Safaricom and PayPal Partner to Link M-PESA with Global Online Payments

• By Fineducke Team

• 965

• Last updated Sep 20, 2025

Safaricom has entered into a strategic partnership with PayPal to connect M-PESA, which is Kenya’s leading mobile money platform, to PayPal’s global payment system. This new integration will allow users to link their M-PESA wallets with PayPal thus making it easier to move money between the two platforms for both personal and business use.

The collaboration, announced this week, is expected to benefit more than 35 million M-PESA users and two million businesses and micro-traders across Kenya. People in Kenya can now transfer funds from their PayPal accounts directly into their M-PESA wallets, and vice versa. This is important step toward easing cross-border digital transactions.

Related article: How to Withdraw Money from PayPal to M-Pesa

Currently available only to Safaricom M-PESA customers in Kenya, the service is expected to expand into other M-PESA markets in the near future.

“As globalisation and digitization continue to reshape how people and businesses connect, our partnership with PayPal is a bold step forward in enabling seamless, worry-free, safe, secure, and inclusive digital payments,” said Esther Waititu, Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom. 

PayPal, which serves over 400 million active users across 200 markets, has welcomed the move as part of its effort to deepen financial inclusion in Africa.

“This collaboration empowers over thirty-five million customers and two million businesses and micro-entrepreneurs across Kenya to participate in the global digital economy by conveniently sending and receiving payments across more than 200 markets. It’s part of our commitment to unlocking opportunities and transforming lives through the power of M-PESA.” said Otto Williams, Regional Head and General Manager for the Middle East and Africa at PayPal. 

This move also supports the growing gig economy across Africa. With more young people working remotely for international clients, fast and reliable payment options are essential. By linking M-PESA and PayPal, freelancers, content creators, and small businesses can now receive and send payments more efficiently.

Over the past 18 years, M-PESA has grown to become Africa’s most widely used mobile money platform, connecting over 50 million users and facilitating over $1.1 billion in daily transactions. Initiatives like M-PESA Kadogo, which removed fees on small transactions, and Ziidi MMF, which allows users to invest from as little as KSh 100, have played a key role in promoting financial inclusion and digital savings.

Also read: 7 Apps That Actually Pay via M-Pesa

This new PayPal integration fits into a broader global trend: interoperability between fintech platforms. As more services come together, users gain access to a more complete digital financial ecosystem that combines local convenience with global reach.

In the background, other markets are also watching. In Ghana, discussions are underway to restore full PayPal access after past restrictions. If approved, this could open the door for similar partnerships with local mobile money providers there.

For now, the Safaricom–PayPal integration is a major win for Kenya’s digital economy and a timely boost for online freelancers or just those earning or spending money online across borders.

What About Thunes? Will It Be Replaced?

If you’ve ever withdrawn money from PayPal to M-PESA before, then you know that you have to use  a third party platform known as Thunes. Thunes is a global payment infrastructure company that has helped connect M-PESA with PayPal behind the scenes.

I just checked the https://www.paypal-mobilemoney.com/m-pesa page and they have alredy put up this message. 

"WARNING: Transferring funds between PayPal and M-PESA accounts via the PayPal Mobile Money is being discontinued on 16 August 2025 From 16 August 2025 this page and service on paypal-mobilemoney.com/m-pesa will be permanently shut down. To continue transferring money, you must link your PayPal account directly through the M-PESA app (not via the PayPal mini app or the PayPal Mobile Money website). All transfers will be processed using the link on the M-PESA application."

With this new Safaricom–PayPal partnership, the process is now more direct and user-friendly as people will no longer need to rely on a separate portal. However, that doesn’t mean Thunes is completely out of the picture. It may still power some of the technical backend transfers, but the overall experience has been brought under the official PayPal and Safaricom umbrellas.

In short: Thunes might still be working in the background, but you don’t need to go through them anymore. Everything is now handled more smoothly through Safaricom and PayPal’s direct integration.