I found out (to my pleasant surprise), while browsing through the Paypal website yesterday that the service is now accessible in more African countries. The recent expansion of Paypal is not limited to African countries but my focus is on Africa.
Hitherto, South Africa had been the only African country supported by Paypal. The popular online financial institution has now extended its services to Botswana, Cape Verde, Namibia, Togo and Tunisia, on the African continent. In all the six countries however, users can only send, and not receive funds via Paypal.
This is good news for me, and I can only hope that they soon reach Ghana and Nigeria. I can only wonder, what their criteria for entering a country is. Egypt and Nigeria are amongst the biggest economies in Africa and Nigeria has a very good and dynamic banking system. Whatever qualifies Togo should have qualified Nigeria.
According to CNET:
Founded in 1998, PayPal, enables any individual or business with an email address to securely, easily and quickly send and receive payments online. It serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders.
PayPal has quickly become a global leader in online payment solutions with 100 million account members worldwide. Available in 103 countries and regions around the world, the company claims 14 million accounts globally, and total transactions of US$8.9 billion in the second quarter of 2006.
It’s all good.
Related posts:
- Why Paypal features in Africa are limited
- Paypal Nigeria. A request for Paypal service in Nigeria.
- Making Money Online: Getting Paid via Paypal
- Paypal expands to more African countries
- How do I operate a Paypal account in Nigeria?
- Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana top cybercrime in Africa
- Any prospects for e-commerce in Africa?
- Graphcard to Paypal & e-gold
- CNBC Africa now on DSTV West Africa
- Paypal Malaysia, Philippines, Brazil users offered more withdrawal options
Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Africa: PayPal expansion into Africa from Massachusetts, United States
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I sometimes Wonder what prevents or hold back the Paypal Directors as well as Visa and Mastercard operators from introducing their businesses into the Nigerian Economy. The discrimination and sometimes blatant disregard for anything remotely connected to the name ‘NIGERIA’ is so obvious. We have a very long way to go inredeeming our economy and image.
It’s about time, but I don’t think Paypal are truly interested in Africa. Sooner or later, another company will recognize the potential of Africa in e-commerce and put up a platform that is truly African like mamamikes.com in Kenya
i had a bad dream,when i got up and went to see a friend there i was told jt west is dead.so painful i felt like something has just left me.his death is so painful and i prayer for God to grant him enternal rest in his kingdom.till we meet to part no more.Adieu,great friend,Adieu jt tom west.we will forever remeber u.
Hello
What’s the location of the paypal office in Namibia?
Hi Alex how are you? am also from Namibia have u found out about where there office are located and used paypal?
@ Alex, I doubt if Paypal has a physical presence in Namibia.
Hi David
How are you? do u know if they provide the service in Namibia?
Residents of Namibia can send money via Paypal but like the rest of Africa, are unable to receive.
Paypal is so not serious.they’re only after their personal gains by way of transfer/transaction fees.Why bother if you won’t render full service.I think its just bullshit.
Good thing is they’ve got competition-graphcard.Though new on the scene,graphcard is making a lot of progress.Paypal sure lacks figures cuz they are missing out on an estimated 250m online shoppers(mostly from 3rd world nations) who have no access to any form of online payment and thats the very niche graphcard is targeting.
Paypal can always sod off!
just an update for this.
We all know PayPal started operating in South Africa just a few months ago, during the World cup. Well, it appears now that PayPal has added Kenya to the list of countries whose residents that can receive and send money using PayPal, the second African country on the said list. The site does not support local withdrawals as yet, and customers hoping to use it must add a US bank account to make withdrawals. Apparently the company is negotiating with a local bank to support local withdrawals in the near future, but I bet many Kenyan eCommerce entrepreneurs would rather have money lying in their PP accounts than in a potential client’s pocket (to be withdrawn at a future date). We all hope this signals a change in attitude by PayPal towards Africa, and that more countries will be added to that list in the future.
You are right! Thanks a lot for the heads-up.