Global payments giant PayPal has begun allowing Nigerians to receive payments on its platform following a new partnership with Nigerian fintech company Paga, marking a major policy shift after years of limited access in the country.
The collaboration was announced by Paga’s founder and CEO, Tayo Oviosu, in a LinkedIn post describing the agreement as the culmination of more than a decade of engagement and persistence.
More Than a Decade in the Making
The partnership arrived nearly 13 years after Oviosu first proposed a collaboration to PayPal, at a time when Nigeria’s fintech sector was still emerging. For much of that period, PayPal users in Nigeria were restricted from receiving funds, limiting their participation in global digital commerce.
With the new integration, users can now connect their PayPal accounts to Paga wallets, allowing them to accept payments directly via PayPal, an option previously unavailable to Nigerian individuals, freelancers, and small businesses.
Oviosu Reflects on the Journey
Announcing the development, Oviosu revisited his initial outreach to PayPal in 2013, when Nigeria’s digital payments infrastructure was still at an early stage.
He said his pitch was grounded in confidence in Nigeria’s future economic relevance and the belief that global payment platforms would eventually need to play a deeper role in enabling that growth.
“In August 2013, I reached out to PayPal. Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem was still nascent. Paga was only a few years old, and Africa was not yet central to global strategy discussions,” Oviosu said.
He explained that his message outlined a shared vision: positioning PayPal and Paga to jointly support payments, financial services, and international commerce for Nigerians.
Oviosu added that he included a proposal detailing how Paga could serve as the local infrastructure layer, enabling PayPal on-ramps and off-ramps within Nigeria.
“It took over a decade for that vision to become reality. Today, PayPal is officially live in Nigeria through Paga,” he said.
According to him, the milestone reflects long-term trust-building, regulatory alignment, and sustained investment, rather than a single turning point.
A History of Limited Access
PayPal’s operations in Nigeria have historically been constrained. As far back as 2004, Nigerian accounts were placed on a send-only status, allowing outbound payments but blocking users from receiving funds or transferring balances to local banks.
The company cited fraud concerns, regulatory complexity, and compliance risks as justification for the limitations. Although some progress was made in the mid-2010s, allowing outbound payments through select Nigerian banks, inbound payments remained prohibited.
This forced freelancers, online merchants, and digital professionals to depend on alternative platforms and informal solutions to receive international income.
For nearly 20 years, these restrictions significantly limited Nigeria’s access to one of the world’s most widely used digital payment systems.
Why the PayPal–Paga Deal Matters
The PayPal-Paga integration represents a major breakthrough for Nigeria’s digital economy, with implications for freelancing, cross-border trade, digital services exports, and small business growth.
For many Nigerians, it also marks the end of a long-standing barrier that had excluded them from full participation in global online commerce.
