. Always inspect the relevant row and notes in the current official table.
For a business accepting customer payments
If you run an online store, SaaS or freelance business, do not stop at the payout table. Visit the PayPal site for the country where the business is genuinely registered and check:
- Whether commercial transactions and checkout products are supported.
- Whether domestic payments, cross-border payments or both can be accepted.
- Which customer payment methods and currencies are available.
- Whether the account needs business verification, proof of identity, a bank account or business registration details.
- How refunds, disputes, reserves, withdrawal timing, receiving fees and currency conversion are handled.
PayPal maintains a country and currency directory, but a country appearing in a global list does not mean that every feature is offered there. API support also has its own feature and currency documentation.
Before you receive international payments
Make a short checklist against your planned payment flow: who sends the money, whether it is a purchase or a personal transfer, what currency is charged, what currency you will hold, and how you will withdraw it. Conversion can add a spread or fee, and receiving a currency that your account does not hold may require a receiving-preferences setting or action in the account.
If you use a platform or marketplace that sends payouts through PayPal’s API, check that platform’s supported country and currency configuration too. A service may support a recipient country but still restrict a specific currency, payout route or transaction type.
What if PayPal’s features are insufficient?
Compare only alternatives that solve the same job. An online card processor may suit checkout; a multi-currency account may be useful for eligible transfers and balances; a local payment gateway may fit domestic card acceptance. These are different products. Start at our payment alternatives guide and check country-specific eligibility for each option before migration.
Official sources
- PayPal — countries and supported payout features
- PayPal Developer — country and region codes
- PayPal Developer — supported currencies
- PayPal — country and currency directory
This is an independent guide, not a PayPal eligibility decision. PayPal’s local terms, actual account settings and current onboarding flow control the final result.