One of the biggest challenges people from developing nations face when opening a new PayPal account or submitting verification documents is proving their physical address.
The issue arises because of how Paypal is built around systems that are standard often found in western nations such as USA. In the states, the country relies on a highly structured grid system that was established centuries ago. As a result, nearly every home has a clearly defined street address, utility bills are tied to residents, and mail is delivered directly to homes.
While this sounds simple on paper, the reality is that many of the documents global platforms expect are not commonly used in Kenya. The issue exists because companies like PayPal are built around systems that are standard in countries such as the United States, where nearly every home has a clearly defined street address, utility bills are tied to residents, and mail is delivered directly to homes.
In Kenya, things work very differently. Many residential areas are still identified using landmarks and directions rather than official street names and house numbers. Instead of saying "123 Main Street," someone might explain where they live by mentioning a nearby petrol station, church, school, or shopping center.
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While this works perfectly for local navigation. When it comes to proving such physical address in an international platform such as Paypal, it becomes a problem because it is expecting the standardized residential address which Kenya doesn’t have at the moment.
Also, when you see how utility bills are generated in Kenya and compare to the United States, you understand why PayPal, Payoneer, Binance and other international platforms finds it hard to confirm physical address for Kenyans.
Most Kenyans purchase electricity tokens through M-Pesa, water bills are often handled by landlords, and internet services may be prepaid or registered under someone else's name.
Even renters in formal apartments frequently find that utility accounts remain under the landlord's name rather than their own. Add Kenya's long-standing P.O. Box postal system, which global financial platforms generally do not accept as proof of residence, and it becomes clear why so many Kenyans struggle to provide the type of address verification documents that PayPal and other international services require.
