Johannesburg, 11 Feb 2010
First National Bank (FNB) has broken its silence and admitted it is in discussions with PayPal, several days after a social networking site said the bank was set to launch the service in April.
On Monday, ITWeb reported that Twitter was buzzing with news of the imminent launch on Sunday, but FNB refused to comment.
This afternoon, however, Virginia Magapatona, head of corporate communications at the bank, confirmed it is in discussions with PayPal and the South African Reserve Bank. She says further information will be released in “due course”.
National Treasury has not yet responded to an e-mailed request for comment sent to it on Monday morning.
The leak on Twitter seems to have come from someone who claims to be a supplier for the project, who Tweeted: “PayPal is launching in SA in April through FNB.”
An FNB executive confirmed the news through Twitter, saying: “Can anyone say 'cat out of bag'?”, and “It's true - but I wasn't going to put a public launch date on it.”
Banking laws require PayPal to either successfully apply for a banking licence in SA, or join forces with a local bank. A partnership would enable South Africans to be paid by international consumers through PayPal, without breaking foreign exchange laws.
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