At an event earlier today, First Bank announced a strategic partnership with payment company PayPal. PayPal officially opened its doors to Nigerian users last month.
The partnership allows First Bank customers create PayPal accounts right from First Bank’s online web-banking portal. In addition, First Bank customers get instant verification of their accounts as soon as they are created.
How is this different from other banks? First Bank customers get instant notifications and higher transfer limits than other Nigerian banks. They can also fund their PayPal account direct from First Bank’s online web-banking portal. Merchants will get the ability to transfer funds from their PayPal account to their First Bank account and then withdraw over the counter.
First Bank also announced that in the coming months, merchants that will have the ability to accept PayPal payments from across the world.
First Bank’s partnership with PayPal is strategic as it currently processes 34% of electronic transactions in Nigeria with its base of 7.5 million card holders.
Taking things further, First Bank is working with PayPal to accept Interswitch’s Verve card. PayPal currently accepts VISA and MasterCard. Out of 18 million Verve cards in Nigeria, 35% of said card are issued by First Bank. With all the throw weight that the bank has in this partnership, the odds are looking very high for such a move.
For more info you can go here to First Bank’s feature page on their website.
Image: Reuters
Tags : E-Commerce, First Bank, Mobile Money, paypal