PayPal has announced the launch of PayPal World in Africa, scheduled for 2026. This was confirmed by Otto Williams, PayPal’s Senior VP for the Middle East and Africa, to end the decade-long standoff where African entrepreneurs were restricted from receiving funds overseas.
The new platform acts as a cross-border bridge that connects existing local mobile money wallets directly to millions of global merchants, rather than forcing users to open traditional Western-style PayPal accounts.
For nearly 20 years, PayPal’s relationship with Africa was defined by distrust over fraud and high chargeback rates. The company also maintained a send-only policy in many African nations, including Nigeria. This created a digital wall for freelancers and small businesses who could pay for global services but could not get paid.
During this absence, Africa built its own financial world. Systems like M-Pesa (Kenya) and MTN MoMo to revolutionize mobile finance, turning Africa into the global leader for mobile money, accounting for 70% of the world’s transaction value. PayPal’s 2026 entry is an admission that it can no longer win a wallet war against these homegrown giants.
Under the PayPal World model, users won’t need a separate PayPal account. They can simply click a PayPal button at an international checkout, which then links directly to their M-Pesa, MTN, or Flutterwave wallet to complete the payment.
Africa follows a 2024-2025 rollout in India (via UPI), China (WeChat Pay), and Brazil (Mercado Pago). By 2026, a Kenyan user could scan a M-Pesa QR code to pay a merchant who only uses PayPal, and vice versa.
To support this rollout, PayPal has committed $100 million for venture investments and innovation in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, including hiring local staff to scale regional compliance and operations.
