By: ThinkBusiness Africa
Global payments giant PayPal has officially ended its 22-year restriction on inbound payments to Nigeria on Tuesday, through a historic technical integration with local fintech leader Paga. millions of Nigerian users can now receive international payments and withdraw funds directly in Naira for the first time since 2004.
The move marks a pivotal shift in PayPal’s African strategy. For two decades, Nigerian accounts were limited to “send-only” status—a policy that frustrated a generation of freelancers, exporters, and digital creators who were forced to use expensive intermediaries or offshore accounts to collect their earnings.
The service is not a standalone relaunch but a strategic partnership that uses Paga’s deep local infrastructure as a compliance and settlement “bridge.”
Users can now link their Nigerian PayPal accounts to their Paga digital wallets via the Paga app or website. Once linked, the “Receive” functionality is unlocked. Funds sent from over 200 countries flow into the PayPal account and can be instantly transferred to the Paga wallet.
From the Paga wallet, users can convert their balance to Naira to pay local bills, transfer to any Nigerian bank, or spend using Paga’s Visa cards.
Notably, the deal also allows Nigerians to receive money directly from Venmo users in the United States, leveraging PayPal’s internal interoperability.
Paga’s Founder and Group CEO, Tayo Oviosu, revealed that the deal was the culmination of over a decade of persistence. Oviosu first pitched the collaboration to PayPal in 2013, but regulatory concerns and fraud-prevention hurdles delayed the rollout.
“This moment is about more than a single announcement; it’s about patience and building trusted local infrastructure,” Oviosu stated. “Until now, the door was only half-open. Today, we’ve unlocked it fully for the Nigerian creator economy.”
PayPal’s Senior VP for Middle East and Africa, Otto Williams, noted that the partnership aligns with the company’s “PayPal World” strategy—a 2026 initiative focused on wallet interoperability rather than traditional banking.
By partnering with Paga, PayPal leverages a partner that already manages 21 million users and adheres to strict local KYC (Know Your Customer) and anti-money laundering (AML) protocols.
Economic Implications
For Nigeria’s burgeoning gig economy—valued at billions of dollars but often hamstrung by payment barriers—the news is transformative. With the ability to earn in foreign currency and settle locally through a regulated channel, Nigerian freelancers are now on equal footing with their global peers.
