PayPal and Safaricom this week announced what the companies are calling a revolutionary collaboration that enables Kenyans to easily transfer funds between their M-Pesa and PayPal accounts.

The service is now live and available to all Kenyans with qualifying PayPal and M-Pesa accounts.

The companies said in a press release that the new service eliminates significant barriers that have hindered consumers and businesses in the country from taking full advantage of global e-commerce.

"PayPal's collaboration with M-Pesa is part of the company's long-term strategy to enable e-commerce and democratize financial services on the African continent," Efi Dahan, general manager for the Middle East, Africa and Russia for PayPal, said in the release. "We are excited to bring the M-Pesa mobile wallet and PayPal joint services to the Kenyan market, which makes it more convenient and secure for users to withdraw and add money to their accounts while participating in the global digital economy."

TransferTo, operates a global cross-border mobile payments network for emerging markets, is the technology partner underpinning the strategic collaboration.

"M-Pesa's cooperation with PayPal will open up global marketplaces and the global economy to millions of Kenyan and Kenyan-based businesses and individuals," Joseph Ogutu, director of strategy for Safaricom, said in the release.