PayPal is returning to Nigeria for the first time in more than 20 years.
Through its PayPal World Initiative, the company has allocated $100 million to work with Nigerian fintech companies, enabling users to conduct local and international transactions.
The Nigerian launch, done in partnership with fintech firm Paga, enables users to link their PayPal accounts to Paga wallets, giving Paga users access to PayPal’s network. The partnership supports PayPal’s strategy to acquire or collaborate with Nigerian fintech startups and gradually gain market dominance over the next three to five years, Business Insider Africa reports.
forwp-incontent-custom-banner ampforwp-incontent-ad1">Paga CEO Tayo Oviosu announced the partnership in a LinkedIn post, revealing that he first approached the financial giant about a collaboration in 2013. Oviosu noted that PayPal initially declined his proposal, suggesting that Nigerian fintech companies were still relatively new at that time. But he kept communication open with PayPal.
“Partnerships like this don’t happen overnight. They are the result of years of conversations, trust-building, regulatory work, and showing up consistently. I’m proud of the Paga team for staying the course. I’m grateful to the PayPal team for believing in the long-term vision. And I’m excited about what this unlocks for Nigerians participating in the global digital economy,” Oviosu wrote.
PayPal suspended its services in Nigeria in 2004, blocking users from receiving funds due to a high fraud risk. The company reported a surge in stolen credit cards from North America and Europe, allegedly used from Nigerian IP addresses. PayPal also cited issues with the country’s identity verification process.
Although the partnership with Paga will provide wider access
to digital money transfers in Nigeria, some remain wary. The move could threaten competitors and smaller fintech companies in the country. Consumers took to social media to express their concerns.“PayPal locked Nigerians out of the global digital economy for 21 years. No receiving payments. No withdrawals. Just ‘send-only’ status while our freelancers and businesses struggled. Now that we’ve built a billion-dollar fintech ecosystem without them, they want back in. The audacity, X user, Mrbanks wrote.
PayPal’s share price has declined, including a 37.7% drop over the past year and a 75.6% decline over five years. The decline is primarily driven by intensifying competition in the Western market, particularly in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
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