Is Paypal really helping Nigeria's economy?

I don't think they are given their current service in Nigeria that only allows for making payments to foreign merchants. If they improve in the future by also allowing Nigerian merchants to accept payments, then it would be a fair trade.

In an ideal economy, I believe there should be opportunities not just to import but also to export, not just to buy but also to sell ad not just to make payments but also to receive payments.

When a country spends more money purchasing foreign assets with its local currency, it only ends up with a negative balance of trade which makes the economy of that country weaker. I hope there are plans by Paypal to also allowing Nigerians to receive payments into their local bank accounts.

Nigerians now use Paypal to make payments for both goods and services. This would include both virtual and physical goods as well as online services that all accept Paypal as a form of Payment. If Nigerians were the only ones making payment with Paypal and not actually receiving any payment from it, then it would be killing the economy since it would contribute to an imbalance of trade.

As at the last time I checked, Paypal has launched services in Nigeria but it seems to hold more benefits to Paypal and foreign countries than it does for the Nigerian economy. Why do I say so? Well, because Paypal has only allowed Nigerians to just make payments online with their platform and through their internationally accepted credit cards but they have not provided any support for receiving payments. What this means is that more money will be leaving Nigeria each time a Paypal user in Nigeria makes payment using this one sided system.

Although they might be Nigerians who mostly want to make payments online using Paypal, I also believe that there are also Nigerians who are smart enough to also earn income using Paypal and so should be given the opportunity.

As it is now, a Paypal merchant in Nigeria who wants to start receiving payments would not be able to do so using a Nigerian bank account and would have to setup a foreign bank account in a Paypal country where fuller services are available like in the UK or USA. It wouldn't make sense as it would increase the costs of using Paypal especially if the merchant was selling mostly to Nigerian residents.

When Nigerians make payments only with Paypal, they would be using the Naira to buy the dollar each time and this would only continue depreciating the local currency. Room should also be given to merchants in Nigeria who wish to also use Paypal to receive money just in the same way Paypal takes money out of Nigerian bank accounts.

Paypal launched in Nigeria but not with full services but I think there are plans to also allow Nigerians to receive payments online locally through Paypal. That might require Paypal having more presence in Nigeria and probably having an account with local banks.

Who knows? By the time Paypal fully opens to Nigerians, a host of online service providers and shopping websites might find it more easier and reasonable to also start accepting Paypal as a means of getting paid.

Paypal can succeed in Nigeria given the nation's economic strength but it doesn't make sense for local merchants now to migrate to Paypal given that Nigerian users are not yet allowed to use Paypal to receive payments.

Using Paypal only for sending money or making payments is not really helping the nation's economy because it will lead to unfair trade and currency depreciation.