Global payments giant PayPal is facing criticism in Nigeria following reports that the platform has begun disabling accounts with significant funds. The disruptions occurred less than three weeks after the company announced it would return to the Nigerian market through a partnership with Paga.
For over two decades, Nigeria was restricted to “send-only” status on PayPal due to the alleged concerns of the platform regarding credit card fraud and insufficient regulatory oversight. This exclusion made Nigerian freelancers and digital entrepreneurs to rely on other alternative payment gateways.
In late January 2026, PayPal officially expanded its services in Nigeria via Paga’s infrastructure. The partnership was designed to allow Nigerians to receive international payments and withdraw them in Naira, by leveraging on Paga’s Know Your Customer (KYC) frameworks to satisfy PayPal’s security requirements.
However, the recent account closures have reignited the long-standing feud between PayPal and NIgerians.
Recall Daily Tech Nigeria reported that the partnership with Paga, launched in early 2026, marked the first time in 22 years that Nigerian users were officially permitted to receive inbound international funds.
Within days of the service going live, multiple users reported that their accounts were permanently limited or deactivated immediately after receiving deposits ranging from $1 to nearly $300.
Despite the partnership with Paga which was intended to mitigate risk, the internal security algorithms of PayPal appear to still flag Nigerian inbound transactions as high-risk, leading to account freezes.
Affected users have taken to social media to demand transparency. One user, identified as @Utdpunter, stated:
“Now my payment of $290 was sent to my PayPal and you guys close my account. Are you people scammer or something? Give me back my money”
Many well meaning Nigerians argued that the account blocks are aggressive “first-time” security triggers that should be resolved through better communication between PayPal and Paga. While others argue that the return of PayPal is opportunistic and inherently discriminatory. They stated that Nigerian users are still treated with a level of suspicion not applied to other markets.
They also stressed that the homegrown fintech ecosystem of the country, including Flutterwave and Paystack, already provides superior service without the risk of arbitrary fund seizures, which makes PayPal’s return unnecessary.
