By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The recent return of payment gateway, PayPal, into the country following a partnership with local fintech firm, Paga, has sparked mixed reactions among Nigerians across several social media platforms.
While some are calling for a boycott of PayPal after it left the country 21 years ago, others advise a cautious approach, saying the move denotes optimism and opportunity.
The news of the partnership, which marks PayPal’s return to the country, was disclosed by Paga’s founder, Tayo Oviosu, noting that users can now receive payments on the platform.
With this new partnership, users can link their PayPal accounts to Paga wallets, view PayPal balances within the Paga app, and convert and withdraw funds in Naira.
The development marks a major shift in PayPal’s long-restricted operations in Nigeria, where users were previously unable to receive funds despite being able to make outbound payments.
What led to PayPal’s limited functionality in Nigeria dates back to concerns over fraud and insufficient financial regulations.
Consequently, PayPal blacklisted several African countries, including Nigeria, in 2004 due to high rates of credit card fraud, particularly involving credit card laundering.
The platform said fraud rings were using stolen financial details to create PayPal accounts, posing a significant threat to the integrity of the platform’s global operations.
According to PayPal, the absence of stringent national identification systems and banking regulations in some African nations allowed criminal networks to exploit PayPal’s system.
Reacting to PayPal’s return, some Nigerians on social media, especially X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, threatened to boycott the platform.
They accused PayPal of aiming to tap into the population and volume of international transactions the country has recorded in recent years, following the successes recorded by local payment gateways.
Those who called for a boycott on X include @Mrbankstips, who said, “PayPal locked Nigerians out of the global digital economy for 21 years. No receiving payments. No withdrawals. Just ‘send-only’ status while our freelancers and businesses struggled. Now that we’ve built a billion dollar fintech ecosystem without them, they want back in. The audacity.”
@Lord_Of_Warri tweeted, “DON’T USE IT! They seized our people’s money for years and stigmatized us as fraudsters… Hell No, we have better local platforms that do it faster and cheaper. Boycott them and support Naija fintech! #BoycottPayPal.”
Another X user, @sankofa360, added, “If Nigerians have any self-respect, they will kick out PayPal. PayPal has been operating in countries like India, Indonesia, Brazil, others, but came up with an excuse for Nigeria at a time when young Nigerians needed their service.
“Whatever they accuse Nigerians of, these countries are 10X more guilty. Any Nigerian with an iota of self-respect will boycott PayPal.”
@neduconrad noted, “If you’re trying to use this, boycott. PayPal saw the rage about them for weeks and knew it’s in their best interest to integrate rather than fully deploy in Nigeria – it’s still PayPal. We’ve moved on to better merchants that won’t seize our money based on whatever they feel like. Enjoy.”
The call for a boycott was not different on Facebook. A user, Uncle Oles, said, “As Nigerians, the best thing we can do to PayPal is to boycott their platform. They rejected us for years, and now that they have seen that there are alternatives handling huge revenue from abroad, they have decided to return and benefit from the massive inflow of remittances coming into Nigeria.
“They made the world believe that every Nigerian is a scammer and cannot be trusted with their platform. Today, however, they are back to compete with platforms that trusted us and gave us opportunities, while PayPal was busy demarketing us to the rest of the world…”
Hymar Idibie added, “Imagine this. For 21 years, they denied you access to something that a lot of freelancers and online workers would have benefited from. They called you scammers, and seized your money.
“21 years later, they return. Just like that. No apologies, no explanation. Just a disrespectful ‘oya bring your money’ and you, spineless monkey and slave, are rushing to announce and accept their return…”
Others also expressed concern over potential fund restrictions on the platform, citing previous cases of such.
@startupsavage tweeted, “Congratulations, you’ve successfully brought the world’s most efficient account-freezing machine to Nigeria. I can’t wait for the ‘Gig workers’ you mentioned to have their funds held for 180 days for ‘security reasons’ without any customer support.”
Also, @Steadi_lady added, “If you’re planning to use PayPal in Nigeria, be careful. They’re quick to withhold money, and you don’t have a government that will fight your battles for you.”
However, some users held brief for PayPal, noting that they had to protect their business and safeguard their platform.
Others said the partnership offered a business opportunity to Paga, which it could not turn down.
@Finaltoucch said, “PayPal didn’t suddenly trust Nigerians. They just didn’t want to be left behind. More Nigerians are now earning clean foreign income from freelancing and remote work. And many of these freelancers are already getting paid through the likes of Raenest, Payoneer, Deel, and even crypto.
“Money was moving. PayPal was not involved. So they reopened Nigeria. Same reason banks like UBA, Wema and GTBank also restored international Naira cards. It’s just business, and I understand.”
@connectwithtola added, “PayPal’s return to Nigeria is less about inclusion and more about pushing its PYUSD, PayPal’s #stablecoin, in a market known for making financial tools go viral through sheer usage and innovation? “Reports that PayPal has reopened its full services to Nigerians shouldn’t be applauded; such move deserves honest scrutiny.”
@OpeyemiDrift said: “Paga will make a lot of money. The rest of you can continue to be angry about the PayPal partnership. That’s what separates the rich from the poor. The rich lead with sense while the poor let emotions blind them.”
