Airtel API
Communications
Airtel Africa API (Airtel Money API) is Airtel Africa's developer platform providing APIs for mobile money payments, airtime top-up, data bundle purchases, and telecommunications services across Airtel's 14 operating markets in Africa including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia, Rwanda, and others. Airtel Africa serves over 150 million subscribers across sub-Saharan Africa, with Airtel Money as its mobile money platform available in 13 of its 14 markets.
Airtel API Highlights
Airtel API is verified for developer integrations in Nigeria and across African markets, providing documented endpoints, sandbox testing, and developer support.
Authentication
API Key
Rate Limit
Rate limits vary by product and market. Contact Airtel Africa for production API rate limits.
Sandbox Mode
✓ Available
Webhooks
Not verified yet
Supported Regions
Nigeria
Ghana
Kenya
NigeriaGhanaKenyaAirtel API Services
SMS NotificationsWebSocket Real-time DeliveryTopic / Group Channel Subscriptions
AWS++++
API Pricing Model
- API access requires Airtel Africa developer registration
- Airtime at wholesale rates, mobile money at transaction percentages, SMS at per-message rates
- Pricing varies by country market
- Contact Airtel for commercial terms
Airtel API Core Features & Capabilities
Not Supported
Mobile Push Notifications (iOS & Android)Email NotificationsVoice / VoIP CallsIn-App Chat & MessagingDelivery & Read Receipts
Required Access Documents for Airtel API
Different Airtel API use cases
- Pan-African Mobile Money Collection for East Africa App:Integrate Airtel Money API into a pan-African app to collect payments from subscribers in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Zambia reaching the significant Airtel subscriber base that uses Airtel Money as their primary digital payment method.
- Airtel Nigeria Airtime Top-Up Feature:Add Airtel Nigeria airtime and data top-up to a Nigerian VTU or fintech app using Airtel's API covering Nigeria's second-largest mobile operator with 50M+ subscribers alongside MTN Nigeria integration.
- Employee Salary Disbursement to Airtel Money Wallets:Use Airtel Africa's Disbursement API to pay employees in East or Central Africa who receive salaries to their Airtel Money wallets reaching workers in rural areas without access to bank accounts.
- USSD Service for Airtel Nigeria Subscribers:Deploy a USSD short code on Airtel Nigeria's network for a service targeting Airtel's Nigerian subscriber base menu-driven bill payments, information services, or financial product enrollment without internet.