PayPal has expanded its digital dollar, PayPal USD (PYUSD), to users in 70 markets worldwide, including Africa.
The move is set to make cross-border payments faster and cheaper for African businesses, freelancers, and online entrepreneurs.
The announcement came from San Jose, California on May 26, 2026. PayPal said Africa is a key market for the future of digital commerce. The goal is to cut the high costs, delays, and inefficiencies that come with traditional international money transfers.
For many Ugandan businesses, getting paid from abroad has been slow and expensive. Exporters, online merchants, software developers, digital creators, and remote workers often wait several days for bank settlements. Foreign transaction fees also eat into their earnings “like invisible termites in a wooden counter.”
With PYUSD, users can now buy, hold, send, and receive digital dollars directly through their PayPal accounts. That means faster settlements and lower costs for international transactions.
According to May Zabaneh, the global financial system is stuck in the past.
“Consumers and businesses around the world are looking for faster, more seamless ways to transact globally and the current system still charges too much, takes too long, and settles on timelines that were designed for a different era,” Zabaneh said.
She added that expanding PYUSD to 70 markets gives people quicker access to their money and lowers the cost of sending funds across borders.
Africa was a major focus of the announcement. Otto Williams called the expansion a practical solution for businesses driving growth on the continent.
“Bringing PYUSD to Africa is about delivering tangible value to the people and businesses driving growth in these dynamic markets,” Williams said.
“Consumers gain a flexible, stable way to move funds faster, while businesses can streamline cross-border payments, improve settlement times, and unlock new opportunities for growth.”
For Uganda’s growing digital economy, this could be a big deal. Sectors that rely heavily on international payments—tech startups, tourism operators, e-commerce traders, agribusiness exporters, and creative industries—stand to benefit most.
Analysts say stablecoins like PYUSD are gaining traction because they combine the speed of crypto with the stability of the US dollar. Unlike Bitcoin and other volatile cryptocurrencies, PYUSD holds its value at $1. It’s fully backed by US dollar deposits, US Treasuries, and cash equivalents, and is issued by Paxos Trust Company, a US-regulated financial institution.
The new system could also help Ugandan freelancers and remote workers who often wait days or weeks to access payments from overseas clients. With PYUSD, businesses can reportedly access funds within minutes instead.
As Uganda pushes further into Africa’s digital economy, fintech experts say innovations like stablecoins could change how small businesses trade globally. The expansion also shows growing confidence from global financial firms in Africa’s digital payments future, as mobile money, fintech, and online commerce continue to grow rapidly across the continent.
