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Safaricom’s M-PESA service has partnered with PayPal to allow Kenyans to move money easily between their mobile money wallets and PayPal accounts. The new partnership is expected to benefit over 35 million M-PESA users and more than two million businesses and small traders across Kenya.
This development means users can now link their M-PESA wallets directly with PayPal accounts. Once linked, they can move money in both directions — from M-PESA to PayPal and from PayPal to M-PESA — without the long delays or manual steps that were required before.
According to Safaricom, this is part of efforts to make international digital payments easier, safer, and more inclusive for ordinary Kenyans. Speaking on the partnership, Safaricom’s Chief Financial Services Officer, Esther Waititu, said the move will help users fully participate in the global digital economy.
“As globalisation and digitization continue to change how people and businesses interact, our partnership with PayPal is a bold step forward,” she said. “It empowers over 35 million customers and two million businesses and micro-entrepreneurs across Kenya to conveniently send and receive payments in over 200 global markets.”
She added that Safaricom is committed to using M-PESA to unlock more opportunities and transform lives.
PayPal’s Regional Head and General Manager for the Middle East and Africa, Otto Williams, said the company was happy to work with M-PESA to build financial bridges between local and international systems.
“Building seamless links between the global economy and local financial ecosystems is key to expanding digital financial inclusion,” he said. “We are excited to help millions of M-PESA users across Africa connect more easily with PayPal’s large international customer base.”
The new service is currently only available to Safaricom M-PESA customers in Kenya. However, both companies plan to expand the offering to other M-PESA markets in Africa at a later stage.
M-PESA, which started 18 years ago, has grown into Africa’s leading mobile money platform. It now connects more than 50 million users across the continent and handles over $1.1 billion in daily transactions. The service is widely seen as a major driver of financial inclusion in Africa.
In 2016, Safaricom introduced M-PESA Kadogo, which waived charges for small transactions below KSh 100. This made mobile money more accessible to low-income users. In another innovation, the Ziidi Money Market Fund (MMF) allows customers to invest as little as KSh 100, helping promote saving and investment.
The new partnership with PayPal is also expected to benefit the fast-growing gig economy in Africa. Many young people across the continent now work online for clients in Europe, America, and Asia. These workers often need reliable ways to receive payments for freelance work or services, and the new integration offers a more direct and cheaper solution.
Industry experts say this kind of collaboration is part of a larger trend where fintech companies are working together to offer smoother and more useful services. Rather than compete, firms like Safaricom and PayPal are finding ways to combine their strengths to meet the needs of customers.
With more African governments pushing for digital inclusion and cross-border trade, the partnership could serve as a model for future cooperation between global and local financial services.
PayPal, which has more than 400 million active users across 200 countries, remains one of the biggest digital payment platforms in the world. M-PESA, on the other hand, is a homegrown African success story that continues to attract global attention.
This partnership shows how African fintech services are becoming more connected to the global financial system — offering customers better control, faster access, and lower costs in handling money.
