Flutterwave, a payments services firm based in Nigeria, has announced a huge collaboration with Paypal to ease payments and online transactions. The collaboration means that PayPal customers from around the world will be able to pay companies and service providers on the continent through Flutterwave’s app, linking them to more than 377 million PayPal users worldwide.
“We are delighted to offer PayPal’s fully integrated offerings to companies around Africa. The partnership solidifies our goal of establishing a streamlined digital payment mechanism for Africa’s business communities; allowing them to trade with foreign customers,” Flutterwave Founder and CEO Olugbenga Agboola said on the company’s website.
The service, which is now live, will be available in 50 African countries and around the world. Customers will need to sign up for Flutterwave; in order to use PayPal to send, receive, and withdraw money.
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Because of this partnership, African retailers and SMEs will now accept payments from Paypal consumers all over the world. This will result in increased revenue for African developers and merchants.
The overall volume of e-commerce in Africa was $16.5 billion in 2017. According to Statista, this is forecast to hit $29 billion by 2022.
Flutterwave has handled over 140 million transactions worth over $9 billion since its inception. It reached unicorn status after closing a $170 million investment round; and achieving a valuation of over $1 billion, the highest sum ever secured by an African tech startup.
PayPal had 377 million active registered accounts in the fourth quarter of 2020; as digital payments became more accepted during the lockdowns.
