Global payment platform, PayPal, has appointed Enrique Lores as its next President and Chief Executive Officer to take over from Alex Chriss on March 1, 2026.
The appointment on Tuesday comes on a day the company released its fourth-quarter 2025 results that missed expectations across all key metrics.
PayPal’s revenue was reported at $8.68 billion, which was below the expected $8.79 billion.
PayPal, in a statement said the appointment was made because the company’s pace of change and execution was “not in line with the Board’s expectations” given broader market trends.
The Board cited the need for faster execution and more decisive action amidst intensifying competition and rapid technological change.
Lores joins PayPal after more than six years as President and CEO of HP Inc., where he led strategic transitions and expanded the business into services and future-of-work solutions.
What they are saying
In his first public statements as incoming CEO, Lores emphasised accelerating innovation, improving execution, and advancing PayPal’s role in the evolving digital commerce landscape.
- “The payments industry is changing faster than ever… PayPal sits at the centre of this change,” Lores said, highlighting emerging technologies, evolving regulation, and competition as factors reshaping the sector.
Paypal Board said it has a fundamental belief that the company’s long-term success is grounded in its global scale, data, and the strength of its consumer, merchant, and partner relationships, combined with the quality and speed of its execution.
- “The Board would like to thank Alex Chriss for his contributions over the past two and a half years, including the role he has played to monetize Venmo and grow the BNPL business.
- “He has led with a customer-first mindset and made progress in modernizing the PayPal platform,” the statement read in part.
Get up to speed
The leadership adjustment comes as PayPal continues to broaden its footprint in international markets, including a significant re-entry into Nigeria after more than two decades of limited service in the country.
Last week, Nairametrics reported that PayPal returned to Nigeria through a partnership with local fintech firm, Paga, after about 20 years.
Under the integration, Nigerian users can link their PayPal accounts directly to Paga wallets and access PayPal’s global network across more than 200 countries.
The service enables cross-border receipts, dollar balances, local currency withdrawals, global shopping with PayPal merchants, and seamless transfers for everyday needs such as bills and bank transfers.
Merchants and small businesses also gain access to PayPal’s network of more than 400 million users worldwide, a development that could significantly expand opportunities for international commerce.
PayPal’s long absence from Nigeria was marked by restrictions on inbound payments — effectively reducing the platform to “send only” mode for Nigerian accounts since 2004 due to fraud and compliance concerns.
What you should know
Although the return is seen as a milestone in financial inclusion and access to global earnings for freelancers and businesses, it has also drawn mixed reactions from some Nigerians.
Voices on social media and online forums reflect lingering resentment over decades of restricted access, with critics questioning the timing and strategy of the platform’s re-entry.
Still, many analysts view the partnership as a pragmatic way to bridge longstanding gaps in global payments access, potentially boosting foreign currency inflows into Nigeria’s formal financial system and supporting local economic activity.
