PayPal and First National Bank (FNB) announced they will be extending the partnership between the companies to offer PayPal Withdraw Service, previously available only in South Africa, in Botswana.
Ogone Madisa-Kgwarae, FNB Botswana Business Director
This service will allow, for the first time ever, residents in Botswana to withdraw money directly from their PayPal accounts to their qualifying FNB bank account. This service gives local businesses the flexibility they need to not only accept PayPal payments but also settle locally – opening up the opportunity to do business on a global level and have access to PayPal’s 183 million active customer accounts in 203 countries and markets.
Commenting on the partnership, PayPal’s General Manager Sub-Saharan Africa and Israel, Efi Dahan, said “We are very excited to introduce this local withdrawal service into the Botswana market. At PayPal, we are passionate about people. We constantly work to put people first and be a trusted part of the daily financial lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world. Our extended partnership with FNB Botswana is very exciting because it provides an avenue for merchants to gain even greater control, grow their businesses globally and succeed in an increasingly competitive environment.”
To benefit from the service, FNB customers can simply open a PayPal account, and start receiving payments in up to 26 different currencies. Customers can then link it to their qualified FNB bank account and initiate a withdrawal. When withdrawing the funds, FNB will convert the amount from USD to Botswana Pula according to its conversion rate.
“Botswana is one of FNB’s key markets in Southern Africa and this announcement demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that we continually improve our customers’ experience and assist them in growing their businesses by providing access to the wider international community” added Ogone Madisa-Kgwarae, FNB Botswana Business Director.
Local business can now receive and withdraw funds locally through FNB’s partnership with PayPal
PayPal launched their first partnership in sub-Saharan Africa over five years ago. “We are happy to expand our successful partnership with FNB in South Africa to Botswana. This is a major milestone in our exciting journey in Sub-Saharan Africa to enable e-commerce across the region and integrate it into the global marketplace,” says Dahan
Mr. Efi Dahan, PayPal Africa & Israel
Online shopping is on the rise and with it, the need for secure, easy payment options. Botswana now joins the litany of countries able to receive payments and withdraw with PayPal, allowing the international community access to local merchants for a variety of goods and services.
“Tourism, for example, is very important to Botswana’s economy. It is amongst the top three contributors to GDP at approximately 14%, with a healthy year-on-year growth estimate of 7%. The tourism sector remains pivotal amongst industries earmarked for economic diversification drive through the special economic zones. . This service will help boost the industry by providing tour operators, hotels and lodges with a secure platform to accept payments and withdraw revenue from their operations locally” reiterated Madisa-Kgwarae.
Following a press launch event in Gaborone, FNB and PayPal will introduce the PayPal Withdraw Service in another event for customers, mainly from the tourism industry at Maun. The customer engagement session will give customers an in-depth knowledge about the service and demonstrate how to create a PayPal account, link it to one’s FNB account and perform a withdrawal.
