Sri Lanka to launch long-awaited PayPal receive-money service

Sri Lankan PayPal users will be able to receive money from overseas clients from May 15, 2026, the government says.

Until now, PayPal accounts in Sri Lanka mainly allowed users to send money or make online payments, but they could not directly receive payments into Sri Lankan PayPal accounts.

The government said the new receive-money facility will be introduced after years of requests from the country’s business community, IT professionals, freelancers, and online service providers.

According to the government, all arrangements have been made to launch the service from May 15, 2026.

The facility has become possible after discussions held between the Ministry of Digital Economy, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka’s private banking system to remove the legal and technical barriers that previously prevented direct PayPal receipts into the country.

The government said Sri Lankan entrepreneurs will no longer need to use fake foreign addresses or depend on informal money transfer methods to receive payments from overseas clients.

With the new system, small and medium-scale businesses that provide services online will be able to receive payments directly into local bank accounts.

The government also expects the move to increase official foreign exchange inflows to Sri Lanka.

Economic analysts say the launch of PayPal’s receive-money facility will be a major step forward for Sri Lanka’s digital commerce sector and the wider digital economy.

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