PayPal has announced a partnership with Nigerian fintech company, Paga, that will allow Nigerians to receive international payments, settle funds in naira, and access its global payments network after over two decades of limited service in the country.

The announcement, made on Tuesday by both companies, signals a renewed push to expand financial inclusion and cross-border commerce in Nigeria’s fast-growing digital payments space.

Through the partnership, PayPal will rely on Paga’s infrastructure, which connects wallets, merchants and remittance compliance, to support inbound payments at scale.

The company is now betting that Paga’s structure can address those challenges. The move, according to TechCabal, also reflects a wider shift by global payments firms toward deeper engagement with Nigeria, including Visa’s investments in local payment rails, AZA Finance’s BT Payment securing a licence to offer naira collections, and American Express partnering with Flutterwave to expand merchant acceptance.

For Paga, the partnership marks a milestone. “PayPal is what inspired Paga,” Tayo Oviosu, Founder and Group CEO of Paga, told TechCabal. “PayPal was an example that I had in my mind, and I shared with people, like, you know, why can’t we build a PayPal for Africa?”

PayPal first restricted Nigerians and citizens of several other countries, including Ghana, in 2004, citing fraud concerns – a decision that limited access to global work for freelancers and online businesses for nearly 20 years.

A 2014 partnership with First Bank only enabled outbound payments, while a later collaboration with Flutterwave in 2021 focused on businesses and did not open inbound payment access for individuals.

During PayPal’s absence, Nigerian fintechs such as Paga, Flutterwave and Paystack built local and cross-border payment infrastructure that connected the country to global markets. Digital payments in Nigeria reached ₦1.07 quadrillion in 2024, up from ₦600 trillion in 2023, and totalled ₦284.99 trillion in the first quarter of 2025.

PayPal says Nigeria’s digital economy has now matured, with mobile wallets, instant payments and API-driven platforms capable of supporting cross-border commerce at scale. Explaining why it chose Paga for the partnership, PayPal, through Otto Williams, senior vice president, regional head and general manager of Middle East and Africa, cited the company’s more than 21 million users, API infrastructure, and merchant network.

“We have been intentional about partnering with local innovators like Paga to develop solutions that help Nigerians earn, spend, and grow,” Williams said. “I was born and raised in Nigeria, so I have seen the potential firsthand. We are here to listen, learn, and support Nigeria’s digital economy.”

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