PayPal to MPesa has been many people’s go-to payment provider for all their online financial transactions. The trust has been repaid for many years, with PayPal consistently creating products that make online transactions easier for its users with each day that goes by. A company could only have risen to the summit of its industry by doing right by people, which explains why PayPal has survived so many years of heavy competition from equally-capable competitors.
Today, the company is valued at nearly $100 billion ($92.92
billion, according
to Macrotrends), and it’s still one of the most valuable brands in the
world. This is largely thanks to its longstanding commitment to the ethical
treatment of its customers. While its competitors have siphoned off a
significant portion of its market share, PayPal has continued to excel at
serving its customers with great service. As a result of this philosophy, the
company offers its customers a flexible, innovative range of products with
industry-leading security and convenience while providing its employees with a
dynamic and fulfilling work environment.
The secret to PayPal's success lies in its ability to adapt
to the changing needs of its customers. For example, when online shoppers
realized they could protect their privacy while buying online by using a PayPal
account instead of a credit card, PayPal became the single most popular way to
pay online. In recent years, PayPal has used its unparalleled digital expertise
to provide millions of customers with the best online banking experience.
While PayPal services have been thoroughly enjoyed
worldwide, Africa has been an area they’ve not been all that effective. As
Africa’s biggest economy, it’s no surprise that it’s also the continent with an
amazing number of internet users. However, despite this PayPal's availability
in over 50 African countries, with millions of users across the continent,
PayPal's services have not been thoroughly enjoyable. This is mainly due to the
high cost of using the service in most countries, with outlandish service fees
PayPal to MPesa slams on transactions.
It’s no longer news that PayPal has limited its services in
some African countries to just being able to send payments out or pay for goods
and services online. The feature to receive money and process the withdrawals
straight to local bank accounts is only available in a few African countries,
some of which have not found this feature particularly helpful due to some
additional restrictions.
All these limitations don’t mean PayPal has not made a global impact and has made lives easier for several people across the globe. PayPal’s initial partnership with Kenyan Equity Bank proved how much the company thought African countries could contribute to its growth, especially in Kenya, where the growth of e-commerce and the freelance market has been immense in the past few years.
This partnership liberated Kenyan PayPal
to MPesa users to a point but didn’t solve all the problems because
not everyone had access to Equity Bank due to its limited online presence. A
few years later, another partnership was struck with M-Pesa through Thunes, and
Kenyans have loved it more because M-Pesa is closer to the mass than Equity
Bank, and the partnership has allowed M-Pesa users to link their accounts to
their PayPal accounts for seamless withdrawal and transfer of funds between the
two digital wallets.
This has also increased the number of M-Pesa users, which
has increased the economy's size. The partnership has also helped M-Pesa expand
its reach in other markets outside the country's major urban centers. This has
also allowed M-Pesa to compete with other digital transfer companies in the
country with a very small market share.
The partnership has also helped M-Pesa become a dominant
player in the country’s mobile money segment. The company has over 30 million registered
customers in Kenya and about $4 billion in transactions each year, making
it the largest mobile money platform in the country. It is also the country's
most widely used mobile money transfer service. It only speaks volumes that out
of M-Pesa
global users 50 million, 30 million are registered in Kenya, which means
the mobile money/digital wallet market is growing at an unbelievable rate.
If you’re a PayPal user with an M-Pesa account in Kenya and
you’ve been struggling with withdrawals over time, this article discusses how
to link and process withdrawals from PayPal
to M-Pesa in Kenya in a few minutes.
What’s The PayPal to MPesa Partnership
All About?
When Safaricom introduced M-Pesa to the general public, only
a few could have predicted it wouldn’t go as far as it has now. It has gone on
to become a major player in the history of mainstream mobile payment services.
It is now used by more than 30 million people in Kenya, making it one of the
largest mobile money services in the world. This has not only helped improve
the lives of Kenyans but has also helped spur economic growth in the country. The
introduction of M-Pesa has also impacted other industries, such as the banking
sector.
It has been the bellwether for other mobile payment services
to follow. One of the biggest impacts of M-Pesa is that it has made it easier
for people to transfer money between themselves. This has led to a massive
increase in the amount of money transferred in the country. The second biggest
impact of M-Pesa is that it has enabled people to access financial services
that were previously only available to those who could access a bank branch.
Sometime in 2018, M-Pesa, through Safaricom, announced a
partnership with PayPal that would enable users of both services to connect
both digital wallets and make transactions between them seamlessly. This is a
major step forward for the country’s largest financial inclusion program. It
will enable Safaricom's mobile money to take up a greater market share and
bring more people into the formal economy. It’s also a big win for PayPal,
which has struggled to gain a foothold in Africa.
This partnership was a game changer for financial inclusion
in Kenya. It allowed users to access the benefits of a modern financial system
without having to leave the Safaricom ecosystem. The partnership also marked
the first time Safaricom had worked with a competitor in the digital banking
space, which was seen as a significant development for the sector and a sign of
the company’s willingness to embrace new technologies. The partnership has also
enabled Safaricom to offer its services to a wider audience than ever before,
with users in rural areas now able to access banking services through the
partnership. This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of
customers using Safricom’s banking services.
What Are The Things You Need To Know About The PayPal
Mobile Money Service With M-Pesa?
The PayPal Mobile Money Service with M-Pesa has its own
rules, and users must adhere to these rules if they want to maintain a good
account. Let’s explore some of these rules below;
KSH to USD and vice versa
This partnership between PayPal M-Pesa only allows
withdrawal of USD to KSH and deposit of KSH to USD. People think this can be
improved as they want to transact in other international currencies.
Daily limits
Just like with every other online payment service, there’s a
daily limit when using the PayPal Mobile Money Service with M-Pesa. You can
only deposit or withdraw up to 150,000 KES on a single transaction, and there’s
a cap of 300,000 KES daily. If you’re going to be using this service, you need
to understand the limit, and if you’re a big business that will handle bigger
transactions above the given limit, you may have to look elsewhere.
There are service charges
Because this is a collaboration between a Kenyan mobile
money payment solution provider and an American big name doesn’t mean there
won’t be charged for the services you use and enjoy. You can be charged up to
3% for conversion fees whenever you process withdrawals. You can also be
charged up to 4% when you deposit from KES to USD.
How To Link Your PayPal and M-Pesa Accounts
Before you start enjoying the PayPal Mobile Money Service
with M-Pesa, you must first link both accounts. Follow the simple instructions
below to get started;
- Visit
the PayPal Mobile Money
Service with M-Pesa page.
- Log in
to your usual PayPal account, i.e., your PayPal username/email and
password.
- You
will be asked to fill in your M-Pesa registered mobile number, after which
you’ll click on “Link Your Accounts.”
- A
confirmation code will be sent to your registered mobile number, which
you’ll be required to fill up.
NOTE: it is worth noting that most users have reported
various errors when trying to link both accounts. To avoid these errors, you
should ensure the nam]=-0-'s on both accounts match - if they don’t, you’ll
keep getting an error message. If you think nothing is wrong with both accounts
and the error messages persist, you should contact support as soon as possible
to get this sorted out.
PayPal To M-Pesa Withdrawal
PayPal to M-Pesa withdrawal is one of the easiest ways to
get your money out of PayPal if you’re an M-Pesa account user. According to
PayPal to MPesa service, you must have Kenyan M-Pesa, and PayPal accounts to
use this service. Follow the steps below to withdraw your funds from PayPal to
your M-Pesa account;
- Log on
to your account from the PayPal Mobile Money
Service with M-Pesa login page.
- Click
“withdraw” as soon as you’re logged in.
- Your
balance will be displayed, and you can choose the amount you want to
withdraw from your balance. You might want to keep an eye on the current
exchange rates to know if it’s the right time to process the withdrawal.
- Before
you authorize the withdrawal, you’ll be given an estimated arrival time of
your money in your M-Pesa account. PayPal to MPesa claims this takes
between 2 hours to 3 working days before your money reflects, depending on
several factors, including the value you’re trying to exchange.
- Authorize
the withdrawal if you’re okay with everything.
Challenges of PayPal to M-Pesa Withdrawal
PayPal to M-Pesa withdrawal has helped many businesses in
Kenya solve the problem of withdrawal of funds as people only relied on Equity
Bank in the past before the PayPal M-Pesa partnership was struck. However, a
few drawbacks make people have second thoughts before they commit to using
PayPal to MPesa generally in Kenya. From account restrictions to held payments
- there’s a host of challenges the users of this PayPal M-Pesa face, and we’re
going to discuss some of them below.
Held payments
If you're a new PayPal user, the first payment you receive
might be held for some days to make sure the sender doesn't raise any dispute
regarding the payment. This is because PayPal uses a risk-based algorithm to
determine whether to hold the payment. The higher the risk, the longer the
amount will be held. The amount is held in the receiver's account until the
sender confirms the transaction from their end. This is not generally welcomed
in some parts of the world because it can take a long time for a payment to
eventually reflect, especially when the sender doesn't know where to confirm
the transaction.
If you manage to find a
better alternative to PayPal, you may never have to go through anything
like held payments again except if something out of control happens, which
shouldn’t if your online business is legitimate.
Non-local support
Another challenge
African PayPal users have faced over the past few years is inadequate
support for local users. There is no dedicated support team to cater to the
specific regional needs of PayPal users in Africa, and that’s sad. On the other
hand, this doesn’t come as a surprise to many people as PayPal was not
originally tailored to meet users' needs in this part of the world.
So, instead of sticking blindly with a system that doesn’t
fully support your craft/business, you should find a better payment provider
that offers services tailored specially for African businesses.
Other challenges include;
- Hefty
service fees.
- Limitations
to unstable terms of use could land you account suspensions and limits.
- Card
rejection issue.
- Inability to complete transactions.