Guide 1 · valid as of 22 October 2026 · getsahla.com
The safest option is still a direct transfer from your client to your foreign currency account at an Algerian bank. Payoneer and PayPal work too, as long as you move the money to that account straight away. Wise and Stripe aren’t open to Algerian residents, and RedotPay runs on crypto, which is banned.
Payment apps change their rules often. This guide shows where things stand on 22 October 2026. Always check in the app before you rely on it.
Where things stand
| Payment tool | Open to an Algerian resident? | Sahla status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct transfer to your foreign currency account | Yes | Légal | Below and guide 4 |
| Payoneer | Yes | Légal if the money comes home at once | Guide 11 |
| PayPal | Yes, with a Visa card | Légal if the money comes home at once | Guide 14 |
| Grey | Yes (EUR and GBP accounts, no USD account) | Zone grise for dinar withdrawals | Guide 12 |
| Wise | Not for receiving money | Illégal with a fake address | Guide 15 |
| Stripe | No | Illégal through a foreign company | Guide 21 |
| RedotPay | Yes, but the card is topped up with crypto | Illégal | Guide 16 |
The rules that apply to every tool
Whatever you use, three rules hold for a resident:
- Declare the project to your bank before the first payment (Regulation 07-01, art. 57Règlement 21-01 du 28 mars 2021 modifiant le règlement 07-01 (articles 57 et 67), p. 2; guide 7). If you don’t, the bank pays you in dinars (guide 8).
- Bring the money home on the day the client pays. Your client has up to 120 days after you deliver to pay, and the money must reach Algeria on the day they pay (Regulation 07-01, art. 61Règlement 26-02 du 23 juillet 2026 modifiant l'article 61 du règlement 07-01 (JO n° 58 du 12 août 2026), p. 28, as rewritten by Regulation 26-02Règlement 26-02 du 23 juillet 2026 modifiant l'article 61 du règlement 07-01 (JO n° 58 du 12 août 2026)). For Payoneer, PayPal or Grey, nobody has settled when a payment counts as “made” (guide 9).
- Don’t keep money abroad. Residents “are forbidden” from building up assets abroad (Regulation 07-01, art. 8Règlement 07-01 du 3 février 2007 relatif aux règles applicables aux transactions courantes avec l'étranger et aux comptes devises (version d'origine), p. 2). A balance sitting in a foreign app falls under that rule.
The methods
A direct transfer to your foreign currency account
Your client pays by international transfer (SWIFT) into your trader’s or professional foreign currency account, in euros or dollars. You keep 100% in foreign currency (Instruction 06-2021, art. 4Instruction 06-2021 du 29 juin 2021 relative au compte devise commerçant et au compte devise professionnel non commerçant, p. 1).
- Cost: your bank’s fees, and sometimes an intermediary bank’s.
- Timing: a few days, depending on the banks.
- Open your professional foreign currency account (guides 5 and 6).
- Declare the project to your bank (guide 7).
- Give your client your Algerian IBAN and your bank’s SWIFT code. Put the currency on the invoice.
This is the default route. The tools below only help the money through when your client can’t send an international transfer.
Payoneer or PayPal, emptied straight away
Payoneer accepts sign-ups from Algeria and lets you withdraw to an Algerian bank account in your name. PayPal lets you receive money from Algeria if you link a Visa credit card: its receiving agreement lists Algeria.
These tools are legal as long as they’re only a pipe: the money has to go on to your declared foreign currency account, not sit there. PayPal holds incoming money for 30 days at first, which fits badly with the rule of bringing money home on the day you’re paid. Guides 11 and 14 cover the details, fees and traps.
Grey and dinar withdrawals
From Algeria, Grey opens a euro account (SEPA IBAN) and a pound sterling account, but no dollar account. To get the money out, one Grey page offers to convert it to dinars and send it to your local bank (up to 388,000 DA per withdrawal, up to five working days), while other pages on the same site say this withdrawal isn’t available in Algeria (guide 12).
The catch: the conversion happens at Grey, not at an approved Algerian bank. You lose your foreign currency, and no text we’ve read says whether this conversion complies with exchange rules. It isn’t an official route. Don’t leave a balance in the app, and don’t use the stablecoins it offers: they’re crypto-assets (guide 16).
Wise or Stripe with an address or company abroad
Wise doesn’t let Algerian residents receive money: Algeria isn’t on its list of countries where you can hold a balance. Stripe isn’t available to businesses based in Algeria. The workarounds you see online mean giving a fake address in Europe or setting up a company in the United States.
For a resident, that’s a false statement to the platform and assets held abroad, which article 8 of Regulation 07-01Règlement 07-01 du 3 février 2007 relatif aux règles applicables aux transactions courantes avec l'étranger et aux comptes devises (version d'origine), p. 2 forbids. Not bringing your earnings home is a foreign exchange offence, and good faith is no excuse (Ordinance 96-22, art. 1Ordonnance 03-01 modifiant l'ordonnance 96-22 (JO n° 12 de 2003), p. 14). Wise accounts opened with a borrowed address are often closed, with the balance frozen during checks. Guides 15 and 21 cover both cases.
RedotPay and crypto-funded cards
You can open RedotPay from Algeria, but the card is topped up with crypto. Buying, holding or using crypto is banned in Algeria: two months to a year in prison and a fine of 200,000 to 1,000,000 DA, or either one (Law 25-10Loi 25-10 du 24 juillet 2025 modifiant la loi 05-01 (JO n° 48 de 2025); guide 16).
Key points
- A direct transfer to your foreign currency account is still the simplest and safest route.
- Payoneer and PayPal are pipes, not savings accounts: empty them into Algeria straight away.
- Wise, Stripe and an address abroad aren’t options for a resident; RedotPay is illegal.
Sources
- Banque d’Algérie Regulation 07-01 of 3 February 2007: art. 8, assets abroad, p. 2, original text read on 18 October 2026.
- Banque d’Algérie Regulation 21-01 of 28 March 2021 amending Regulation 07-01: art. 2, new article 57, p. 2, original text read on 18 October 2026.
- Banque d’Algérie Regulation 26-02 of 23 July 2026, art. 2 rewriting article 61 of Regulation 07-01: Official Journal no. 58 of 12 August 2026, p. 28, read on 21 October 2026.
- Banque d’Algérie Instruction 06-2021 of 29 June 2021: art. 4, 100% of earnings, p. 1, original text read on 18 October 2026.
- Ordinance 96-22 as amended: Ordinance 03-01, art. 2 (new article 1, offences) and art. 3 (article 1 bis, penalties), Official Journal no. 12 of 2003, p. 14, read on 22 October 2026.
- Law 25-10 of 24 July 2025 amending Law 05-01: art. 6 bis, the ban, Official Journal no. 48 of 2025, p. 7; art. 31 bis, the penalty, p. 12, read on 21 October 2026.
- PayPal, Receive Funds and Automatic Transfer Agreement (Algeria listed), updated 22 September 2026, read on 22 October 2026.
- Payoneer, pricing, read on 22 October 2026.
- Grey, withdrawing your freelance earnings in Algeria, updated 16 October 2026, read on 22 October 2026.
- Grey, opening a foreign currency account in Algeria (“no dinar withdrawals to Algerian banks”), read on 22 October 2026.
- Wise, where you can hold a balance, read on 21 October 2026.
- Stripe, countries where Stripe is available (Algeria isn’t listed), read on 22 October 2026.