Paypal Finally In Nigeria

Join me to welcome PayPal, the payment arm of eBay Inc, which is currently the king of online transactions and payments.

PayPal has become and maintained the lead as the defacto online currency. Not even the giant Google Inc, could take them out of the market through their own version of an online payment platform called Google wallet.

I have written in the past about this subject matter and I am happy it has finally become a reality in my lifetime. Reuters reported that PayPal would be opened to Nigerians starting from Tuesday, June 17, 2014.

This is good news for Nigerian Internet entrepreneurs as it is believed that this move will change the face of online transactions forever.

A lot of Nigerian internet entrepreneurs had hitherto been denied a lot of online businesses that they could have taken advantage of to boost their economic status as a result of the erstwhile denial of opening aPayPal Account.

Rupert Keeley, the executive in charge of the EMEA region at PayPal said in an interview on Monday that with the service extended to Nigeria, this expansion would bring the number of countries it serves to 203.

By this move, consumers in Nigeria, which has about 60 million online users and also has Africa’s largest population, along with nine other markets in sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America, will be able to make payments through PayPal.

“PayPal has been going through a period of reinvention, refreshing many of its services to make them easier to use on mobile (phones), allowing us to expand into fast-developing markets,” Keeley said.

Once the services go live, customers in the 10 countries with access to the Web and a bank card authorised for Internet transactions will be able to register for a PayPal account and make payments to millions of sites worldwide.

Here is a little factabout PayPal that is available on its website: PayPal has operated in 190 markets since 2007 and added three countries – Egypt, Georgia and Serbia – last year. Roughly a quarter of the $52bn in payment volumes PayPal reported in the first quarter of 2014 was for cross-border transactions. PayPal reported $1.8bn in revenue during the period.

For now, all you can do is “send money” which is akin to saying that you can make payment with your PayPal account but you cannot send to another PayPal user.

As far as I am concerned, this is a welcome development but users need to understand the need for heightened security when using PayPal accounts because of the increasing case of fraud and identity theft.

What does this mean for local payment processors? I think this means a call to innovate and embrace the possibilities of change. Signing up for PayPal is free for now. Nigerian internet entrepreneurs that decideto take advantage of PayPal payment system can now send money, buy online as an individual or set up a merchant account.

You can use PayPal to pay for transactions on eBay. This means you can easily shop around the world on eBay and pay with PayPal. The beauty is that your account details will not be shared with the seller and you get the goods delivered at your doorstep.

Likewise, you can pay on websites using PayPal. This means you can shop all over the world on your computer and can easily checkout by simply login to PayPal and your goods will be delivered.

Again, the seller does not have access to your account details. All you need to remember is your email address and a password. It is also possible for you to pay using your mobile smartphones, Androids and tablets.

This is because PayPal is integrated to a number of iOS and Android apps. All you need to do is to shop online or in apps using your mobile and then you choosePayPal as the method of your payment and this affords you to pay faster without reaching your wallet.

Again, the seller does not have your account details. Let me use this opportunity to appreciate the likes of Interswitch that have done everything humanly possible to deepen the use of electronic payment in Nigeria.

Although I am not exactly a fan of their billing system but I understand they were more or less the monopoly for many years. With the entrance of PayPal into Nigeria, a lot will have to change for everyone providing online payment services in Nigeria.

My take will be that as soon as PayPal sees the numbers coming from Nigeria, they will most likely establish a physical presence here because this is simply the largest Internet market in Africa.

It is certain that the economic status of many online entrepreneurs in Nigeria will improve with the availability of the PayPal payment system in Nigeria as a lot of foreigners wary of doing businesswith them will start having the trust and confidence to do business with them.

More importantly, a lot of Nigerian individuals that have hitherto demonstrated a lethargic approach to online transaction across borders will now be drawn in to actively participate and this means an imminent boost in the economy of Nigeria which is the ultimate objective.

The world has finally shrunk from being a global village to being a dot! PayPal now available in Nigeria is one more manifestation to back this assertion. Nigerians; the ball is now in your court. Take full advantage and play it!

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