Paypal Enters Into Partnership With Paga

PayPal has partnered with Nigerian fintech company Paga to enable Nigerians receive international payments directly, settle funds in naira, and gain broader access to PayPal’s global payments network, marking a significant shift after nearly two decades of restricted service in the country.

The partnership allows Nigerian users to link their PayPal accounts to Paga wallets, receive payments from more than 200 countries, and withdraw funds instantly in naira. Users can also retain balances in foreign currency and spend globally at merchants that accept PayPal.

For Nigerian freelancers, online sellers, small businesses, and digital service providers, the integration removes one of the longest-standing barriers to participating fully in global commerce: the inability to receive PayPal payments locally.

PayPal’s collaboration with Paga reflects a growing trend among global payments firms to work with established local infrastructure providers rather than operate independently in complex markets like Nigeria. Paga’s position across wallets, merchant payments, and remittance compliance provides the regulatory and operational framework PayPal has previously cited as missing.

The move aligns with similar market entries and partnerships by global players. Visa has invested in Nigerian payment rails, AZA Finance’s BT Payment has secured licensing to support naira collections, and American Express has partnered with Flutterwave to expand merchant acceptance across Africa.

For Paga, the partnership represents a milestone in its long-term vision. Founded to build local alternatives to global payment systems, the company has grown into one of Nigeria’s largest fintech platforms, with more than 21 million users and a broad merchant ecosystem.

Under the integration, merchants in Nigeria can accept payments from PayPal’s network of over 400 million global users in up to 25 currencies. Funds received can be settled locally through Paga, transferred to bank accounts, spent via Visa cards, or used to pay bills and merchants within Paga’s ecosystem.

The partnership also enables Nigerians receive payments from Venmo users in the United States, following Venmo’s interoperability with PayPal. This expands access to U.S.-based consumers and clients, particularly for individuals and small businesses offering digital services.

Currency conversion will be done at willing-buyer, willing-seller rates, positioning the solution as a competitive alternative to informal channels and crypto-based workarounds that many Nigerians have relied on for cross-border payments.

Small and medium-sized businesses will continue to onboard through PayPal’s merchant platform, after which they can use Paga for local settlement and liquidity management. Paga has indicated that direct PayPal acceptance through its merchant payment gateways is planned as a next phase.

PayPal’s renewed entry into Nigeria follows years of criticism over its exclusion of Nigerian users from inbound payments. The company restricted access in 2004, citing fraud concerns, a decision that limited Nigerian participation in global digital work for nearly 20 years. Previous partnerships, including with First Bank and later Flutterwave, enabled only outbound payments or business-focused use cases.

PayPal says Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem has since matured significantly, with mobile wallets, instant payments, and API-driven platforms now capable of supporting cross-border commerce at scale. Nigeria’s digital payments value reached $754.08 billion (₦1.07 quadrillion) in 2024, up from $422.85 billion (₦600 trillion) in 2023, and totalled $200.85 billion (₦284.99 trillion) in the first quarter of 2025.

In 2025 alone, Paga processed $11.98 billion (₦17 trillion) across 169 million transactions. The company expects the PayPal partnership to drive increased international inflows and transaction volumes.

Beyond payments convenience, the partnership has broader economic implications. By channeling more foreign currency inflows into the formal financial system, the integration could improve dollar liquidity and support naira stability.

Globally, PayPal processed $1.68 trillion in total payment volume across 26.3 billion transactions in 2024. The company has committed $100 million to the Middle East and Africa region and has expanded through partnerships with M-PESA in Kenya, CASHPLUS in Morocco, and TerraPay across multiple markets.

While PayPal’s return does not erase years of exclusion, its partnership with Paga signals a more localized and collaborative approach to Nigeria, one that acknowledges the role of domestic fintech infrastructure in enabling secure, compliant, and scalable access to global payments.