PayPal works in Kazakhstan, but there are plenty of pitfalls between signing up and your first withdrawal. Here is a step-by-step look at which account your store needs, how to get verified, how to connect PayPal to Shopify and how much the fees will eat. Plus a separate section on what to do if you are a citizen of Uzbekistan.

Step 01Personal or business account: what your store needs

PayPal offers two types of accounts. A personal account is meant for shopping, sending money to friends and the occasional sale. A business account is what you need when you accept payments as a seller: it operates under the name of your company or sole proprietorship, gives you access to PayPal Checkout and lets you grant limited access to employees - up to 200 people, according to PayPal Help.

For a Shopify store, the choice is obvious - go with business. The Shopify Help Center says it plainly: without a PayPal business account linked to your store's email, you won't be able to issue refunds or capture payments manually. And in e-commerce, refunds happen every week.

A few things worth knowing up front:

  • one person can hold one personal and one business account, each tied to its own email;
  • you can upgrade a personal account to business via Settings - Account Options, but most business accounts can't be downgraded back;
  • in Kazakhstan, business accounts are designed for sole proprietors and legal entities, so register as a sole proprietor (IP) or an LLP (TOO) before you sign up.

Step 02Sign-up: what information to have ready

You sign up on paypal.com using the Sign Up button. Russian is often not available at this stage, so write down your details in Latin characters in advance - exactly as they appear in your passport.

What you'll need:

  • a separate business email - it becomes your login, and it's best to use the same one in Shopify;
  • a Kazakhstan phone number for the SMS code;
  • your IIN (Individual Identification Number) - it goes in the National ID field;
  • your address in Latin characters: street, building, apartment, city, region, postal code;
  • your sole proprietorship or LLP details: name, type of business, store website;
  • an ID card or passport and a proof of address document - PayPal may request them during review.

Select Kazakhstan as your country and enter your date of birth as DD/MM/YYYY. Your password needs at least 8 characters, with letters, numbers and special characters. Filling out the form takes about 10 minutes. Document review, if requested, can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days.

A common problem is that the SMS never arrives or the number gets rejected. There is no one-size-fits-all fix: people try a number from a different carrier or contact PayPal support.

Step 03Linking a card and getting verified

You link a card in the Wallet section via "Link a debit or credit card". You'll need the card number, expiration date, CVV and cardholder name.

PayPal then charges a small amount and refunds it later. The description of this transaction on your bank statement contains a four-digit code - enter it in your account, and the card is confirmed. Keep a little money on the card, or the charge won't go through.

The picture with banks is mixed. Reviews on Kazakh websites mention Kaspi, Halyk, Jusan, Freedom, Bank CenterCredit, ForteBank and Bank RBK. But user feedback varies: some link Kaspi and Halyk cards without a hitch, while others get declined by the very same banks. Multi-currency or USD cards tend to work better - tenge cards often don't support international transactions.

TipBefore linking a card, call your bank and ask two things: whether PayPal transactions are currently going through, and whether you have a USD account with a card. That will save you a couple of days of trial and error.

Step 04How to connect PayPal to Shopify

When you create a store, Shopify automatically sets up PayPal Express Checkout for it using your email. You need to finish the setup - otherwise some features won't work. Here are the steps from the Shopify Help Center:

  1. In your admin, go to Settings - Payments.
  2. In the Additional payment methods section, click Setup incomplete next to PayPal, then Complete setup.
  3. Log in to your PayPal business account: email, Next, password, Next.
  4. Fill in your business details, accept the terms with Agree and Create Account, select your business type, enter your personal details and click Submit.
  5. Return with the Go back to Shopify button and place a test order.

You can't run a test payment on the free trial - you'll need to pick a paid plan first. If your Shopify store isn't up and running yet, start with our guide to making money on Shopify. To accept cards alongside PayPal, you can add Stripe - we cover that in a separate article for Kazakhstan.

Step 05Fees and exchange rates: how much you actually get

The figures below come from PayPal's fee page for Kazakhstan, updated on October 28, 2026:

  • payment from a buyer in Kazakhstan - 3.4% plus a fixed fee (0.30 USD, 0.35 EUR or 0.20 GBP depending on the currency);
  • payment from another country - 4.4% plus the same fixed fee;
  • currency conversion of received funds and balance - 3% on top of the base exchange rate;
  • chargeback (disputed payment) - 10 USD.

Then there's Shopify. If you accept payments through anything other than Shopify Payments, the store pays a third-party provider fee: 2% on the Basic plan, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced. As far as we know, Shopify Payments isn't available to sellers in Kazakhstan, so factor this line into your costs.

Here's an example. A buyer in the US pays 100 USD. PayPal takes 4.4 + 0.30 = 4.70 USD, and Shopify on the Basic plan takes another 2 USD. You're left with about 93.30 USD in your balance. If you convert it to tenge right away inside PayPal, you'll lose roughly another 3% on the exchange rate.

That's why it pays to keep your balance in dollars and withdraw to a USD account - you then convert at your own bank, where the rate is usually better.

Step 06Withdrawing money to banks in Kazakhstan

To withdraw, go to Wallet and choose "Withdraw money": pick an account or card, enter the amount and confirm. According to user reviews, the money arrives within 1-3 business days.

Fees under PayPal's pricing at the time of writing:

  • to a bank account - free, as long as there's no currency conversion;
  • to a card - a flat 1,887 KZT per withdrawal in tenge or 5 USD per withdrawal in dollars.

A flat fee means one simple thing: withdraw less often and in larger amounts. Five withdrawals of 100 USD to a card will cost you 25 USD, while a single 500 USD withdrawal costs 5 USD. Your bank may also charge its own fee for incoming transfers - check its rates in advance.

Sometimes PayPal shows the message "Right now, we're not able to transfer the funds to your bank", and the bank and PayPal each point the finger at the other. In that case, switching to a different bank or a USD account usually does the trick.

Step 07Why PayPal limits accounts and how to avoid it

A limitation is when PayPal temporarily blocks you from withdrawing or sending money until you pass a review. New sellers know this well: payments on new accounts can be held for up to 21 days.

Common reasons:

  • the details in your application don't match your documents or card;
  • your address can't be verified - according to user reports, PayPal doesn't always accept certificates from eGov;
  • a sudden spike in sales on a new account;
  • lots of refunds and chargebacks, or orders not delivered on time;
  • logging in from different countries or through a VPN, or several accounts on the same device.

How to lower the risk: provide only real information, grow your volume gradually, add tracking numbers to orders and respond to disputes within the first few days. If you get an email about a limitation, do what it asks - usually that means sending documents. Stripe works by similar rules - learn more in our article on how to keep your account from getting frozen.

ImportantNo one can guarantee that your account won't be reviewed. Don't sign up using someone else's details or an address where you don't live: an account like that will be closed the first time documents are requested, and the money in your balance may be held for a long time.

Step 08If you're from Uzbekistan

PayPal doesn't fully work in Uzbekistan: local cards only partially function in the system, and you can't accept payments as a seller. In February 2026, the Senate approved amendments to the personal data law that, according to Kun.uz, should pave the way for PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay. But at the time of writing, accepting payments hasn't officially launched - keep an eye on news from the Central Bank.

What you can legally do right now:

  • accept cards through Stripe using a company registered in another country - see our article on Stripe for Uzbekistan;
  • receive payouts from marketplaces and clients through Payoneer;
  • if you actually live in Kazakhstan and have a residence permit, a local address and a sole proprietorship, open PayPal as a Kazakhstan resident.

Don't sign up "with a Kazakhstan address" if you don't really live there - it breaks the rules, and an account like that won't last long.

Checklist before your first payment

  • You've registered a sole proprietorship or LLP and opened a PayPal business account on your store's email.
  • Your details in Latin characters match your passport, and your IIN is entered in National ID.
  • A USD or multi-currency card is linked and confirmed, and you have a USD account.
  • PayPal is connected in Shopify, and a test order has gone through.
  • Your prices account for about 4.7% for PayPal and 0.6-2% for Shopify.
  • You withdraw to an account without conversion, in large amounts.
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