Launching payments in Ukraine: the stack

By Polynopsis team · Last updated 29 October 2026

Paying out in Ukraine means crediting hryvnia, or foreign currency for individuals receiving money transfers, to Ukrainian bank accounts and cards under the National Bank of Ukraine's martial law rules in Resolution No. 18, which still bar most transfers out of Ukraine but allow inbound transfers, the sale of foreign currency to banks and, since September 2026, the crediting of converted hryvnia to accounts at non-bank payment providers. Cross-border payment companies typically use payout networks such as Thunes, TerraPay, Rapyd or Nium, while banks can hold LORO correspondent accounts at Ukrainian banks such as Ukreximbank or MTB Bank, with domestic settlement over the NBU's 24/7 System of Electronic Payments (SEP).

Currency	UAH
Local payout rails	SEP (System of Electronic Payments), SEP instant credit transfer
Holiday calendar	Ukraine bank holidays 2026 and 2027

The Ukraine market

Ukraine received US$9.88 billion in personal remittances in 2025 (4.6% of GDP), down from US$12.0 billion in 2024 and US$18.06 billion in 2021 (World Bank data, last updated 8 October 2026). source
NBU data put private remittances at US$4.91 billion in January to August 2026 against US$5.26 billion a year earlier; within official channels, US$1.78 billion of other private transfers arrived through international payment systems and US$394 million through banks' correspondent accounts (April to August figures preliminary). source
SEP processed 595.1 million payments worth UAH 273.6 trillion in 2025, up 23% by number on 2024, including 35.9 million instant credit transfers worth UAH 163.1 billion, more than 90% of them completed in under three seconds. source
In the first half of 2026, 96% of transactions with Ukrainian-issued payment cards by number and 67% by value were cashless, on 4,707.6 million cashless transactions worth UAH 2,587.3 billion. source
Sending PLN 860 from Poland to Ukraine cost 3.73% on average in Q3 2025 (average fee PLN 18.21, exchange rate margin 1.61%). source
Sending EUR 140 from Germany to Ukraine cost 3.49% on average in Q3 2025 (average fee EUR 3.29, exchange rate margin 1.14%). source

Licensing: who can pay out in Ukraine

The NBU authorises providers of financial payment services: payment institutions, small payment institutions and electronic money institutions need a licence and entry in the Register of Payment Infrastructure, branches of foreign payment or e-money institutions obtain accreditation, and the NBU reviews a complete application within 60 working days. source
The NBU registers international payment systems whose operators are non-residents; the application can be filed by the operator, its representative office in Ukraine, its settlement bank in Ukraine or an authorised institution, and only banks or licensed non-bank financial payment service providers can be participants of a payment system. source
Wartime FX rules sit in NBU Board Resolution No. 18 of 24 February 2022, amended repeatedly; Resolution No. 90 of 10 August 2026 raised household limits from 11 August 2026, including non-cash FX purchases to UAH 200,000 a month and cash withdrawals from FX accounts to UAH 200,000 a day. source
Open banking runs under NBU Resolution No. 80 of 25 July 2025; account information and payment initiation providers need NBU authorisation as non-financial payment service providers under Resolution No. 81 and a qualified open banking certificate. source
The NSSMC states that Ukraine's virtual asset market operates without government authorisation; draft law No. 10225-d, adopted at first reading on 3 September 2025, was being prepared for its second reading in September 2026. source

This page explains the rules in general terms and is not legal or regulatory advice. Check the primary source and take advice on how the rules apply to your firm.

Payout rails in Ukraine

Rail	Operator	What matters for payouts	Source
SEP (System of Electronic Payments)	National Bank of Ukraine	RTGS system for hryvnia settlements between banks and their clients, running 24/7 without pausing and with an instant switch to the next calendar day; it carries over 99% of interbank payments.	source
SEP instant credit transfer	National Bank of Ukraine	Available in SEP 4.1 since December 2024, it credits the payee's account immediately at any time of day, with funds usable after a transaction completed within 10 seconds; it is built on ISO 20022 and the SEPA scheme.	source

The Ukraine payments stack, layer by layer

The providers below are a starting shortlist for each layer, described from their own documentation. Confirm terms, coverage and licences with each provider.

Payout and collection partners

Provider	What it does in Ukraine	Source
Thunes · our guide	Its Direct Global Network page lists Ukraine for payouts to bank accounts and cards.	source
TerraPay · our guide	Its network page lists Ukraine (UAH) for bank and card payouts.	source
Rapyd · our guide	The ua_local_bank payout method pays UAH into Ukrainian bank accounts for cross-border payouts, including mass payouts by SFTP file.	source
Nium · our guide	Sends SWIFT wires in USD, EUR, GBP and other currencies to all SWIFT-enabled banks in Ukraine, same day subject to a 07:30 UTC cut-off; it does not process payments to Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk or Sevastopol.	source

Local banking and settlement accounts

Provider	What it does in Ukraine	Source
Ukreximbank	Opens LORO correspondent accounts in hryvnia and foreign currencies for resident and non-resident banks under guidelines effective 22 November 2025, executing correspondents' internal payments with same-day value if received by 19:00 Kyiv time.	source
MTB Bank	Opens LORO accounts in hryvnia or foreign currency for correspondent banks, debiting on the value date and crediting on the day funds arrive.	source
OTP Bank Ukraine	Pays out Western Union and MoneyGram transfers from abroad to individuals in USD, EUR or hryvnia; amounts above the UAH 400,000 equivalent are paid through a current account in the transfer currency.	source

FX and liquidity

Provider	What it does in Ukraine	Source
NBU official exchange rate	The NBU calculates the official hryvnia rate against the US dollar and euro at 15:30 for the following day and also publishes a 12:00 reference rate; the official rate for 29 October 2026 was UAH 45.5923 per dollar.	source
Interbank FX market and NBU interventions	Banks, non-bank institutions, bank clients and the NBU trade on Ukraine's FX market, and the NBU trades on the interbank market to cover the structural deficit of foreign currency.	source
Sale of FX to authorised banks	Resolution No. 18 permits individual and legal-person clients to sell non-cash foreign currency to banks, while other trading in currency valuables is limited to the listed exceptions.	source

KYC and KYB providers

Provider	What it does in Ukraine	Source
BankID NBU	State remote identification system that passes a consenting customer's personal data from their bank to a subscribed service provider; providers join with the approval of the BankID System Council and an accession agreement, on commercial terms.	source
Diia document sharing	Lets companies receive digital copies of a customer's documents and metadata from the Diia app after the customer confirms the request with Diia.Signature.	source
YouControl	Provides data from Ukraine's Unified State Register on legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, including founders, beneficial owners and directors, updated daily.	source
KYCAID	Verification API accepts Ukrainian BankID and Diia documents, with a Diia document-sharing endpoint.	source

Bank data and open banking

Provider	What it does in Ukraine	Source
monobank open banking API	Publishes terms for third-party providers to read account balances and up to 31 days of transaction history, under per-account consents valid for up to 180 days.	source
PrivatBank AutoClient API	Privat24 for Business integration that automates receipt of bank statements and sending of payments for accounting systems.	source
PUMB (FUIB)	Authorised by the NBU on 2 March 2026 to provide account information and payment initiation services, the first bank in Ukraine to receive this authorisation.	source

Funding and prefunding UAH payouts

Resolution No. 18 bars authorised institutions from cross-border transfers of funds out of Ukraine, including to correspondent accounts of non-resident banks, except for listed transactions; banks' own transactions, including settlements with international payment systems, are among the exceptions. source
Since 17 September 2026 non-bank payment service providers can credit hryvnia to individuals' payment accounts from foreign-currency transfers initiated abroad, through card schemes or direct account transfers such as SWIFT, after converting the funds. source
SEP worked 24/7 through the year end, including 31 December 2025 and 1 January 2026, with the FX market and other NBU systems operating normally on those days. source
At Ukreximbank, correspondents' outgoing transfers through its NOSTRO accounts are executed for same-day value if received by 17:00 Kyiv time for UAH and USD (16:00 for USD on Fridays and pre-holiday days) and by 16:00 for EUR, GBP and CAD (15:30 on Fridays and pre-holiday days). source
The NBU fixed the hryvnia's exchange rate on 24 February 2022 and moved to managed exchange rate flexibility in October 2023; household transfers abroad remain a stage-three liberalisation step still to come. source

Size the prefund to your runway target with the corridor runway calculator and the Ukraine holiday calendar.

Launch checklist

Plan: launch volume, the prefund sized to your runway target including weekends and holidays, the contracting entity and the funding route.
Open accounts: shortlist payout partners and a local banking route from the layers above, and prepare the onboarding pack.
Set up: read access to every new balance, a runway target with alerts, and the corridor in your daily reports.
Go live: the first prefund and a test payout, then daily monitoring.

Polynopsis turns this into one plan with named approvals, then shows every Ukraine partner, bank and wallet in one live position. See how a corridor launch works.

Frequently asked questions

Can money be sent from Ukraine back abroad?

Mostly not. Resolution No. 18 bars cross-border transfers out of Ukraine except listed transactions, although banks' own settlements with international payment systems are allowed, and OTP Bank states that outbound foreign-currency transfers through Western Union and MoneyGram are not carried out under martial law.

Can Ukrainian recipients be paid in dollars or euros?

Individuals can receive Western Union and MoneyGram transfers from abroad in USD, EUR or hryvnia at OTP Bank, through a current account above the UAH 400,000 equivalent. Non-bank payment providers credit only hryvnia, converting foreign-currency transfers first.

When do Ukrainian payment rails run?

SEP, the NBU's RTGS system, runs 24/7, including over the 2025 year end, and SEP instant credit transfers complete within 10 seconds. Bank FX cut-offs still apply, for example 17:00 Kyiv time for USD at Ukreximbank, or 16:00 on Fridays.

Who licenses payment companies in Ukraine?

The NBU. Payment and e-money institutions need an NBU licence and entry in the Register of Payment Infrastructure, and international payment systems run by non-residents are registered with the NBU.

Are crypto exchanges licensed in Ukraine?

No authorisation regime is in force. The NSSMC says the market operates without government authorisation, and draft law No. 10225-d was awaiting its second reading in September 2026.

Is open banking live in Ukraine?

Yes. NBU Resolution No. 80 of July 2025 sets the rules, PUMB became the first bank authorised for account information and payment initiation on 2 March 2026, and monobank publishes API terms for balances and 31 days of history.

Other markets

Sources

Know where all your money is.

Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.

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About Polynopsis

Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.

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