PayPal, the global payments giant, is partnering with Nigerian fintech firm Paga to enable Nigerians to receive international payments, settle funds in naira, and access its global payments network, ending nearly two decades of restricted service in the country.
Under the partnership, PayPal is betting that Paga’s position at the intersection of digital wallets, merchant payments, and remittance compliance can finally support inbound payments at scale, an area where PayPal has long cited fraud concerns as a barrier.
The move reflects a broader shift in how global payments companies are approaching Nigeria. Visa is investing in local payment infrastructure, international processors such as AZA Finance’s BT Payment have secured licences to offer naira collections, and American Express has partnered Flutterwave to expand merchant acceptance.
For Paga, the partnership is deeply symbolic. “PayPal is what inspired Paga,” said Tayo Oviosu, Paga’s founder and group CEO. “PayPal was an example I used to tell people: why can’t we build a PayPal for Africa?”
Two decades after PayPal excluded Nigerians from receiving payments, it is returning through a company that was, in part, built to address that very gap.
During PayPal’s absence, Nigerian fintechs including Paga, Flutterwave, and Paystack built robust local and cross-border payment infrastructure, connecting Nigeria more deeply to the global digital economy. Digital payments in Nigeria reached ₦1.07 quadrillion ($754 billion) in 2024, up from ₦600 trillion in 2023, and hit ₦284.99 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
How the PayPal–Paga integration works
With the integration, Nigerian users can link their PayPal accounts to their Paga wallets, receive payments from more than 200 countries, and withdraw funds instantly in naira. Users can also shop globally with PayPal-supported merchants while retaining balances in dollars if they choose.
Currency conversion will follow a willing-buyer, willing-seller model, positioning the product as competitive with informal FX and crypto-based alternatives Nigerians have relied on for years.
For businesses, the partnership unlocks PayPal’s network of over 400 million users worldwide. Nigerian merchants can accept payments in up to 25 currencies, then move funds through Paga for local settlement, bank transfers, bill payments, or spending via Visa cards.
The integration also allows Nigerians to receive payments directly from Venmo users in the United States, following Venmo’s interoperability with PayPal.
“Anyone with a PayPal Nigeria account can now receive money from anybody using Venmo in the US,” Oviosu said. “You can keep it in dollars if you want.”
Small and medium-sized enterprises will onboard via PayPal’s merchant platform, then rely on Paga for local settlement. Merchant-level PayPal acceptance through Paga’s payment gateways is next on the roadmap.
“The next phase is opening this fully on our merchant business accounts,” Oviosu said, allowing businesses to handle larger transaction volumes directly.
PayPal says additional features will roll out over time. “Our focus is to deliver access that is secure, compliant, and relevant to local realities rather than simply replicating a global template,” said Otto Williams, PayPal’s Senior Vice President and Regional Head for the Middle East and Africa.
Why now?
PayPal’s return follows years of frustration among Nigerians. Reports in December 2025 that the company was exploring a cross-border wallet platform reignited criticism over its long-standing exclusion of Nigerian users.
PayPal restricted inbound payments for Nigerians in 2004, citing fraud risks—a move that limited access to global freelancing and e-commerce for nearly 20 years. Subsequent partnerships, including one with First Bank in 2014 and another with Flutterwave in 2021, only partially addressed the issue, focusing on outbound payments or business use cases.
PayPal now argues that Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem, powered by mobile wallets, instant transfers, and API-driven platforms, has matured enough to support cross-border commerce at scale. Paga was selected for its 21 million users, compliance infrastructure, and merchant ecosystem.
“We have been intentional about partnering with local innovators like Paga,” Williams said. “Nigeria’s potential is enormous, and we are here to listen, learn, and support its digital economy.”
What changes now
Paga processed ₦17 trillion ($12 billion) across 169 million transactions in 2025, and the company expects the PayPal integration to significantly boost international inflows.
“There is a lot of pent-up demand,” Oviosu said. “People want to earn and shop globally without relying on workarounds.”
For Nigeria, the move could help channel more foreign currency into the formal financial system, improving liquidity and supporting the naira.
Globally, PayPal processed 26.3 billion transactions and $1.68 trillion in total payment volume in 2024. Its Nigeria re-entry is part of a wider expansion push, backed by a $100 million commitment to the Middle East and Africa announced in September 2025, alongside integrations with M-PESA in Kenya, CASHPLUS in Morocco, and TerraPay across the region.
While the partnership does not erase nearly two decades of exclusion, it marks a significant shift: PayPal is finally back in Nigeria, this time through a local wallet that understands how Nigerians actually move money.
