PayPal Lines Up Its Africa Wallet Launch… and the Global Ambition Here Is Hard to Miss
Hey Payments Fanatics!
PayPal is getting ready to bring PayPal World to Africa in 2026, and the conversations on the ground are already happening with local FinTech players.
The idea is simple but strong. Users keep their local wallet. PayPal handles the cross-border layer. You pay with a PayPal button that connects straight into your wallet instead of creating a full PayPal account. One click. Global access.
WeChat Pay, UPI, and Mercado Pago are already in... and together they represent about 2 billion wallet users. Africa is next, and the growth upside is massive.
Otto Williams, PayPal's SVP and Regional Head for the Middle East and Africa, says the focus is solving real frictions. Wallets that can’t shop overseas. QR codes that don’t interoperate. Merchants stuck integrating with too many systems.
And with the company committing $100 million to MEA innovation, plus hiring across the region, it is clear they are treating this as a long-term expansion lane.
Curious to stay on top of today’s Payments stories? Scroll down and catch the highlights. I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow!
Cheers,
Marcel
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