PayPal has returned to Nigeria through a new partnership with Paga, a West African fintech, years after it left the country.
Under the agreement, Nigerian users can receive PayPal payments through Paga, convert the funds into naira and withdraw them locally. For nearly two decades, PayPal accounts in Nigeria were limited to outbound payments only, preventing freelancers, merchants and small businesses from receiving money from abroad through the platform.
PayPal said the partnership reflects a strategy centred on local collaboration.
“We've been intentional about partnering with local innovators like Paga and developing solutions that help Nigerians earn, spend, and grow. This collaboration helps strengthen the broader payments ecosystem by supporting local innovation, expanding financial inclusion, and enabling more cons,” Otto Williams, the Senior Vice President, Regional Head and General Manager of PayPal Middle East and Africa said.
For Tayo Oviosu, Paga’s founder and chief executive, the deal is the result of a long pursuit. He said Paga first proposed a partnership to PayPal more than a decade ago, when Nigeria’s fintech sector was still nascent.
"In August 2013, I emailed the PayPal team. Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem was still young," Oviosu wrote in a statement confirming the deal.
"I shared a simple belief: that Nigeria would become one of the most important economies in the world... It would take more than a decade for that belief to fully materialize. Today, I’m proud to share that PayPal is now live in Nigeria through Paga."
Why Paypal restricted Nigeria and what became of it
PayPal entered Nigeria in the early 2000s but imposed tight restrictions, citing fraud risk, regulatory uncertainty and compliance concerns. Nigerians could send money abroad but were barred from receiving funds or withdrawing them locally.
The exclusion became a recurring source of frustration. But it also had an unintended effect: it helped birth an entire generation of Nigerian fintech companies focused on cross-border payments.
In PayPal’s absence, startups such as Paystack, Flutterwave, Chipper and others built systems to help Nigerians accept foreign payments, move money across borders and settle funds locally. These platforms became the default for freelancers and online businesses, not substitutes. Some also became unicorns in the process.
For more context, in 2024, Flutterwave processed a staggering $31 billion in transaction volume. Paga, PayPal's new partner, confirmed that it processed ₦17 trillion ($11.98 billion) in 2025 across 169 million transactions. Also in July 2024, Paystack hit a milestone of processing over ₦1 trillion in a single month. Overall, Nigeria’s total e-payment value surged to over ₦1.07 quadrillion ($754 billion) in 2024.
Now that PayPal has returned, the Nigerian fintech ecosystem had already learned how to operate without it.
The timing of this return may also be influenced by broader financial realities for the American giant. In recent times, PayPal’s shares (NASDAQ: PYPL) have seen a steady decline, and this Nigeria partnership opens the company to another large, untapped market.
However, the PayPal-Paga deal has not had an immediate impact on investor sentiment or share price, which remains more sensitive to global earnings trends and competitive pressure.
Mixed reactions
The announcement has drawn mixed reactions from Nigerians, particularly on social media. Some users welcomed the return as long overdue but practical, especially for freelancers and remote workers whose clients insist on PayPal. Others were openly critical, arguing that the company had already missed its moment.
My honest opinion is that Africa doesn't need Paypal, we are only a growth engine for them, nothing more. When they were the only route for Africans to get paid globally, they shut the door. Now that access is expanding globally, they have come back with their begging bowl. – Chukwuedozie Nwa Charlie on Twitter.
There were also renewed concerns about PayPal’s reputation for account freezes, a common complaint among users in emerging markets. A user online described the company as “efficient at locking funds,” warning Nigerians to proceed with caution.
"If you’re planning to use PayPal in Nigeria, be careful sha. They’re quick to withhold money, and you don’t have a government that will fight your battles for you," Oiza said.
At the end of the day, this Paga partnership provides PayPal with a local route into Nigeria’s payments system. Whether Nigerian users adopt the service widely will depend less on brand recognition and more on the execution, the pricing, whether it works reliably well, and trust.
