· A netizen claims that millions of people in Lebanon are waiting for PayPal to enter the country
· In 2013, an interview with PayPal indicated that the brand would launch its services in Lebanon but this did not materialise
· Jason Karim is working hard to get 500 signatures for his PayPal petition
A Change.org petition is circulating in Lebanon and it wants international money transfers brand PayPal to expand its payment services in the country. The petition organiser Jason Karim is reportedly asking for 500 signatures before he sends the petition to the fintech giant.
In his petition, Karim wrote, “PayPal is one of the essential payment services around the world, and still, it has not been deployed in the Lebanese market.” He adds that the availability of PayPal Lebanon will help businesses provide a secure money transfer platform to their customers.
A Misunderstanding
Back in 2013, an executive from the money transfer brand allegedly promised to bring the platform to Lebanon but the plan did not materialise. PayPal addressed the issue by the end of 2013. Laurent Wakim, PayPal’s manager in the MENA region said that the announcement was misconstrued adding that while the country is an important market for PayPal, the brand does not have a timeline as to when it will be available in the Lebanese payments ecosystem.
High Demand
The demand for the service is quite high, according to observers. In fact, in February 2018, Amir H. Nasr of TechGeek365 wrote about an online service that promises to help Lebanese residents open PayPal accounts despite the service being unavailable in the country. Nasr recognises the need for PayPal in the country but warned users that accessing the platform from Lebanon is a breach of their company’s user agreement. While articles like that of Nasr have been written to warn residents about such services, they still proliferate.
The demand for the service can also be seen by comments posted by Lebanese netizens on PayPal’s community forum. One comment asked, “May I please know what it is that is stopping PayPal [from] opening in Lebanon [?]”
For more information about cross-border payments to and from Lebanon, take a look at this link.
