Brought by South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB), PayPal, a division of eBay, offers international banking services to FNB customers in the country.
The deal entitles FNB customers in South Africa to access PayPal’s customer base of more than 81 million active accounts in 190 markets around the world, make and receive payments for products and services online without having to share any financial information.
In addition, customers are allowed to top up or withdraw funds from their FNB accounts via a registered PayPal account, provided the two accounts are linked. PayPal payments can be received in 21 different currencies.
We had a quick chat with Oded Zehavi, PayPal Regional Director for Israel and South Africa, to find out more about PayPal’s future plans on the continent.
ITNewsAfrica.com: This is the first PayPal partnership in Africa. Will FNB extend this to other African countries?
Oded Zehavi: Customers can currently send money using their credit cards wtih PayPal in many African countries, but can only top up or withdraw to their FNB accounts in South Africa. We’ll look at rolling out additional services over time, based on demand from our customers, but we have nothing to announce at this time.
ITNewsAfrica.com: Can South Africans send money and transact via PayPal to other African countries?
Oded Zehavi: Other African countries can only send money using PayPal right now, they cannot receive funds. For a list of all countries that can use PayPal and the functionality available in each country, visit this link.
ITNewsAfrica.com: What security measures have been introduced to ensure that transactions through PayPal are safe?
Oded Zehavi: PayPal has some of the most advanced anti-fraud models in the industry. This technology evaluates every transaction that goes through our system and is often able to stop fraud before it reaches our customers. PayPal also protects customers if their PayPal accounts are accessed fraudulently. For buyers, PayPal provides purchase protection if customers do not receive the items they ordered.
great interview, but the fact is we are still in the dark over the launch in other African countries. However at least things seem to have picked up some momentum concerning Paypal allowing African nations to receive payments on their platform