American multinational financial technology company, PayPal, will now allow Nigerians to receive payments on its platform through a partnership with local fintech firm Paga, after decades of restrictions.
The development was disclosed by Paga’s founder, Mr Tayo Oviosu, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) announcing the long-awaited collaboration.
The partnership comes nearly 13 years after Mr Oviosu first reached out to PayPal with a proposal to work together, at a time when Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem was still in its early stages.
For years, Nigerians were unable to receive funds through PayPal due to restrictions placed on accounts in the country.
Under the new arrangement, users can now link their PayPal accounts to Paga wallets, enabling them to receive funds directly through PayPal, a functionality that had previously been unavailable.
“Our partnership unlocks that. Nigerian PayPal users who link their PayPal accounts to Paga can now receive money via PayPal. Only PayPal Nigeria accounts linked to Paga are enabled for receiving money,” Mr Oviosu said.
Now, Nigerian merchants and entrepreneurs can also leverage the integration to reach PayPal’s global network of more than 400 million users and expand their businesses internationally.
Through Paga’s platform, users can withdraw PayPal balances, spend via card, transfer funds to local bank accounts, and pay bills and merchants within the Paga ecosystem.
“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,” he said alluding the decade-long restrictions placed on the country.
“Whether you’re a freelancer receiving international payments, a business selling online, or a consumer shopping globally, this collaboration makes it easier to access and use global funds locally, in a way that’s simple, secure, and built for our markets,” he said.
On his part, the Senior Vice President, Regional Head and General Manager of PayPal Middle East and Africa, Mr Otto Williams, noted that the partnership aligns with PayPal’s focus on working with local innovators to support financial inclusion and participation in the digital economy.
“We’ve been intentional about partnering with local innovators like Paga and developing solutions that help Nigerians earn, spend, and grow,” Mr Williams said. “This collaboration helps strengthen the broader payments ecosystem by supporting local innovation, expanding financial inclusion, and enabling more consumers and businesses to participate confidently in the digital economy.”
This development comes three months after Nigeria exited the grey list countries of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) under increased monitoring for deficiencies in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) frameworks.