Ukrainian IT companies and FOPs receiving foreign payments: what to check under NBU rules

A Lviv software company with 60 engineers bills clients in the US, Germany and the UK. Since February 2022 it has worked through blackouts, relocated staff and currency rules that the National Bank of Ukraine has adjusted again and again. Its finance director checks the bank's notices every month, because the rules for foreign receipts are not the ones from a year ago.

Who receives what

A Ukrainian IT business usually takes one of two forms:

• a company (TOV), often now a Diia.City resident with its own tax regime,
• an individual entrepreneur (FOP), commonly in the simplified tax group for IT contractors.

Both receive foreign client payments in dollars or euros into foreign currency accounts at Ukrainian banks. The bank applies the NBU's currency rules to each receipt.

What the bank checks

For each export receipt, the bank wants to see that it is a payment for services under a real contract:

1. A contract with the foreign client, naming the services.
2. An invoice, or an act of services rendered.
3. Payment references that match.

Settlement deadlines apply to export contracts: the time allowed between providing the service and receiving payment. The NBU has changed these deadlines under martial law, and banks monitor them.

Selling foreign currency

At various points since 2022, the NBU has required part of foreign currency proceeds to be sold for hryvnias, then relaxed or removed the requirement. Ask your bank what applies to your receipts this month rather than relying on last year's practice.

Accounts abroad

Ukrainian currency law restricts residents' accounts abroad and payments into them, and martial law tightened those restrictions. A Ukrainian company or FOP should not move export receipts to an account outside Ukraine without checking the current rules with its bank or adviser.

Many Ukrainian founders also run a company registered abroad, often in Poland, Estonia, the UK or the US, for contracting with foreign clients. That company follows the rules of the country where it is registered.

Where Rivet fits

Rivet opens business accounts for registered companies after verification. For a company registered in Ukraine, NBU rules decide whether it may hold funds outside Ukraine; check with your bank first. For companies registered elsewhere and run by Ukrainian founders, a Rivet business account gives US dollar details on every plan and euro details with an IBAN plus sterling details from the Growth plan, and pays contractors in 120+ countries. Rivet is not a bank; regulated partner institutions hold the funds.