For many years, Nigerian freelancers and business owners have wished PayPal is available in Nigeria. For clarification, PayPal has never exited Nigeria; they only limited Nigerian users to sending payments without the option to receive payments.
The partnership with Paga, however, seems like an answered prayer for freelancers who have lost gigs due to the inability to receive payment via PayPal. The announcement of the PayPal-Paga partnership was greeted with diverging opinions by netizens.
Why Are People Angry With PayPal-Paga Partnership?
For anyone who may have tried to circumvent PayPal’s rules to create an account disguised as being in another eligible country, the anger is understandable because once flagged, the account is permanently banned by PayPal, and users have to wait at least 180 days to be able to withdraw their funds (if they can).
This is without saying that PayPal has a reputation for banning users’ accounts for the minutest reasons.
Why Did PayPal Ban Nigerians?
PayPal restricted receiving and withdrawal features for Nigerian users in 2004 due to high fraud risks involving stolen North American and European credit cards used via local IP addresses, alongside weak identity verification systems at the time. PayPal claimed the lack of a robust identification system in Nigeria and the weak banking regulations at the time made it easier for fraudsters to get away with their schemes.
However, some Nigerians believed PayPal never banned operations in some countries with similar high fraud cases like Nigeria and thus opined the ban is more about discrimination.
How Does the PayPal and Paga Partnership Work?
Backstory of PayPal and Paga Partnership
After over two decades, the partnership between Paga and PayPal brought the fintech giant back to Nigeria “through the back door”. The partnership, which, according to Tayo Oviosu, Paga CEO, was first proposed to PayPal in 2013, which they were not willing to consider at the time.
“Partnerships like this don’t happen overnight. They are the result of years of conversations, trust-building, regulatory work, and showing up consistently. I’m proud of the Paga team for staying the course. I’m grateful to the PayPal team for believing in the long-term vision. And I’m excited about what this unlocks for Nigerians participating in the global digital economy,” Oviosu wrote in a LinkedIn post.
How Does the Partnership Work
Recall that one of the reasons stated by PayPal for removing the receiving feature for Nigerians was the lack of a robust identity verification system in the country. The partnership with PayPal is simply a case whereby Paga serves as the identity verification system guarantee for PayPal, which means anyone using the service via Paga is certified to be identifiable and traceable in case of any fraud.
This is why it is essential that when signing up for PayPal via Paga, you must ensure your phone number linked to Paga is the same as the one linked to your PayPal account. Likewise, ensure your details, including your full name and date of birth, are correct and match. This will prevent your account from getting banned by PayPal. Also, ensure all payments are legit and do not violate either platform’s service terms.
PayPal Is Back in Nigeria, but at What Cost for Users?
The return of PayPal in Nigeria through the backdoor is a good development, but not an excellent one considering the high cost and limited features available to Nigerian users.
Cost of Using PayPal to Receive Funds in Nigeria
For PayPal accounts linked to Paga, to receive funds, PayPal charges up to 6.4% on every amount received. Personally, I received a series of payments from a client in China. For amount lesser than $100, PayPal charged as high as 6.4% commission, and for amounts above, such as $200, PayPal charged around 5% commission.
- For a payment of $20, PayPal charged 6.4% commission.
- For a payment of $110, PayPal charged 5.69% commission
- For a payment of $200, PayPal charged 5.05% commission.
Hold on, that is not all the commission I paid before converting the payment to Naira. To withdraw your funds via Paga, PayPal charges another 3% commission on the amount to be withdrawn, while Paga charges a flat fee of $3 even if you are withdrawing $5. What a lucrative business venture!
That is not all; Paga’s exchange rate is lower than that of Cleva, Send by Flutterwave, and Remitly. For context, at the time of writing:
Exchange Rate (Dollar to Naira) as of September 5, 2026, 9:03 PM
Paga | Send | Cleva | Remitly |
|---|---|---|---|
₦1,355.74 | ₦1,368.98 | ₦1,360.00 | ₦1,371.03 |
Simulated Withdrawal of $110 from PayPal via Paga
Assuming you are to receive a payment of $110 through Paga and later withdrawn via Paga, here is the full breakdown of charges and how much you will be getting in Naira:
Note that the exchange rate is based on ₦1,355.74 as of 05/09/2026.
PayPal 1st Commission of 5.69% = $5.69
PayPal Balance: $104.31
PayPal 2nd Commisson of 3% = $3.13
Balance = $101.18
Paga Commission: $3
Balance: $98.18
Exchanged to Naira: ₦133,106.56
Summary: Total commission paid on a withdrawal of $110 is $11.82 (exchanged: ₦16,024.85), around 10.75% of the total amount received.
Limited Features for Nigerian Users
While PayPal is back in Nigeria, users are not yet officially allowed to create business accounts. Likewise, you cannot create and send PayPal invoices. To avoid issues with your account, you are best to receive payment from established freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr rather than individual payments.
You cannot send to another Nigerian PayPal user.
The Upside
The Paga partnership with PayPal opened a closed door for freelancers and other PayPal users in Nigeria interested in receiving payments from abroad. The withdrawal via Paga is super-fast; in a few seconds, you can have your PayPal funds converted to Naira and sent to any bank of your choice from your Paga Naira account.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, with limited features.
Yes. Thanks to the partnership with Paga, Nigerians can now not only send payments via PayPal but also receive.
No. You can only send or receive PayPal funds from users abroad.
Yes, you might be able to, but this is not a feature officially available yet in Nigeria.
For Upwork freelancers, use Cleva (free withdrawal fee). SendApp has one of the best exchange rates. Use Payoneer if you intend to shop with your withdrawal (the platform offers a free virtual Mastercard).
