iDeemlawfulAfter years of absence from the Nigerian market, PayPal has officially made a return. The global payments company had earlier withdrawn, restricting Nigerian users from receiving international payments.
Now, through a partnership with Nigerian fintech firm Paga, PayPal aims to restore global payment access for Nigerians, marking a significant milestone for the country’s digital payments landscape.
The development was announced by Paga’s Chief Executive Officer, Tayo Oviosu, in a social media post where he reflected on a journey that began over a decade ago. Oviosu explained that the partnership dates back to August 2013, when he first contacted PayPal at a time Nigeria’s fintech sector was still evolving.
In that early engagement, Oviosu shared a vision of Nigeria becoming one of the world’s leading economies and proposed a collaboration in which Paga would provide on-ramps and off-ramps between Nigeria and PayPal. The goal was to allow Nigerians to use PayPal globally while enabling local merchants to accept PayPal payments. That long-term vision has now been realised.
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“This moment isn’t about a single announcement. It’s about patience. It’s about building robust, trusted local infrastructure. It’s about believing that global platforms scale better when they work with local systems, not around them. Partnerships like this don’t happen overnight. They are the result of years of conversations, trust-building, regulatory work, and showing up consistently”, Oviosu added.
With the new arrangement, PayPal users in Nigeria can now access a feature that had long been unavailable: receiving international payments. However, only Nigerian PayPal accounts linked to Paga will have this capability enabled.
Users can connect their Nigerian PayPal accounts directly through the Paga app. Once linked, the PayPal account operates normally but now allows users to receive payments from over 200 countries. Funds received can be withdrawn at any time within the Paga app, offering seamless access to cross-border payments for individuals and businesses.
The partnership creates opportunities across several sectors. Freelancers can receive payments from international clients, families can send money to relatives in Nigeria via PayPal, and Nigerian merchants can accept PayPal for goods and services.
In addition, Nigerians can now make payments to more than 30 million merchants globally where PayPal is accepted, further integrating the country into the global digital economy.
Several Nigerian users have welcomed the announcement, describing it as positive news for creatives and freelancers.
Some reactions on X include:
@omoalhajaabiola wrote,
“Man, this is an alpha for naija freelancers. Next level mooning. Congratulations oviosu”.
@jobaoloba wrote,
“This is LOUD!! Welldone oviosu. There are people building brick by brick for Nigeria to truly compete.”
@josealalade wrote,
“This is good news for Nigerian creatives.”
Notably, the collaboration reinforces Paga’s long-term approach of strengthening local financial infrastructure while linking Nigerians to global commerce platforms.
It also reflects increasing confidence by international payment providers in Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem and regulatory framework.
Outlook
The Paga–PayPal partnership is expected to speed up Nigeria’s integration into the global digital economy, especially for freelancers, small businesses, and creative professionals who depend on cross-border payments.
As Nigeria’s role in the global digital economy continues to grow, the partnership could also encourage other international fintech firms to re-enter the market, signalling rising investor confidence and a more mature operating environment.