International paymentsAugust 25, 2026 · Updated September 29, 2026 · 8 min read

PayPal in Iran (2026): How to Top Up, Pay With It, and Which Route Costs Less

Officially, PayPal doesn't work in Iran: Iran isn't on PayPal's country list, and no Iranian card or bank account can be linked to it. This guide covers what PayPal's own policy says, how to top up an account you already have, how to pay a PayPal-only seller without one, and how to work out the real cost.

Foreign payments from Iran

PayPal in Iran: top-ups, payments and the real cost

This article at a glance

Iran isn't on PayPal's country list; no Iranian card or bank account can be linked to PayPal.
Have a PayPal account? Your route is a balance top-up. No account, and the seller only takes PayPal? Your route is a direct payment, which needs no account.
Real price = the day's USD rate + a fee. Rima's top-up fee is currently 3.5% of the order with a $2 minimum; it is added to the amount, and you see the final Toman total before paying.
PayPal's user agreement treats access from a country outside its list as a restricted activity and may limit the account. That is PayPal's own rule, and no top-up service can promise otherwise.
Rima tops up an existing PayPal account; it does not create one.

Why PayPal doesn't work from inside Iran

PayPal publishes an official list of the countries and regions it serves, and Iran is not on it. So even with an active PayPal account, you can't link an Iranian bank card or account to add funds — which is why people turn to an intermediary, either to fund an account or to pay a PayPal-only seller.

One risk to know in advance

PayPal's user agreement (we read the US, UK and UAE versions) lists among its restricted activities accessing PayPal from a country not on its permitted countries list — alongside providing false information and using an anonymizing proxy. PayPal says it limits accounts when it notices restricted activities, higher risk or unusual activity, or to comply with the law, and that lifting a limitation normally depends on providing the information it asks for.

That is PayPal's own rule about how an account is used. No top-up service, Rima included, can change it or guarantee that an account won't be limited, and this article doesn't teach ways around it.

"Topping up" is not "paying a merchant"

A balance to spend later is a top-up. Paying one specific invoice needs neither a balance nor an account. Three situations, three routes:

Your situation	Route	What you need	Rima's fee (today)
I have a PayPal account and want a balance	Top-up	The destination account's email	3.5% of the order with a $2 minimum
No account, and the seller only takes PayPal	Pay with PayPal, no account	The merchant, the invoice reference and the amount	4% of the order with a $1 minimum
The seller also takes Visa or Mastercard	Pay by card; no PayPal needed	The merchant, the invoice reference and the amount	4% of the order with a $1 minimum

If the seller also accepts cards, see our Visa and Mastercard guide. In none of the three routes does Rima create a PayPal account for you.

Top up PayPal with an Iranian bank card Pay with PayPal, no account needed

The methods, and what each one costs you

Common routes are a private seller paid card-to-card, offers built on cryptocurrency, and a service working through an Iranian bank gateway. Card-to-card with a private seller loses the receipt and any way to follow up. Rima offers only the third route — a bank-card top-up on a secure gateway, with an order record in your panel — and this article doesn't cover the others. The difference isn't only price; it's traceability.

How to top up PayPal, step by step

1
Have the destination email ready
The email the PayPal account was opened with — yours or someone else's. No password is needed.
2
Sign in and verify your identity once
Every Rima order needs a verified user account: a national ID and a mobile number registered in your own name, once, before your first order.
3
PayPal, email, amount and currency
On the order form pick PayPal, enter the destination email and the amount, and choose the currency: dollars, euros or pounds. Each order is between $25 and $1,000 (USD equivalent).
4
See the final amount, then pay
The rate, the fee and the Toman total are on screen before you pay. Then you pay with any Iranian bank card on a secure bank gateway.
5
Turnaround
An order placed during business hours usually completes within 1–2 hours. The committed ceiling is 24 hours; night and holiday orders are handled at the start of the next working day.
6
Receipt and tracking
The balance lands on the destination account, and the order stays in your panel with its number, amount, fee, rate, Toman total, date and status.

The order starts from the PayPal top-up page.

The real cost is made of two things

First, the day's USD rate: the rate Rima publishes openly — today's is on the today's prices page; buy and sell are equal, and nothing is hidden inside it. Second, the service fee: currently 3.5% of the order with a $2 minimum. The fee is added to the amount, not taken out of it: the amount you enter is the amount that lands on the PayPal account.

Toman total = (top-up amount + fee) × the USD rate at the moment of payment

We don't print a Toman figure here, because the dollar rate moves daily; the order form shows it at that moment's rate, before you pay. A worked example at the current fee:

Lands on the account	Top-up fee	Amount + fee (Toman basis)	Effective rate	Direct-payment fee
$50	$2	$52	4%	$2
$200	$7	$207	3.5%	$8
$1,000	$35	$1,035	3.5%	$40

The table reads the same pricing row the order is priced from and refreshes every few minutes. Below about $57 the minimum fee decides the price, which is why the effective rate is higher on small orders. On a euro or pound order, the principal converts at that currency's rate and the fee (set in dollars) at the dollar rate. The full, always-current table is on the service page.

Which route costs less?

Compare the final number, not the fee percentage. A "no fee" offer usually puts its cost into the rate. That isn't necessarily worse and is sometimes cheaper; the fair test is the final Toman total for the same dollar amount, side by side.
Combine small orders. Because the fee has a floor, two $25 orders carry $4 in fees between them, while one $50 order carries $2.
Top up in the currency you'll spend. PayPal's fee page says paying for a purchase is free unless it involves a currency conversion. If the seller charges in euros, a euro balance takes PayPal's conversion out of the path.
For a single payment, price the direct route too. The direct pay-with-PayPal fee is currently 4% of the order with a $1 minimum (the table's last column). Nothing sits on an account in between, and you need no PayPal account.

How to spot a safe service

Before paying any seller, Rima included, check these six things. Without an answer to each, you've heard a claim, not a price.

Rate and fee before you pay

Ask what USD rate the calculation uses and exactly what fee applies to your amount. "Lowest fee" without a number is not a price.

A receipt and an order record

After paying you should hold a record showing the amount, the fee and the status — not just a promise.

A full refund path

If the order can't be done, the amount should come back in full. Ask before you pay.

A bank gateway, not card-to-card

A payment on a secure bank gateway leaves a trail; a card-to-card transfer to a private account usually leaves no record of the order at all.

An email, never a password

A top-up needs only the destination account's email. Anyone asking for your PayPal password or verification code is asking for more than the job needs.

No "your account won't be limited" promise

Limiting an account is PayPal's decision. A seller who guarantees otherwise is promising something outside their control.

No PayPal account? Pay with PayPal without one

To pay one invoice, subscription or purchase to a PayPal-only seller, you don't need an account. You pay in Toman and the payment leaves Rima's PayPal account; the invoice reference ties it to your order. You verify your identity once, the transaction receipt comes to your panel and inbox, and if the payment can't reach the merchant the full amount comes back.

This route's fee is currently 4% of the order with a $1 minimum, and each order is between $5 and $1,500 (USD equivalent). Rima does not create PayPal accounts; this route is the alternative.

Pay with PayPal, no account needed

Frequently asked questions

What are the minimum and maximum PayPal top-up amounts?

Each top-up order is at least $25 and at most $1,000 (USD equivalent). For more, contact support or fill in the contact form before ordering. The limits can change; the current figure is always on the service page and the order form.

Which currencies can I top up PayPal in?

Dollars, euros or pounds; you choose when you order, and the limit is measured on the dollar equivalent either way. Top up in the currency you'll spend if you can: PayPal's fee page says it charges for a payment that involves a currency conversion.

How long does a PayPal top-up take?

An order placed during business hours usually completes within 1–2 hours. The committed ceiling is 24 hours; night and holiday orders are handled at the start of the next working day.

What if the payment fails?

If the bank-gateway payment doesn't complete, the order stays in your panel as "Awaiting payment", and from that page you can pay again or cancel it. If an order was paid but can't be fulfilled for any reason, the full amount is refunded.

Whose PayPal account can be topped up?

Any PayPal account whose email you have — yours or someone else's. You enter the destination email when you order, and the order and its receipt are registered in your name. Rima doesn't create accounts, so the destination account must already exist.

What receipt do I get after a top-up?

The order is recorded in your panel under an order number, showing the amount, the fee, the rate, the Toman total paid, the date and the status; that record is your proof for any follow-up. The balance lands on the destination PayPal account.

Ready to top up?

Enter the account email and the amount to see the rate, the fee and the final total before you pay. Every order has a receipt and a way to follow up.

Top up PayPal with an Iranian bank card