How to pay for Proton services in Russia
We will keep this page updated with the latest information in response to the ongoing international situation. Читайте эту статью на русском(neues Fenster).
While many companies have announced that they will no longer serve Russian customers, at Proton, our mission is to defend online freedom, anywhere in the world, and we remain committed to serving users in Russia for as long as possible. Proton services are used by many to ensure the free flow of information, which is increasingly important in these times.
Sanctions against Russia mean that most of the usual methods of paying for our services will fail.
- Although domestic payments within Russia are still possible, Visa and MasterCard are blocking international transactions(neues Fenster) on their platforms.
- PayPal has shut down(neues Fenster) all services in Russia.
- Most payments(neues Fenster) using the SWIFT payment system are blocked.
This article explains how to pay for our service if you are in Russia. Between the Russian government restricting access to the internet and the international community enforcing sanctions, it is impossible to predict what internet access will look like in Russia in the coming days and weeks.
We strongly advise anyone in Russia to sign up for our service, download our apps, and upgrade or renew their subscriptions while it is still possible to do so.
Any account credits you purchase now can be automatically applied to the renewal of your existing plan or used to purchase additional Proton services in the future.
How to access Proton Mail
If you are new to Proton Mail, you can sign up for our end-to-end encrypted email service for free via our website, or you can download our free apps from:
- Apple App Store(neues Fenster) (iOS and iPadOS)
- Google Play Store(neues Fenster) (Android)
- Our website(neues Fenster) (Android APK)
- GitHub(neues Fenster) (Android APK)
If the Proton Mail website becomes blocked, you can access it using Proton VPN(neues Fenster) or via our Tor .onion website(neues Fenster).
Once you have signed up for a free Proton Mail account, you can upgrade to a paid plan.
Learn how to upgrade to a paid Proton plan(neues Fenster)
How to access Proton VPN
You can sign up for Proton VPN and download our apps(neues Fenster) for Windows, macOS, and Linux via our website. You can download our mobile apps from:
- Apple App Store(neues Fenster) (iOS and iPadOS)
- Google Play Store(neues Fenster) (Android)
- Amazon Appstore(neues Fenster) (Android)
- F-Droid(neues Fenster) (Android)
- GitHub(neues Fenster) (Android APK)
Once you have signed up for a free Proton VPN account, you can upgrade to a paid plan.
Learn how to upgrade your Proton VPN plan(neues Fenster)
How to pay for an upgrade or renew a Proton Mail subscription
If your usual means of payment is cut off, we suggest trying the following options.
Non-Russian financial account
A credit card or PayPal account issued outside of Russia or Belarus should work.
UnionPay
UnionPay(neues Fenster) is an alternative to Visa and Mastercard that has not imposed any sanctions on Russian users. We accept UnionPay credit cards, and some Russian banks issue UnionPay cards.
We cannot accept payments made using the Mir payment system(neues Fenster), but some Mir cards are co-badged(neues Fenster) with UnionPay. We can accept payment using such cards.
Bitcoin
Many cryptocurrency exchanges are not accepting payments from Russia, and many Russian banks are blocking money transfers to crypto exchanges. However, alternative means of purchasing Bitcoins exist, and you can also pay Proton using Bitcoin previously saved to your wallet.
Learn how to pay for Proton Mail with Bitcoin(neues Fenster)
Learn how to pay for Proton VPN with Bitcoin(neues Fenster)
Bank transfer
Seven of the largest Russian banks have been excluded from the Belgium-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)(neues Fenster) and cannot send or receive international money transfers. Not all Russian banks are currently affected by this embargo(neues Fenster), although we have seen reports that even payments from these banks are failing.
However, alternative payments systems to SWIFT exist, so you can ask your bank if it is possible to make a direct bank transfer to Proton using our IBAN number for your preferred currency.
Bank details:
Bank: UBS Switzerland AG
Beneficiary: Proton AG
BIC: UBSWCHZH80A
Description: Your Proton Mail username
We accept payment in US dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), or Swiss Francs (CHF). The IBAN number you send your payment to depends on which currency you use:
USD: CH530024024083690963J
EUR: CH100024024083690962K
CHF: CH040024024083690902H
Please include your username in the transaction details so we can credit your account. Once your IBAN transfer has been made, please provide us with the following transfer details so we can verify the payment and credit your account.
- Name and last name shown on the transaction
- Date of the transaction
- Amount paid
Note: We suggest making transactions in EUR or CHF as those are more likely to go through.
Cash
You can send cash payments to the following address:
Proton AG
Route de la Galaise 32
1228 Plan-les-Ouates
Geneva, Switzerland
We accept cash payments in US dollars (USD), euros (EUR), or Swiss francs (CHF). We do not accept checks, money orders, or other forms of non-cash payments sent by post. For additional details, please see our regular payment options(neues Fenster) page.
Note however that due to the termination of flights between Russia and Europe, the postal service has much longer delivery times.
Contact us
If none of these payment options work for you, please contact our Support team(neues Fenster), who will be happy to offer every assistance possible.
During this difficult time, we are committed to not cutting off any users in Russia for financial reasons, for as long as possible. If you are able to use alternative payment methods, your support will ensure that we can continue to serve Russian users in the years to come. Thank you again for supporting our mission.