PayPal is partnering with M-Pesa, a popular mobile wallet service in countries like Kenya, allowing M-Pesa customers to make global payments to merchants on the network, the companies announced yesterday.

The partnership will allow users to transact with global merchants on the PayPal network, facilitated via PayPal and additional partners Safaricom and TrnasferTo. Users of Safaricom will be asked to set up PayPal accounts, which they can then transfer funds to via M-Pesa.

Efi Dahan, general manager for the Middle East, Russia, and Africa for PayPal, said in a press release:

PayPal’s collaboration with M-PESA is part of the company’s long-term strategy to enable eCommerce and democratize financial services on the African continent.

We are excited to bring the M-PESA mobile wallet and PayPal joint services to the Kenyan market, which makes it more convenient and secure for users to withdraw and add money to their accounts while participating in the global digital economy.

The service is now live for Kenyan PayPal and M-Pesa users.

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