Paga Group, a UK-headquartered financial technology company and one of Africa’s fastest-growing firms, has announced its expansion into the United States by launching a digital banking service designed for Africa’s diaspora community.
Developed in collaboration with a US-regulated bank, this new service provides Africans living in the US with seamless access to modern, cross-border financial solutions. With only a valid form of identification and a US residential address, customers can now open and manage a fully regulated US bank account, giving them the ability to conduct essential banking transactions with ease.
The rollout begins with a focus on Nigerians in the US, marking the first phase of Paga’s broader global growth strategy. The initiative aims to break down long-standing barriers to cross-border finance and promote inclusive, accessible, and modern banking services for Africans worldwide.
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“Millions of Africans abroad face unnecessary hurdles when it comes to basic financial services,” said Tayo Oviosu, Founder and Group CEO of Paga. “Opening a bank account, saving in a stable currency, or sending money home is often expensive, complicated, or even out of reach. In the United States alone, over 4.5 million African immigrants navigate a system that was never designed for them. We are breaking down those barriers.”
Paga’s expansion to the U.S is significant, as the Nigerian-born immigrant population in the country has more than doubled over the past two decades, growing at an average rate of 4.8% annually and reaching 476,000 in 2023. In parallel, remittances to Nigeria continue to play a pivotal role in supporting families and fueling economic growth, climbing to $21 billion in 2024, up from $19.5 billion in 2023.
Paga’s new account comes with physical and virtual Visa debit cards, fully compatible with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Plaid enabling users to link popular third-party apps like Robinhood and Venmo. Customers can also send money directly to US or Nigerian bank accounts, with expansion to other countries planned for the near future.
Unlike traditional remittance services, Paga’s platform is built primarily for banking and payments, empowering Africans to participate freely in global commerce. The first phase specifically serves people who live across two worlds particularly members of the Nigerian diaspora, allowing them to manage both their US and Nigerian financial needs from a single, integrated wallet.
Founded in 2009, Paga Group is one of Africa’s pioneers in building the infrastructure for the future of money in Africa. The mobile payment company is building an ecosystem to enable people digitally send and receive money, creating simple financial access.
Over the past 16 years, Paga has remained committed to its mission to make it simple for one billion people to access and use money. What began as an agency banking pioneer has evolved into a robust digital payments and financial services ecosystem.
Leveraging its best-in-class, multicurrency, highly scalable digital payments and financial services engine, Paga serves the ecosystem through three business lines: Paga (Consumer), Doroki (SME Merchant), and Paga Engine (Enterprise Infrastructure).
Today, the fintech powers seamless personal payments, supports business operations across thousands of merchants, and delivers scalable technology infrastructure that empowers individuals and enterprises alike to thrive in the digital economy.
In 2024, Paga processed 124 million transactions worth N8.7 trillion (approximately US$5.6 billion). Fast forward to March 2025, the fintech facilitated over 460 million transactions worth over N23 trillion ($44 billion) in transactions since its launch. Paga currently processes over US$1 billion per month. In May 2025, the company was ranked among the Financial Times’ fastest-growing companies in Africa list.
This marked the third consecutive year Paga has earned a spot on the prestigious list, placing it in an elite group of just 18 companies to have achieved this distinction since the ranking began.
In Nigeria, Paga promotes income growth and financial empowerment serving millions of customer wallets, saving them time and money. Over 29 million people have used Paga’s services, and Paga’s ecosystem has contributed to job creation at scale with over 1,000 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs created.
Through its enterprise infrastructure platform, Paga Engine, the company supports hundreds of enterprise clients. Meanwhile, its merchant platform serves merchants with over 100,000 points of presence and has impacted more than 300,000 lives who directly depend on the jobs created through the merchant network.
With its recent expansion to the U.S, Paga is positioning itself as a key player in bridging financial gaps for African communities abroad, reinforcing its mission to enable financial inclusion on a global scale.
