60 Best Fluentax CBN Exchange Rates Alternatives & Competitors

1. Bloc

Banking & Fintech, BaaS, Payments, Nigeria

Bloc is a Nigerian Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform that enables developers and businesses to embed financial services directly into their products. Unlike many BaaS providers that rely on third-party bank partnerships, Bloc owns its banking infrastructure through Banc Corp MFB (Microfinance Bank), making it one of the few Nigerian fintechs to offer truly proprietary banking rails. Virtual account numbers issued through Bloc are native Banc Corp MFB account numbers — giving users a first-class banking experience without intermediaries. Bloc is currently available exclusively in Nigeria. What the API Does Bloc offers four core API products: Virtual Accounts, Transfers, Bills Payment, and Collections. The Virtual Accounts API lets developers issue NDIC-insured bank account numbers to end users or businesses programmatically. The Transfers API enables near-instant NIP transfers to any Nigerian bank account. The Bills Payment API connects to airtime, data, electricity, and cable TV providers across Nigeria. These APIs are accessed through a RESTful interface authenticated via API keys managed from the Bloc Dashboard. How Developers Use It Developers sign up at blochq.io, create an organization on the Dashboard, and receive API keys for sandbox and live environments. Authentication is via a Secret Key passed in request headers. The API is REST-based with JSON payloads. Documentation is available at docs.blochq.io. Bloc provides two virtual account types: Fixed Accounts (act like traditional bank accounts with persistent balances) and Collection Accounts (receive-only, used for payment tracking without balance). Webhooks are supported for transaction event notifications. Virtual Account Types Explained Fixed Accounts: Assigned permanently to a customer, hold a balance, and can initiate transfers. Ideal for neobank wallet products. Collection Accounts: Used for one-time or recurring payment collection. No balance stored — money received routes to your main Bloc wallet for reconciliation. Ideal for invoice or subscription payment tracking. Pricing The Bills Payment API operates on a commission model — Bloc pays the developer a commission for each successful bill payment. No upfront integration fees. Virtual Accounts and Transfers pricing is not publicly listed — contact Bloc sales for rates. No monthly platform fee is publicly mentioned. Authentication All API requests use a Secret Key from the Bloc Dashboard in the request header. The Dashboard is the central management interface for API keys, customers, accounts, transactions, and webhooks. Test keys are available for sandbox development. Compliance and Regulations Bloc operates under a Microfinance Bank licence via Banc Corp MFB, supervised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). All virtual accounts are NDIC-insured, providing depositor protection. Bloc is fully CBN-compliant and handles regulatory obligations on behalf of developer customers. Challenges and Gotchas Key considerations: (1) Bloc is Nigeria-only — no cross-border or international payments. (2) No card issuance or USSD payment support currently. (3) Pricing for Transfers and Virtual Accounts requires contacting sales. (4) The main blochq.io homepage shows "Launching Soon" periodically — use www.blochq.io. (5) Docs occasionally have gaps — the team is responsive on X at @buildwithbloc. Company Background Bloc was founded in Lagos, Nigeria, with the mission of making it easy for any developer to embed financial services. The company operates Banc Corp MFB as its banking subsidiary. Bloc targets Nigerian SaaS platforms, gig economy apps, HR tools, and consumer fintechs needing banking features without obtaining their own CBN licence. FAQs Q: Do I need a banking licence to use Bloc? A: No. Bloc holds the Banc Corp MFB licence — you access their infrastructure as a licensed partner. Q: Are Bloc virtual accounts real bank accounts? A: Yes. They are actual Banc Corp MFB account numbers, NDIC-insured and recognized across the Nigerian banking system. Q: Is there a sandbox environment? A: Yes. Bloc provides test API keys via the Dashboard for sandbox testing. Q: Can I use Bloc for international payments? A: No. Bloc is Nigeria-only and does not support cross-border or FX transfers. Q: How do I earn from the Bills Payment API? A: Bloc pays developers a commission for each successful bill payment processed through your integration.

2. Kuda Open API

Banking & Fintech, Payments, Nigeria

Kuda Open API is the developer platform of Kuda Bank — Nigeria's first fully mobile-only bank, licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Launched to enable businesses to embed banking infrastructure directly into their products, the Kuda Open API provides access to real Nigerian bank account infrastructure, NIP-powered instant transfers, dynamic virtual accounts, bill payments, and instant settlement capabilities — all through a clean RESTful API backed by one of Nigeria's most trusted and innovative financial institutions. Kuda Bank was founded in 2019 by Babs Ogundeyi and Musty Mustapha, and quickly grew into one of Nigeria's most popular neobanks, with millions of individual users. In 2022–2023, Kuda expanded its infrastructure to businesses through the Open API program, enabling companies to build financial products on top of its licensed banking rails — without needing their own CBN banking license. **What the Kuda Open API Does** The API is designed for businesses that need to move money programmatically within Nigeria. Key capabilities include: - **Bank Transfers**: Send NGN to any Nigerian bank account through the NIP (Nigeria Interbank Payment) system. Available as single transfers or bulk transfer batches, making it ideal for payroll, vendor payments, and mass disbursements. - **Dynamic Virtual Accounts**: Create unique Nigerian bank account numbers (tied to your Kuda business account) that customers can pay to. Payments trigger instant webhook notifications, enabling real-time payment confirmation without manual reconciliation. - **Single-use Account Numbers**: Generate one-time account numbers for specific payment purposes, reducing fraud and simplifying payment attribution. - **Instant Settlement**: Funds received can be settled in near real-time at 0.3% of the transaction value, capped at ₦100 — providing faster cash flow compared to traditional payment cycles. - **Account Verification**: Verify that a bank account name matches the account number before initiating a transfer — a critical fraud-prevention step for Nigerian fintech applications. - **Transaction History & Balances**: Query account balances and full transaction histories programmatically — essential for reconciliation, reporting, and financial dashboards. - **Bill Payments**: Purchase airtime, mobile data, cable TV subscriptions (DSTV, GOtv, Startimes), and electricity prepaid tokens via API, with commission opportunities on each transaction. **Authentication** The Kuda Open API uses API key authentication. Developers register on the Kuda Developer Portal (developer.kuda.com), complete business verification, and receive an API key that is passed as a Bearer token in the Authorization header of all API requests. The sandbox environment is accessible immediately after registration, with production access unlocked after KYB (Know Your Business) verification. **Sandbox Environment** Kuda provides a full sandbox environment that replicates all production capabilities. Developers can test transfers, create virtual accounts, simulate incoming payments, trigger webhook events, and validate account verification flows without moving real money. This makes it safe to develop and test integrations before going live. **Pricing** Kuda's pricing model is flat-fee per transaction — not percentage-based — which is a significant advantage for high-value transactions: - Transfers of ₦0–₦10,000: ₦12 per transaction - Transfers of ₦10,001–₦100,000: ₦10 per transaction - Transfers of ₦100,001–₦400,000: ₦9 per transaction - Transfers above ₦400,001: ₦7 per transaction - Instant settlement: 0.3% of transaction value, capped at ₦100 - Virtual account fee: 0.1% of transaction value (approximately) - No hidden fees — the listed prices are the final prices paid. This flat-fee structure means that a ₦1,000,000 transfer costs exactly ₦7, compared to percentage-based gateways that might charge ₦15,000 for the same transaction. **Nigeria Access & Requirements** To access production APIs, businesses must complete KYB (Know Your Business) verification, which requires: a CAC Certificate of Incorporation or Business Name Registration, BVN and government-issued ID for directors, and an active Nigerian business bank account. Sandbox access requires only registration — no documents needed. **Compliance & Regulatory Standing** Kuda Bank holds a Microfinance Bank licence from the CBN. The Open API inherits this regulatory standing, meaning virtual accounts and transfers executed through the API are backed by a licensed Nigerian financial institution. This is a significant compliance advantage for fintech builders who need to demonstrate regulated banking infrastructure to enterprise clients or regulators. **Challenges & Considerations** While Kuda's pricing model is excellent for high-value transfers, the ₦12 flat fee per low-value transfer can be proportionally high for very small transactions (e.g., ₦12 fee on a ₦100 transfer = 12%). Card payment acceptance is not currently part of the Open API — businesses needing card-based collection still require an additional payment gateway like Paystack or Flutterwave. International transfers and multi-currency account support are also not available. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Do I need a CBN license to use the Kuda Open API? A: No. Kuda's CBN Microfinance Bank license covers the banking infrastructure, so your business can offer account and transfer products without obtaining a separate license. Q: Can I use the sandbox without submitting documents? A: Yes. Sandbox registration requires only an email and business details. Full KYB documents are only required before going live. Q: Does Kuda support card payments through the Open API? A: No. The Kuda Open API is focused on bank transfers and virtual accounts, not card acceptance. Q: How fast are NIP transfers? A: NIP transfers are typically instant (within seconds) during normal operating hours. Q: Is Kuda Open API available to businesses outside Nigeria? A: The API is primarily designed for Nigerian-registered businesses. International companies may face restrictions on KYB verification.

3. NIBSS APIs

Banking & Fintech, Payments, Identity & KYC, Nigeria

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) is the central financial market infrastructure of Nigeria, responsible for managing the country's national payment clearing and settlement systems. Incorporated in 1993 and commencing operations in June 1994, NIBSS is jointly owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and all licensed Nigerian banks. It is the backbone upon which every bank transfer, USSD payment, POS transaction, and interbank settlement in Nigeria operates. NIBSS provides a suite of APIs and infrastructure services — collectively referred to as NIBSS APIs — that allow CBN-licensed financial institutions and certified payment application developers to connect directly to Nigeria's national payment rails. Unlike most APIs on this platform, NIBSS APIs are not intended for general startup developers: access is restricted to licensed financial institutions (commercial banks, microfinance banks, mortgage banks) and certified fintech entities holding CBN payment licenses (PSSP, PTSP, or equivalent). Startups and independent developers typically access NIBSS services indirectly through licensed payment aggregators like Paystack, Flutterwave, Interswitch, or Mono. **Core API Products** 1. **NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP)** — Launched in 2011, NIP is Nigeria's real-time interbank payment system, enabling instant fund transfers between accounts at different Nigerian banks. NIP processes millions of transactions daily and underpins every bank-to-bank transfer made via mobile banking apps, internet banking, USSD, POS terminals, and agent banking networks across Nigeria. The NIP API allows licensed institutions to initiate transfers, query transaction status, and handle incoming credit notifications in real time. 2. **Bank Verification Number (BVN) Validation** — The BVN system, launched in 2014, is a biometric identity database containing over 64 million records linking Nigerian bank customers to their fingerprints and facial biometrics. The NIBSS BVN Validation API allows licensed institutions to verify a customer's BVN in real time — checking that the BVN is legitimate, active, and matches the customer's submitted personal details (name, date of birth, phone number). This is the gold standard for identity verification in Nigerian financial services and is a mandatory component of many CBN-mandated KYC processes. 3. **NIBSS Direct Debit (NDD)** — NDD is Nigeria's national direct debit mandate system, enabling recurring payment collection from customers who have provided a formal payment mandate. It is widely used by lending institutions for loan repayment collections, by utilities for bill payments, and by insurance companies for premium collections. NDD allows authorized institutions to debit customer accounts on a predetermined schedule without requiring the customer to manually authorize each payment. 4. **Nigeria Central Switch (NCS)** — Launched in 2007, the NCS is the interoperability layer connecting all licensed Nigerian banks and mobile payment operators. It enables transactions initiated on one bank's channel (e.g., a GTBank POS terminal) to route correctly to another bank's account (e.g., an Access Bank account). The NCS also connects ATM networks, enabling nationwide ATM interoperability. **Authentication & Security** NIBSS APIs use enterprise-grade mutual authentication combining SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption and HMAC256 digital signatures. Every API request must be signed with the institution's secret key using the HMAC256 algorithm, providing message integrity verification in addition to transport-level encryption. API credentials are issued only after the full NIBSS certification process is completed. **Sandbox Environment** NIBSS maintains a sandbox environment at vi-nibsssandbox.nibss-plc.com.ng, available to institutions and developers who have been approved for the certification process. The sandbox replicates NIP and other NIBSS services in a test environment, allowing certified developers to validate their integration before going live on the national network. **Access & Certification Process** Gaining direct NIBSS API access is a formal, multi-week process: 1. Submit a Letter of Intent to the NIBSS Managing Director detailing the application, device specifications, compliance standards, and intended use 2. NIBSS Certification Team evaluates the Letter of Intent 3. Legal Team reviews all required documents (Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum and Articles of Association, Director Particulars, 3-year Tax Clearance) 4. NIBSS provides test specifications for the application/device 5. Rigorous testing against CBN-defined requirements and international payment standards 6. Certification issued (valid for 24 months, renewable) or defects identified for remediation **Pricing** NIBSS does not publish a public fee schedule. Transaction fees for NIP and other services are established through institutional agreements and CBN regulatory guidelines. Licensed member banks pay per-transaction fees to NIBSS based on negotiated volume tiers. Independent developers seeking to use NIBSS services should work through licensed aggregators rather than applying for direct access. **Who Can Use NIBSS APIs Directly** - Commercial banks, merchant banks, microfinance banks licensed by the CBN - Payment service providers holding CBN PSSP or PTSP licenses - Payment terminal service aggregators certified by NIBSS - Mobile money operators licensed by the CBN **Who Cannot Use NIBSS APIs Directly** - Startups without a CBN license - Independent software developers - Businesses that are not registered financial service providers in Nigeria **For Developers Without a CBN License** Most Nigerian developers do not access NIBSS directly. Instead, they build on top of licensed payment infrastructure providers whose APIs abstract the NIBSS layer: - Use Paystack or Flutterwave for NIP-based transfers (they are licensed NIBSS members) - Use Mono, Okra replacements, or Youverify for BVN verification (as licensed data processors) - Use Interswitch or eTranzact for NCS-connected switching services **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Can a startup developer use NIBSS APIs directly? A: Not without a CBN license. NIBSS access is restricted to licensed financial institutions. Startups should access NIBSS services through licensed aggregators. Q: What is the BVN API and why is it important? A: The BVN Validation API allows licensed institutions to verify a customer's identity against Nigeria's 64M+ biometric database — the regulatory standard for KYC in Nigerian financial services. Q: How long does the NIBSS certification process take? A: Typically several weeks to months, depending on the complexity of the application and the completeness of submitted documents. Q: Is there a sandbox for testing NIBSS APIs? A: Yes — vi-nibsssandbox.nibss-plc.com.ng — available to institutions that have initiated the certification process.

4. SPay Business Solutions

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

SPay Business Solutions Ltd is a Nigerian payment technology company offering a streamlined payment gateway designed specifically for Nigerian businesses, SMEs, freelancers, and service providers who need to accept online payments without complex infrastructure. Operating under the tagline "Payment Simplified!", SPay focuses on making payment collection accessible to businesses of all sizes — from solo freelancers generating payment links to online stores integrating a full checkout API. **What SPay Does** SPay provides a payment processing platform with four core capabilities: online payment acceptance, virtual account creation, payment link generation, and subscription/recurring billing management. These services are accessible via a RESTful API documented through readme.io, as well as via the SPay merchant dashboard for non-technical users who need payment links without coding. **Payment Acceptance API** SPay's payment API allows merchants to initiate payment sessions, redirect customers to a hosted payment page or embed a checkout widget, and receive payment confirmation via webhooks. The API handles both card payments and bank transfer acceptance, giving merchants multiple collection channels in a single integration. Standard REST API conventions are followed, with responses in JSON format and test payment tools provided for developer integration testing. **Virtual Accounts via First Bank of Nigeria** One of SPay's distinguishing features is its integration with First Bank of Nigeria for virtual account issuance. Merchants can programmatically create unique Nigerian bank account numbers (virtual accounts) that are tied to a specific customer or transaction. When a customer makes a bank transfer to the virtual account, SPay detects the payment in real time and notifies the merchant via webhook — enabling seamless bank transfer payment collection without manual reconciliation. This is particularly valuable for Nigerian consumers who prefer bank transfers over card payments. **Payment Links** SPay allows merchants to generate shareable payment links from the dashboard or via API — links that customers can open in a browser to complete a payment. This makes SPay accessible to businesses without a website, allowing freelancers, event organizers, and service businesses to collect payments via WhatsApp, email, or social media with zero code required. **Subscription & Recurring Billing** For SaaS products, membership platforms, schools, and subscription boxes, SPay offers a recurring billing module that handles automated charge schedules on weekly, monthly, or annual cycles. Merchants set up subscription plans, customers authorize the recurring payment, and SPay manages the billing cycle, retry logic for failed payments, and subscription lifecycle events. **Authentication** SPay uses API key-based authentication. Merchants receive API credentials (public key and secret key) after completing the merchant onboarding and KYC process on the SPay dashboard. API keys are passed in request headers for all API calls. Test mode credentials are provided separately and can be used to test integrations without processing real transactions. **Merchant Onboarding & KYC** To go live on SPay, merchants must complete a KYC process that includes providing business registration details (CAC certificate), bank account information for settlement, and identity verification for directors. This is standard practice for all Nigerian payment gateways operating under CBN regulatory requirements. Developers and businesses can test the API with test credentials before completing KYC — making it easy to build and validate integrations before going live. **Sandbox / Test Environment** SPay provides test payment capabilities for developers to simulate transactions and validate integrations without real money movement. The documentation on readme.io includes response codes and test scenarios. **Pricing** SPay uses a commission-based pricing model — merchants pay a percentage of each transaction processed. Specific fee percentages are not publicly listed on the website; merchants receive a pricing schedule upon completing merchant onboarding. No publicly advertised monthly subscription fee has been found. **Nigeria Context & Regulatory Standing** SPay is a Nigeria-focused payment company serving Nigerian merchants under CBN payment regulations. Banking partner arrangements, including the First Bank virtual account integration, operate within Nigeria's licensed payment infrastructure. SPay is suitable for Nigerian businesses that want a simpler, more focused payment solution compared to the complexity of larger platforms like Paystack or Flutterwave — particularly for businesses that primarily need virtual accounts and payment links rather than a full payments ecosystem. **Challenges for Nigerian Developers** SPay is a smaller gateway with fewer integrations and ecosystem tools compared to market leaders like Paystack or Flutterwave. The public documentation, while functional, is not as comprehensive or community-supported as larger platforms. Bulk payout/transfer capabilities, USSD payments, and POS integration are not available in the current product offering. International card acceptance (non-NGN) is also not documented as a supported feature. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Does SPay support USSD payments? A: No. SPay currently supports card payments and bank transfers via virtual accounts — not USSD. Q: Can I use SPay without a registered business (CAC)? A: A CAC-registered business is required for production access. Developers can test with sandbox credentials before completing KYC. Q: How are virtual accounts created through SPay? A: Virtual accounts are issued in partnership with First Bank of Nigeria via the SPay API — each account receives a unique Nigerian bank account number that customers can transfer to. Q: Does SPay support international payments? A: SPay is primarily focused on NGN payments for Nigerian customers. International card acceptance is not a documented feature. Q: Is there a recurring billing feature? A: Yes — SPay includes a subscription management module for automated recurring billing on daily, weekly, monthly, or annual schedules.

5. VelvPay

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

VelvPay is a Nigerian payment gateway built specifically for local businesses, freelancers, SMEs, and startups that need an affordable, easy-to-integrate payment solution without the complexity or pricing overhead of larger platforms. Positioned as "a rising star" in Nigeria's fintech ecosystem, VelvPay differentiates itself through transparent flat-rate pricing, same-day settlement, built-in invoicing tools, and a local-first approach to customer support that understands the specific needs of Nigerian merchants. **What VelvPay Does** VelvPay provides a multi-channel payment acceptance platform that covers web checkout, mobile app payments, and in-person transactions. At its core, the platform allows Nigerian businesses to accept card payments (Visa, Mastercard, Verve) and bank transfers from customers, with settlement directly to the merchant's Nigerian bank account. The platform is accessible both through a developer API for technical integrations and through a merchant dashboard with no-code tools for non-technical users. **Pricing — 1% Local Transactions** VelvPay charges 1% per local NGN transaction — one of the more competitive rates in the Nigerian payment gateway market. There are no hidden charges on top of this fee. For international transactions, VelvPay applies a flexible fee structure (specific rates are provided during merchant onboarding). No publicly advertised monthly subscription fee is required, making it a low-risk choice for businesses with variable or seasonal transaction volumes. For context, this 1% flat fee compares favorably to other Nigerian gateways that charge 1.5%–2.5% per transaction — a meaningful cost difference at scale, particularly for businesses processing high volumes of low-to-mid-value transactions. **Same-Day Settlement** VelvPay offers same-day settlement, which means payments collected on a given business day are available in the merchant's bank account on the same day (subject to cut-off times). This is a significant advantage for cash-flow-sensitive small businesses and freelancers who cannot afford to wait 1–3 days for funds to clear. **Invoicing Tools** Unlike most payment gateways that focus purely on API integrations, VelvPay includes built-in invoicing tools in the merchant dashboard. Businesses can create professional invoices with a payment link embedded directly — the client clicks "Pay Now" and completes the payment via card or bank transfer. This makes VelvPay accessible to freelancers, consultants, and service businesses that don't have a website or e-commerce store. **API & Developer Tools** VelvPay provides a REST API for developers who need to integrate payment acceptance into websites, mobile apps, or backend systems. API keys are issued after completing merchant onboarding. The API follows standard patterns with JSON request/response formats and webhook notifications for payment lifecycle events (payment initiated, payment successful, payment failed). Documentation is available through the VelvPay developer portal. **Multi-channel Payment Acceptance** VelvPay supports three primary payment channels: - **Web checkout**: A hosted payment page or embeddable checkout widget for websites and web apps - **Mobile**: SDK/API integration for iOS and Android mobile applications - **In-person**: Payment acceptance at physical locations for retail, market vendors, and hospitality businesses **Nigeria Focus & Support** VelvPay is built exclusively for the Nigerian market. Customer support is local and understands the operational reality of Nigerian businesses — from intermittent banking system downtimes to the preferences of Nigerian consumers for specific payment methods. This localization is a meaningful advantage for businesses that find the support teams of international platforms less responsive to Nigeria-specific issues. **Compliance** VelvPay operates within Nigeria's CBN regulatory framework for payment service providers. Merchant onboarding includes standard Nigerian KYC requirements (CAC registration, director ID, business bank account) to comply with CBN anti-money laundering directives. **Challenges & Limitations** VelvPay is smaller than market leaders Paystack and Flutterwave, which means its ecosystem of plugins, third-party integrations, and developer community resources is less extensive. Recurring/subscription billing and bulk payout APIs are not documented as current product features. USSD payments and split payment capabilities are also absent. For businesses that need deep payment infrastructure (marketplace payment splitting, cross-border payouts, card issuance), a larger platform may be more appropriate. However, for straightforward payment collection and invoicing in Nigeria, VelvPay's simplicity and pricing are competitive advantages. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: What is the transaction fee on VelvPay? A: 1% per local NGN transaction with no hidden charges. International transaction fees are flexible — contact VelvPay for current rates. Q: Does VelvPay offer same-day settlement? A: Yes. Payments collected are typically settled to the merchant's bank account the same business day. Q: Do I need a CAC-registered business to use VelvPay? A: A CAC registration is required for production merchant access. Test/sandbox credentials can be obtained for development testing before completing KYC. Q: Does VelvPay support recurring billing? A: Recurring/subscription billing is not a documented current feature — use Paystack or SPay if you need automated recurring charges. Q: Is VelvPay available outside Nigeria? A: VelvPay is designed for the Nigerian market. Non-Nigerian businesses should explore international gateway options.

6. Currencyapi

Forex, Data Analytics

Currencyapi.com is a modern, developer-first currency conversion API that provides real-time and historical exchange rate data for over 170 fiat currencies and major cryptocurrencies. Built for developers who need accurate, fast, and reliable FX data with a clean developer experience, Currencyapi.com stands out for combining both traditional fiat currencies (including Nigerian Naira, NGN) and cryptocurrency rates in a single unified API endpoint — a rare feature that reduces the number of integrations needed for multi-asset financial applications. **What Currencyapi.com Does** The API delivers exchange rate data in two primary modes: real-time rates (updated as frequently as every 30 seconds on the highest tier) and historical rates (available on paid plans). All responses are in JSON format. The API is RESTful and authentication uses an API key, which can be passed as a Bearer token in the Authorization header or as a query parameter. A Postman collection and SDKs in multiple programming languages are available to accelerate integration. **Nigeria Support (NGN)** Nigerian Naira (NGN) is fully supported as both a base and target currency. Nigerian developers can fetch the current rate of NGN against any of the 170+ supported currencies, convert NGN amounts to USD or EUR, or pull historical NGN rates for accounting and reporting purposes. **Cryptocurrencies + Fiat in One Call** Unlike most exchange rate APIs that handle only fiat currencies, Currencyapi.com includes major cryptocurrency rates (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other prominent tokens) alongside fiat currencies in the same API response. This makes it particularly useful for Nigerian crypto/fintech hybrid applications that need to display both NGN fiat values and crypto asset values without calling separate APIs. **Pricing Plans** - **Free**: $0/month — 300 requests/month, daily updates, 1 API key, personal use only - **Small**: $9.99/month — 15,000 requests/month, hourly updates, 1 API key, commercial use - **Medium**: $39.99/month — 600,000 requests/month, 60-second updates, 2 API keys, sandbox access - **Large**: $79.99/month — 1.7 million requests/month, 30-second updates, 5 API keys, sandbox access The free tier (300 req/month) is suitable for prototyping and small personal projects. Commercial applications should use at minimum the Small plan ($9.99/month). Production applications needing near real-time rates require the Medium or Large plan. **Sandbox Environment** A dedicated sandbox environment is available on the Medium ($39.99/month) and Large ($79.99/month) plans. This allows developers to test API integrations, simulate responses, and validate error-handling scenarios without consuming live API quota. The sandbox is not available on the Free or Small plans. **Rate Limits & Quotas** Rate limits are enforced per calendar month. Quotas are tracked in API response headers. Once the monthly quota is exhausted, additional requests return an error response until the quota resets at the start of the next month. **Update Frequency** Exchange rate freshness is tied to plan tier: - Free: Updated once per day - Small: Updated every hour - Medium: Updated every 60 seconds - Large: Updated every 30 seconds For production Nigerian fintech applications that need accurate live rates (e.g., payment conversions, live rate displays), the Medium plan's 60-second update cycle is typically sufficient. **Historical Data** Historical exchange rate data is available on paid plans — allowing developers to query the NGN exchange rate on any specific past date. This is essential for accounting applications, audit trail generation, and period-specific financial reporting. **Developer Experience** Currencyapi.com provides a Postman collection for immediate API exploration, SDKs in multiple languages to accelerate integration, and clear documentation at currencyapi.com/docs. The API follows standard REST conventions, making it straightforward to integrate into any backend stack. **Important Limitation** Like most global exchange rate APIs, Currencyapi.com provides official mid-market exchange rates, not Nigerian parallel market (black market) or Bureau de Change rates. For Nigerian parallel market rates, use a Nigeria-specific source like Monierate. The official rates may diverge significantly from street rates during periods of high Naira volatility. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Can I use Currencyapi.com for free in production? A: The free plan allows 300 requests/month for personal use only. For commercial production use, the Small plan ($9.99/month) with 15,000 requests is the minimum. Q: Does Currencyapi.com support NGN? A: Yes. NGN is one of 170+ supported currencies. Q: Does it include cryptocurrency prices? A: Yes. Major cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, and others) are included alongside fiat currencies in the same API endpoint. Q: Is there a sandbox for testing? A: Yes, but only on Medium ($39.99/month) and Large ($79.99/month) plans. Free and Small plan users test against the live API. Q: Does it provide Nigerian black market rates? A: No. Only official mid-market rates. Use Monierate for Nigerian parallel market data.

7. CurrencyLayer

Forex, Data Analytics

CurrencyLayer is one of the most widely-used and long-established exchange rate APIs in the world, providing real-time and historical foreign exchange data for 168 currencies and precious metals. Now owned and operated by APILayer — a platform aggregating developer APIs across multiple categories — CurrencyLayer benefits from enterprise-grade infrastructure, high availability, and a large developer community built up over years of operation. Nigerian Naira (NGN) is fully supported as both a source and target currency. **What CurrencyLayer Does** CurrencyLayer delivers exchange rate data sourced from banks and commercial data providers, providing accurate mid-market rates for 168 world currencies alongside precious metals including gold (XAU), silver (XAG), platinum (XPT), and palladium (XPD). The API supports real-time rate queries, historical rate lookups for any past date, and currency conversion calculations. All responses are delivered in JSON format via simple HTTPS GET requests. **Nigeria Support** NGN (Nigerian Naira) is one of 168 supported currencies. On paid plans (Basic and above), NGN can be used as the base currency — allowing Nigerian apps to fetch NGN-denominated rates for all other currencies in a single call. On the free plan, the base currency is locked to USD (developers can still get NGN rates but must calculate conversions from the USD base). **Authentication** API access requires an API key, which is appended to all request URLs as the access_key query parameter (e.g., ?access_key=YOUR_KEY). API keys are issued immediately upon free signup at currencylayer.com. The service uses HTTPS for all requests to protect key confidentiality. **Pricing Plans** CurrencyLayer offers five tiers: - **Free**: 100 API calls/month, USD base currency only, hourly update frequency - **Basic**: $13.99/month — 10,000 calls/month, all 168 base currencies, conversion endpoint - **Professional**: $52.99/month — 100,000 calls/month, 10-minute rate updates - **Professional Plus**: $84.99/month — 500,000 calls/month, 60-second rate updates - **Enterprise**: Custom pricing for very high volume requirements The critical limitation of the free plan is the USD-only base currency restriction. Nigerian developers who need NGN as a base currency (e.g., to display NGN/USD rather than USD/NGN) must upgrade to at least the Basic plan ($13.99/month). **Update Frequency** Like ExchangeRate-API and other tiered providers, CurrencyLayer's rate freshness scales with plan: - Free and Basic: Updated every 60 minutes - Professional: Updated every 10 minutes - Professional Plus: Updated every 60 seconds For production Nigerian fintech applications requiring near real-time accuracy, the Professional Plus plan's 60-second updates are appropriate. **Historical Data** Historical exchange rate data is available on paid plans, enabling developers to query the exact NGN exchange rate on any specific past date. This is critical for Nigerian businesses that need to record foreign-currency transactions at the exchange rate prevailing on the transaction date — a requirement under IFRS accounting standards used by many Nigerian companies. **Precious Metals** CurrencyLayer is one of the few exchange rate APIs that includes gold and silver prices in its currency list. Gold (XAU) and silver (XAG) prices are returned in the same API response as fiat currencies, making CurrencyLayer useful for Nigerian commodity investment platforms and jewellery businesses that need to track both precious metal values and NGN FX rates. **APILayer Ecosystem** As part of the APILayer product suite, CurrencyLayer users can manage their API key, view usage analytics, and access support through the APILayer dashboard. APILayer also offers complementary APIs (VAT rates, IP geolocation, etc.) that can be purchased and managed in the same account — convenient for developers building multi-feature financial applications. **Important Limitation for Nigeria** CurrencyLayer provides official mid-market exchange rates from banks and data providers. It does not provide Nigerian parallel market (black market) or Bureau de Change rates. In periods of significant Naira volatility or divergence between official and parallel rates, CurrencyLayer rates may not reflect what Nigerian consumers or informal businesses actually transact at. For parallel market tracking, use Monierate. **Comparison with ExchangeRate-API** CurrencyLayer is older and more widely deployed but has a more restrictive free tier (100 calls vs. 1,500 calls on ExchangeRate-API). The Basic plan at $13.99/month is more expensive than ExchangeRate-API Pro at $10/month for comparable features. CurrencyLayer's advantage is the inclusion of precious metals and the APILayer ecosystem. Choose CurrencyLayer if precious metals rates or APILayer ecosystem integration matter; choose ExchangeRate-API for a more generous free tier and lower entry-level paid pricing. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Can I use NGN as a base currency on the free plan? A: No. The free plan is locked to USD as the base currency. Upgrade to Basic ($13.99/month) for NGN base currency support. Q: Does CurrencyLayer include gold prices? A: Yes. Gold (XAU), silver (XAG), platinum (XPT), and palladium (XPD) are included in the 168-currency response. Q: How do I authenticate API requests? A: Append your API key as access_key=[YOUR_KEY] in the request URL query string. Q: Is there a sandbox for testing? A: No dedicated sandbox — testing uses the live API with free tier credentials. Q: Who owns CurrencyLayer? A: CurrencyLayer is owned by APILayer, a platform aggregating developer-focused APIs.

8. Zone (formerly AppZone)

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Blockchain, Nigeria

Zone (formerly AppZone) is Africa's first CBN-licensed blockchain-based payment switching and processing company, founded by Obi Emetarom and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. In 2022, Zone became the first blockchain-powered fintech to receive a Payment Switching and Processing License from the Central Bank of Nigeria — a historically significant milestone that validated blockchain technology as a legitimate payment infrastructure layer under Nigerian regulatory oversight. Zone provides banks, fintechs, and financial service providers with simple APIs for processing a broad range of payment transactions through a decentralized blockchain settlement layer. Unlike traditional payment switches (NIBSS, Interswitch) that rely on centralized clearing databases, Zone's blockchain infrastructure creates an immutable, transparent ledger of every settlement — reducing reconciliation disputes and eliminating the need for a trusted central intermediary between participating institutions. The Zone API enables developers to process: account-to-account fund transfers, ATM card withdrawals, POS (Point of Sale) card payments, merchant web and in-app payments, cash-in/cash-out at agent locations, and cross-border remittances. These are the core transaction types that flow through any payment switch — and Zone's blockchain layer provides transparent audit trails for all of them. Currently, Zone is connected to more than 15 of Africa's largest commercial banks. The company's onboarding model is B2B partnership-driven — typically targeting banks, licensed payment service providers, and institutional fintechs rather than individual developers seeking self-service access. Integration is handled through a technical partnership agreement, which reflects the institutional nature of payment switching infrastructure. Zone raised a $8.5 million seed round in March 2024, backed by investors including Flourish Ventures and Speedinvest, to scale its decentralized payment infrastructure across Nigeria and expand to additional African markets. The company's pre-Zone identity as AppZone gave it over a decade of established relationships with Nigerian commercial banks — making it one of the most deeply connected fintech infrastructure companies in Nigeria. Authentication for Zone's developer APIs uses API Key or OAuth credentials obtained through the Zone developer portal. A sandbox environment is available for testing. Given the institutional nature of the product, developer access is typically preceded by a commercial engagement with the Zone team. From a compliance standpoint, Zone holds the CBN Payment Switching and Processing License — the highest-tier payment infrastructure license in Nigeria. This license covers all transaction types processed through the Zone switch. All participating banks and fintechs must themselves hold appropriate CBN licenses for their respective payment activities. Known challenges: Zone's developer portal and self-service documentation are less accessible than consumer-facing gateways like Paystack. The B2B, institution-first model means individual developers cannot simply sign up and start testing. Additionally, the blockchain infrastructure, while innovative, adds a layer of complexity compared to traditional switches — institutions must understand the settlement model before integration. Frequently Asked Questions: Is Zone's blockchain public or private? Zone operates a permissioned blockchain — only CBN-licensed institutions can participate as nodes. It is not a public blockchain like Ethereum or Bitcoin. Can I use Zone as a regular merchant to accept card payments? Zone is a payment switch, not a merchant payment gateway. It provides infrastructure to banks and fintechs, who then offer payment services to merchants. Contact a Zone-connected bank or fintech for merchant payment solutions. How is Zone different from NIBSS? NIBSS is a centralized clearing system owned by all Nigerian banks. Zone is a decentralized, blockchain-based switch that competes with NIBSS's NIP system — offering an alternative routing path for interbank transfers with blockchain-based settlement transparency.

9. RoutePay Fintech

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

RoutePay Fintech Limited is a Nigerian payment technology company that received its Full Operating Licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) on January 12, 2023 — making it one of the newer entrants to Nigeria's regulated payment gateway space. The company is also certified by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for Value-Added Services, giving it a dual regulatory standing that covers both financial payments and telecoms-adjacent services like airtime and data transactions. Headquartered in Victoria Island, Lagos (Africa Re House, Plot 1679 Karimu Kotun Street), RoutePay operates under the leadership of CEO Abayomi Olomu and Group Managing Director Femi Adeoti (former MD of Inlaks). The company is registered as RoutePay Fintech Limited (RC 1872221) and uniquely owns a licensed microfinance bank subsidiary — Routelink Microfinance Bank Limited (RC 8836108) — enabling it to offer embedded merchant credit alongside payment processing, a rare combination in Nigeria's payment gateway landscape. **Omnichannel Payment Infrastructure** RoutePay is built as a truly omnichannel payment platform — not just an online gateway, but a complete payments infrastructure that covers every channel Nigerian consumers and businesses transact on: - **Web**: Browser-based checkout integration for e-commerce and business websites - **Mobile**: SDK and API integration for iOS and Android apps - **POS**: Physical terminal support for retail and hospitality merchants - **ATM**: ATM payment routing for cash-based and card-based transactions - **USSD**: Short code-based payment acceptance for feature phone users and financial inclusion scenarios This breadth of channels makes RoutePay particularly valuable for businesses that operate across both digital and physical environments, or for government institutions that need to serve citizens regardless of smartphone availability. **Core Payment Features** RoutePay supports card payments (debit and credit — Visa, Mastercard, Verve), direct bank transfers, USSD codes, QR code payments, and payment link generation. The payment link feature is specifically designed for social media sellers and informal businesses that take orders via WhatsApp, Instagram, or phone — allowing them to collect payments without a dedicated website. **Bill Payments API** Beyond payment acceptance, RoutePay provides a bill payments module covering: airtime top-up for all Nigerian mobile networks (MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile), mobile data purchases, DSTV/GOtv/Startimes cable TV subscription renewals, and PHCN/DISCOs electricity prepaid token purchases. This module enables developers to build super-apps and lifestyle platforms with embedded utility payment capabilities. **Merchant Micro-loans via Routelink MFB** One of RoutePay's most distinctive features is its integration with Routelink Microfinance Bank. Merchants who process payments through RoutePay become eligible for micro-loans whose terms are informed by their transaction history and payment volumes on the platform. This provides Nigerian SMEs with access to working capital financing without the collateral requirements and bureaucratic overhead of traditional bank loans — the loan eligibility is earned through demonstrated business activity rather than pre-existing credit history. **Government & Institutional Payments** RoutePay explicitly targets government and public sector clients, enabling tax collection, licensing fee payment, regulatory fee submission, and institutional disbursements. The USSD channel support is particularly valuable here — it allows citizens in areas with limited internet access to make payments to government agencies using any mobile phone. **Security Architecture** RoutePay implements bank-grade AES encryption across all transactions, combined with two-factor authentication (2FA) for account access and a real-time fraud monitoring system. Auto-reversal protocols ensure that failed transactions are automatically reversed without manual intervention. The platform also offers account freeze capability for security incidents. **Tiered KYC System** RoutePay implements a Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3 KYC model for individual users, consistent with CBN's tiered KYC framework for digital financial services. Higher tiers unlock larger transaction limits — Tier 1 requires minimal information (BVN linkage), while Tier 2 and Tier 3 require progressively more documentation (government ID, address proof, enhanced verification). This tiered approach enables financial inclusion while managing regulatory compliance. **Authentication & API Access** RoutePay provides API access for developers through its developer portal. API credentials are issued after completing merchant KYC/onboarding. The API follows REST conventions with JSON request/response formats. For developer documentation and API access, developers can visit routepay.com/developers or contact sales@routepay.com. **Pricing** RoutePay charges no monthly maintenance fees. Transaction fees are per-transaction at industry-standard rates, with full transparency on charges — no hidden fees. Specific fee percentages are provided during merchant onboarding rather than published on the website. Micro-loan terms are governed separately by Routelink MFB's lending policies. **Challenges for Nigerian Developers** RoutePay's public developer documentation is less detailed than market leaders like Paystack or Flutterwave, and specific API specifications, authentication details, and rate limits are not publicly documented — requiring developer outreach to access. Recurring/subscription billing is not a documented product feature. For businesses that primarily need a straightforward online payment gateway with comprehensive public documentation, larger platforms may offer a smoother developer experience. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Is RoutePay licensed by the CBN? A: Yes. RoutePay holds a CBN PSSP Full Operating Licence granted January 12, 2023. Q: Does RoutePay support USSD payments? A: Yes — USSD is one of RoutePay's five supported payment channels, enabling payments from any Nigerian mobile phone. Q: What makes RoutePay unique compared to Paystack or Flutterwave? A: RoutePay's key differentiators are its omnichannel coverage (including ATM and USSD), its institutional/government payment capabilities, and its embedded micro-loan product through Routelink MFB. Q: Can my business get a loan through RoutePay? A: Merchants processing payments on RoutePay become eligible for micro-loans from Routelink MFB — eligibility and terms are based on transaction volume and history on the platform. Q: Does RoutePay have a sandbox for testing? A: Contact RoutePay's developer team at routepay.com/developers or sales@routepay.com for sandbox access details.

10. Monierate

Forex, Data Analytics, Nigeria

Monierate is a Nigerian-built exchange rate aggregation platform and API that solves a uniquely Nigerian problem: the existence of multiple, often dramatically different, NGN exchange rate markets operating simultaneously. Unlike global exchange rate APIs (ExchangeRate-API, CurrencyLayer, Currencyapi) that only provide official mid-market rates, Monierate tracks and aggregates three distinct types of Nigerian Naira exchange rates — Official CBN rates, Midmarket rates, and Black Market (parallel market) rates — from over 40 Nigerian exchanges, Bureau de Change operators, banks, and cryptocurrency platforms. This multi-source, multi-market approach makes Monierate the most Nigeria-relevant exchange rate data source available, and the only API on the market specifically designed around the reality of Nigeria's dual exchange rate system. **Why Nigeria Needs a Dedicated FX API** Nigeria's foreign exchange market is uniquely complex. For extended periods, the country has operated a dual exchange rate system where the official CBN rate differs significantly from the rate available in the parallel market (also called the "black market" or "street rate"). This gap has at times exceeded 50–100% — meaning a developer using an international exchange rate API that only provides the official rate would be presenting rates that Nigerian consumers and informal businesses do not actually transact at. For Nigerian fintech apps, remittance platforms, crypto exchanges, and financial media that serve real users in Nigeria, the parallel market rate is often more relevant than the official rate. Monierate is built specifically to address this gap. **What Monierate Provides** The Monierate API aggregates NGN exchange rate data from 40+ sources and provides: 1. **Official CBN Rates**: The Central Bank of Nigeria's official exchange rates — the rate used for official transactions, government imports, and regulated financial institutions. 2. **Midmarket Rates**: The average market rate between buy and sell prices across major providers — a middle-ground figure useful for general currency conversion displays. 3. **Parallel Market (Black Market) Rates**: The street rates available through Bureau de Change operators and informal channels — reflecting what Nigerian individuals and businesses actually transact at when official channels are unavailable or uncompetitive. 4. **Crypto Exchange Rates**: NGN prices from major crypto exchanges including Binance and Bybit — enabling apps to display Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT values in Naira at current exchange platform rates. **40+ Source Aggregation** Monierate continuously monitors exchange rates from over 40 Nigerian and international providers including: CBN (Central Bank), commercial banks, Bureau de Change operators, crypto exchanges (Binance, Bybit), remittance services, and financial platforms. This aggregation gives developers access to rate comparison data across providers — not just a single rate but a full market picture. **API Authentication & Access** Monierate requires an account signup to access the API, even on the free plan. Account creation is done at monierate.com/api and requires only an email address — no KYC or business verification. An API key is issued upon signup. Developers pass this key in their API requests to authenticate. **Pricing** Monierate offers a free plan with standard rate limits suitable for development and low-traffic applications. Paid plans with higher rate limits are available for production-scale usage. Specific pricing tiers and request volumes require account registration to view. Rate limiting is enforced at the plan level, not per request. **Use Cases in Nigerian Context** Monierate is the data source of choice for any Nigerian application where accuracy of the real-world exchange rate matters: - Remittance comparison tools showing which service gives the best NGN rate - P2P crypto platforms displaying USDT/NGN and BTC/NGN rates - Financial news sites embedding live Naira rate widgets - Treasury management tools monitoring official vs. parallel rate spreads - Travel apps showing travelers what to expect at Lagos Bureau de Change desks - Import/export businesses calculating true FX costs beyond official rates **Comparison with Global FX APIs** While ExchangeRate-API, CurrencyLayer, and Currencyapi provide official mid-market NGN rates that may be accurate for international financial reporting, they are insufficient for building consumer-facing Nigerian financial apps where users experience the parallel market daily. Monierate fills this gap by providing the data that represents how Nigerian users actually experience exchange rates. **Company Background** Monierate was built by Nigerian developers to solve the local FX data problem. The platform operates as both a consumer-facing website (monierate.com) where Nigerians can track live rates and compare providers, and as an API service for developers who want to embed those rates into their own applications. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: What makes Monierate different from ExchangeRate-API? A: Monierate provides Nigerian parallel market and black market NGN rates — which no global exchange rate API includes. ExchangeRate-API only provides official mid-market rates. Q: Do I need to pay to use the Monierate API? A: A free plan is available with email signup. Paid plans provide higher rate limits for production use. Q: Does Monierate support non-NGN currency pairs? A: Monierate is focused on Nigerian Naira (NGN) exchange rates. For multi-currency pairs not involving NGN, use a global exchange rate API. Q: Does it include crypto rates? A: Yes. Monierate tracks NGN prices on Binance, Bybit, and other crypto exchanges. Q: How many sources does Monierate aggregate? A: Over 40 Nigerian exchanges, BDCs, banks, crypto platforms, and remittance services.

11. VerifyMe Nigeria

Identity & KYC, Data Validation, Nigeria

VerifyMe Nigeria is an identity verification and trust infrastructure company tackling "Africa's credibility gap" — the challenge of verifying identities, addresses, employment histories, and background information in markets where traditional verification methods fail. Founded in Nigeria and licensed by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), VerifyMe provides API-accessible verification services used by over 10,000 businesses across fintech, lending, HR, insurance, e-commerce, and logistics in Nigeria and across Africa. The company has verified over 500 million identities and 400,000 addresses, making it one of the most battle-tested identity verification platforms in Nigeria. Notable clients include Moniepoint (one of Nigeria's largest fintech companies, using VerifyMe for employment verification) and ALT Finance (using address verification for loan underwriting). **Core Verification Services** VerifyMe provides seven categories of verification, all accessible via REST API: 1. **NIN (National Identity Number) Verification** — Verifies a customer's NIN against NIMC's national identity database. NIMC-licensed access ensures government-authorized data retrieval. Supports standard NIN and Virtual NIN (vNIN) verification — the NIN alias format required by the NIMC for data privacy protection. 2. **BVN (Bank Verification Number) Verification** — Verifies a customer's BVN against the CBN/NIBSS database, confirming name, date of birth, and phone number match. Essential for CBN-mandated KYC for Nigerian financial services. 3. **FRSC Driver's License Verification** — Verifies Nigerian driver's license details against the Federal Road Safety Commission database — name, DOB, license number, and status. 4. **Address Verification** — Physical address verification using a network of field agents (GOVA) combined with 4D geo-location technology. Meets CBN Tier III KYC requirements for address confirmation. Verifies both residential and business addresses. 5. **Employment History Verification** — Confirms a person's current and past employment details — employer name, job title, employment period, and reason for leaving — useful for lending credit assessment and HR screening. 6. **Property Verification** — Verifies property ownership and occupancy details for loan collateral assessment, rental agreements, and real estate due diligence. 7. **Guarantor Verification** — Verifies the identity and contact details of loan guarantors, with optional physical visit confirmation. **AI-Powered Facial Recognition & Liveness Detection** VerifyMe integrates facial recognition with liveness detection for contactless customer onboarding. Customers can complete identity verification using selfie + government ID, with the AI system matching the face to the government ID photo and confirming the user is physically present (not a photo or video replay). This is particularly valuable for digital-first fintechs that cannot collect physical documents. **Core Products** **QoreID** — A KYC and compliance integration product that provides a centralized verification endpoint with configurable workflows. Developers can build custom KYC journeys combining multiple verification types (e.g., NIN + BVN + liveness + address) in a single flow. QoreID also includes VeriLinks — shareable verification links that customers complete without requiring the business to write any code. This makes KYC accessible to non-technical teams. **Pluto** — A background check platform for employment and pre-hire screening. Pluto enables HR departments and recruitment agencies to request remote candidate verification covering identity, employment history, educational credentials, address, and criminal history — all without scheduling in-person appointments. Reports include risk scoring and structured output for HR decision-making. **GOVA** — A network of VerifyMe verification agents deployed across Nigeria who conduct physical address and guarantor verifications. The agent network gives VerifyMe reach into informal Nigerian addresses and rural areas that digital-only verification cannot cover. **Authentication** VerifyMe uses API key authentication. Keys are issued after account creation and approval at app.verifyme.ng. API keys are passed as Bearer tokens in the Authorization header of all API requests. Test credentials are separate from production credentials. **Compliance** All VerifyMe verifications are compliant with: - **NIMC regulations**: Licensed data processor for NIN verification - **CBN Tier 1, 2, 3 KYC requirements**: Identity, BVN, and address verifications meet all CBN tier upgrade requirements - **AML (Anti-Money Laundering)** guidelines for regulated financial institutions - **NDPR (Nigeria Data Protection Regulation)**: Data handling complies with Nigeria's data privacy law **Pricing** VerifyMe uses per-verification pricing. No flat-rate pricing is publicly listed — rates vary by verification type (NIN is typically cheaper than address or employment verification). Contact sales@verifyme.ng or sign up at app.verifyme.ng for pricing. Enterprise volume pricing is available. **Challenges for Nigerian Developers** Pricing is not transparent without a sales engagement, which can slow initial evaluation. NIN verification requires NIMC licensing/certification, which VerifyMe holds — so developers do not need to obtain their own NIMC license. Address and employment verifications involving physical agent visits take longer (hours to days) than instant digital verifications. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Is VerifyMe licensed by NIMC? A: Yes. VerifyMe is a NIMC-licensed data processor, authorized to access Nigeria's NIN database. Q: Does VerifyMe support Virtual NIN (vNIN)? A: Yes. Both standard NIN and Virtual NIN verification are supported. Q: How do I get started with the API? A: Create an account at app.verifyme.ng to receive test credentials and access documentation at docs.verifyme.ng. Q: Does VerifyMe offer a no-code option? A: Yes. QoreID's VeriLinks allow KYC collection without any coding — share a link with the customer. Q: How long does address verification take? A: Physical address verification using the GOVA agent network typically takes hours to 1–2 business days depending on location and agent availability.

12. Youverify

Identity & KYC, Data Validation, Nigeria

Youverify is a Nigerian-founded identity verification and compliance infrastructure company offering an end-to-end KYC, AML, and fraud prevention platform designed for African businesses operating under regulatory compliance requirements. Trusted by hundreds of businesses across Nigeria and 30+ African countries, Youverify's flagship product — the YouVerify Operating System (yvOS) — provides access to a global government-backed identity database of 300 million+ records through a single unified API. Youverify is particularly distinguished by its direct integrations with Nigerian government identity authorities: NIMC (NIN verification), NIBSS (BVN verification), and CAC (business registration) — meaning verifications return data directly from authoritative government sources, not from third-party aggregated copies. This direct-source approach significantly reduces false positives and data freshness issues. **yvOS — YouVerify Operating System** yvOS is Youverify's core product: a unified API endpoint that orchestrates the full KYC/AML workflow in a single session. Developers configure a verification flow (e.g., NIN + BVN + facial recognition + AML screening) and yvOS handles all data source routing, response aggregation, risk scoring, and audit trail generation automatically. This eliminates the need to manage multiple separate API integrations and build custom orchestration logic. **Nigerian ID Verifications Supported** - **BVN (Bank Verification Number)**: Direct NIBSS verification — returns name, DOB, phone, and enrollment details - **NIN (National Identification Number)**: Direct NIMC verification — confirms identity against Nigeria's national biometric database - **FRSC Driver's License**: FRSC database verification of license number, holder name, and validity - **International Passport**: Nigerian immigration service verification - **Voter ID (INEC)**: Independent National Electoral Commission voter registration verification - **CAC Company Verification**: Corporate Affairs Commission lookup for KYB compliance **Video KYC (vKYC) — CBN Compliant** Youverify's video KYC module allows businesses to conduct live identity verification sessions with customers via video call. The vKYC session is recorded, encrypted, and stored for the CBN-mandated minimum of five years. ISO 30107-3 compliant liveness detection with deepfake resistance is embedded in the session, providing a tamper-evident audit trail from initial onboarding through to ongoing compliance monitoring. **Biometrics & Liveness Detection** Facial recognition with active and passive liveness detection is available as a standalone verification step or integrated into the full KYC flow. The liveness detection is ISO 30107-3 compliant, meaning it meets the international standard for biometric presentation attack detection. Deepfake attacks — increasingly used to bypass identity checks — are specifically addressed. **AML & Compliance Screening** Automatic PEP (Politically Exposed Person) and sanctions screening is triggered at the point of vKYC or KYC completion. Results feed into the customer's initial risk score and the case management workflow in Youverify's compliance dashboard. AML screening covers global sanctions lists, PEP databases, and adverse media sources. **30+ African Countries** Beyond Nigeria, Youverify supports identity verification in 30+ African countries including Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and others. Country-specific national ID documents are supported, making it a strong choice for platforms expanding across Africa. **Authentication & Data Security** Youverify uses API key-based authentication. All data in transit is encrypted with TLS 1.2 minimum; data at rest uses AES-256 encryption. The platform is designed to comply with NDPR (Nigeria Data Protection Regulation) and CBN data handling requirements. **Integration Options** Youverify integrates via REST API or plug-and-play SDKs (available for web, iOS, and Android). The SDK approach enables non-technical teams to embed verification flows without writing custom API integration code. The platform delivers 99.9% uptime through enterprise-grade infrastructure. **Pricing** Per-verification pricing — rates vary by verification type (basic ID lookup vs. biometric + liveness vs. full video KYC) and country. Enterprise plans with volume pricing are available. Contact Youverify for a pricing schedule. **Challenges for Nigerian Developers** Pricing requires a sales engagement. While yvOS simplifies integration by providing a unified API, configuring complex multi-step verification flows may require compliance and product design input beyond standard developer integration. Physical address verification involves agent visits with associated delays. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Does Youverify use direct government data sources for Nigeria? A: Yes. Youverify integrates directly with NIMC (NIN), NIBSS (BVN), and CAC — not via aggregated copies. Q: Is Youverify's liveness detection certified? A: Yes — ISO 30107-3 compliant with deepfake resistance. Q: How many African countries does Youverify cover? A: 30+ African countries through the yvOS platform. Q: How long is vKYC session data retained? A: 5 years — the minimum required by CBN regulations. Q: Does Youverify support AML screening? A: Yes — automatic PEP and sanctions screening with risk scoring is included in the platform.

13. Dojah

Identity & KYC, Data Validation, Nigeria

Dojah is an AI-powered identity verification and fraud prevention infrastructure platform trusted by African and global businesses for KYC, AML compliance, biometric authentication, and secure customer onboarding. Built for the African market but deployed globally, Dojah provides a single API that consolidates BVN verification, NIN verification, government document scanning, facial recognition with liveness detection, CAC company lookup, digital address verification, and AML screening — eliminating the need for multiple separate vendor integrations. Headquartered in Nigeria and serving businesses across Africa, Dojah integrates multiple data sources — including Nigerian government databases (NIMC, CBN/NIBSS), telecoms networks, banks, and utility providers — to enable businesses to verify customer identities with speed, accuracy, and regulatory compliance. **Easy Lookup API — The Standout Feature** Dojah's Easy Lookup API is one of its most powerful and developer-friendly products. By passing a single data point — either a phone number or a BVN — the API returns a comprehensive identity profile: full name, date of birth, photo, residential address, phone number, and enrollment details. This single-call approach dramatically simplifies KYC for Nigerian applications, reducing what would normally require multiple API calls and document uploads into a single instant lookup. It is particularly powerful for lending apps that need to verify a borrower's identity quickly at the point of application. **BVN & NIN Verification** Standard BVN and NIN verification endpoints confirm the identity data attached to a Bank Verification Number or National Identification Number. A successful BVN/NIN lookup returns name, DOB, phone number, and photo — providing the minimum data needed to auto-populate a KYC record and confirm the user is who they claim to be. Dojah also integrates blog guidance on BVN/NIN verification to help developers navigate CBN's mandate for BVN-NIN linkage requirements. **AI Facial Recognition & Liveness Detection** Dojah's biometric verification module uses AI to compare a live selfie against the photo on a government ID or on file in a government database. The liveness detection layer confirms the user is physically present — not a static photo or a video replay — preventing one of the most common forms of identity fraud in digital onboarding. This is available as a standalone verification step or combined with document scanning in a full biometric onboarding flow. **Government ID Document Verification** Dojah can scan and validate Nigerian government-issued documents — NIN slip, passport data page, driver's license, voter's card — extracting data via OCR and cross-referencing it against issuing authority databases to confirm authenticity. This is critical for CBN Tier 2 and Tier 3 KYC. **Digital Address Verification** Unlike traditional address verification that requires physical field agent visits (which are slow and expensive), Dojah offers digital address verification using telco location data, utility records, and cross-referenced data sources. This allows Nigerian fintechs to complete address verification within minutes rather than days, at a fraction of the cost of physical visits. **CAC Company Verification (KYB)** The CAC lookup endpoint queries Nigeria's Corporate Affairs Commission database to confirm a company's registration status, legal name, directors, and business type. This is the foundation of Know Your Business (KYB) compliance for B2B platforms, lenders, and payment companies onboarding business customers. **Identity Hub — AML & Fraud Prevention** Dojah's Identity Hub is a compliance product that combines AML screening, fraud detection, and case management. It screens customers against global sanctions lists, PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) databases, and adverse media — meeting FATF and CBN AML requirements. The Identity Hub also provides tools for detecting synthetic identities and fraudulent document submissions. **Authentication & Pricing** Dojah uses API key authentication — keys are issued through the Dojah dashboard and passed in the Authorization header. Pricing is per-API-call: the Starting Out plan starts at $0.06/call, with volume discounts available on the Optimizing plan (from $0.04/call). Specific per-verification prices vary by check type. A free sandbox environment is available immediately upon account registration — no credit card required. **Nigeria Data Compliance** All Dojah verifications comply with NIMC data handling requirements, CBN KYC mandates, and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR). Dojah does not store raw NINs beyond the immediate verification transaction, in line with NIMC's tokenization requirements. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: What is the Easy Lookup API? A: Pass a phone number or BVN and receive a full identity profile in one call — name, DOB, photo, address. Ideal for fast, low-friction KYC. Q: Does Dojah require a credit card to test? A: No. A free sandbox account is available at app.dojah.io with no credit card required. Q: What is the starting price for Dojah verifications? A: Starting at $0.06 per API call on the Starting Out plan, with volume discounts on higher tiers. Q: Does Dojah verify Nigerian addresses digitally? A: Yes. Dojah offers digital address verification using telco and data cross-referencing — no physical field agent visit required. Q: Does Dojah support businesses outside Nigeria? A: Yes. Dojah supports verification in multiple African markets beyond Nigeria through its pan-African data source integrations.

14. Smile Identity

Identity & KYC, Data Validation, Nigeria

Smile Identity (also known as SmileID) is Africa's leading identity verification company, providing KYC, biometric authentication, document verification, and AML compliance infrastructure to businesses across 52 African countries. Founded with a specific focus on the African market, Smile Identity has built its technology to address a challenge that global identity verification providers consistently fail at: accurately verifying African identities using AI and biometrics trained on African faces. The company holds ISO 27001 (information security), SOC 2 Type 2 (security and availability), and ISO/IEC 30107-3:2023 Level 2 (biometric presentation attack detection) certifications — achieving a 0% biometric facial attack penetration rating, the highest level of liveness detection certification achievable. **Nigeria Coverage — 9 Government Databases, 132M+ Records** In Nigeria, Smile Identity verifies against nine government identity databases, providing the widest official data coverage of any single KYC provider in the market: 1. NIN (National Identification Number) — NIMC database 2. NIN V2 (enhanced NIN with additional fields) 3. V_NIN (Virtual NIN — tokenized format per NIMC policy) 4. BVN (Bank Verification Number) — NIBSS database 5. Bank Account verification 6. Phone Number verification 7. Voter ID (INEC — Independent National Electoral Commission) 8. FRSC Driver's License 9. International Passport This 9-database coverage gives Nigerian businesses access to 132 million+ identity records, ensuring that virtually any Nigerian customer with any government-issued ID can be verified through a single Smile Identity integration. **SmartSelfie — African-Face-Optimized Biometric Authentication** SmartSelfie is Smile Identity's proprietary biometric authentication system, built with six AI anti-spoof models specifically trained on African facial features. This is a critical differentiator: most global facial recognition systems are trained on predominantly Western facial data, resulting in significantly higher error rates (false rejections and false acceptances) for African users. SmartSelfie achieves 99.8% accuracy on African faces, making it the most reliable biometric tool for Nigerian and broader African customer onboarding. The system detects presentation attacks (photographs, videos, masks, deepfakes) at ISO/IEC 30107-3:2023 Level 2 — the highest certification level — with a documented 0% penetration rate in testing. **Document Verification & OCR** Smile Identity's document verification module uses OCR to extract data from physical and digital identity documents — passports, national IDs, driver's licenses — and cross-references the extracted data against government databases to confirm authenticity. This catches tampered, expired, or fabricated documents that database-only lookups would miss. **Business Verification (KYB)** For Know Your Business (KYB) compliance, Smile Identity verifies company registration details, directors, and ultimate beneficial ownership against business registry databases. This is used by B2B lenders, payment platforms, and corporate banking services. **AML Compliance** Smile Identity includes AML (Anti-Money Laundering) screening capabilities — checking customer identities against global sanctions lists, PEP databases, and adverse media — as part of the integrated compliance workflow. **52-Country African Coverage** Smile Identity supports identity verification across 52 African countries using country-specific national ID documents and government databases. This makes it the most geographically comprehensive African KYC provider, particularly valuable for platforms with pan-African ambitions. **Authentication & Integration** API access requires both an API Key and a Partner ID, issued after account registration at portal.usesmileid.com. Both credentials must be present in all API requests. SDKs are available for web, iOS, and Android — enabling both server-to-server integrations and embedded mobile verification flows. A free sandbox environment is available immediately upon registration. **Pricing** Per-verification pricing, tiered by volume. Specific rates vary by ID type and country. Enterprise volume pricing is available. Contact Smile Identity for current pricing schedules. **Why Choose Smile Identity Over Other Providers** The unique combination of 52-country African coverage, African-face-trained biometrics at ISO Level 2 certification, and 9 Nigerian government database access makes Smile Identity the strongest choice for African-market-focused KYC. Global providers like Jumio or Onfido offer broader international coverage but have weaker African-face accuracy and fewer Africa-specific database integrations. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: What makes SmartSelfie different from standard facial recognition? A: SmartSelfie uses 6 AI models trained specifically on African faces, achieving 99.8% accuracy — far higher than Western-trained models. Q: How many Nigerian ID types can Smile Identity verify? A: Nine — NIN, NIN V2, vNIN, BVN, bank account, phone, Voter ID, FRSC Driver's License, and International Passport. Q: What certifications does Smile Identity hold? A: ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 2, and ISO/IEC 30107-3:2023 Level 2 (0% biometric attack penetration). Q: Is there a sandbox for testing? A: Yes — register at portal.usesmileid.com to access sandbox credentials immediately. Q: Does Smile Identity cover countries outside Africa? A: Smile Identity is Africa-focused (52 countries). For non-African markets, use a global provider.

15. Didit

Identity & KYC, Data Validation, Nigeria

Didit is an AI-native identity verification and fraud prevention platform purpose-built for developers, offering one of the most transparent and Nigeria-friendly pricing structures of any global KYC provider. With 500 free verifications per month (no credit card required), public per-module pricing, and explicit support for Nigerian National ID and BVN verification at published rates, Didit stands out as the most accessible enterprise-grade KYC option for Nigerian fintech developers. The platform provides 25+ composable verification modules across four product lines — KYC (individual identity), KYB (business identity), Transaction Monitoring, and Wallet Screening — all accessible through a single REST API with Web, iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter SDKs. Didit raised $6 million in May 2025 to expand its identity and fraud infrastructure platform globally. ## What the API Does Didit's modular architecture allows developers to combine verification checks in any configuration needed: **Identity Document Verification**: Supports 14,000+ document types globally, including Nigerian international passports, NIN slips, voter cards, and driver's licenses. AI-powered OCR extraction and authentication analysis. **Nigerian Database Checks**: - **National ID Check**: $0.08 per successful query — checks the Nigerian National ID number against government database records with ~100% adult coverage. - **BVN Verification**: $0.80 per successful query — validates a Bank Verification Number against NIBSS records with ~100% banked-adult coverage. **Passive Liveness Detection**: Background liveness analysis during selfie capture without requiring the user to perform gestures. **Biometric Face Match**: Selfie-to-document face comparison for identity binding. **IP Analysis**: Risk signals from the user's IP address (geolocation, proxy/VPN detection, device fingerprinting) included in the full KYC bundle. **AML & Sanctions Screening**: Global PEP and sanctions watchlist checks. **KYB**: Business entity verification. **Transaction Monitoring**: Ongoing transaction risk monitoring. **Wallet Screening**: Cryptocurrency wallet address risk scoring against global databases. ## Full KYC Bundle The most commonly used configuration is the $0.33 full KYC bundle, which includes: Identity Document Verification + Passive Liveness + Face Match + IP Analysis — all in a single API call. For Nigerian developers, this can be supplemented with the $0.08 National ID check or $0.80 BVN check for database-confirmed identity verification. ## How Developers Use It Didit is designed for minimal integration friction. The platform offers: 1. **REST API**: Standard JSON REST API with OpenAPI 3 spec for auto-generating client libraries. 2. **Mobile/Web SDKs**: Web, iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter SDKs for native capture experiences. 3. **No-Code Integrations**: Ready-made Zapier, Shopify, and Salesforce integrations for teams without engineering resources. 4. **Signed Webhooks**: Webhook payload signing for secure result delivery. Integration is documented as achievable in minutes — Didit explicitly states it can be shipped by AI coding agents like Claude Code in a single prompt using the OpenAPI spec. ## Pricing & Fees Didit offers the most transparent public pricing of any major KYC provider: - **500 free verifications/month** — No credit card required. Real production checks included. - **Full KYC Bundle**: $0.33/check (ID + Liveness + Face Match + IP) - **ID Document Check only**: $0.15/check - **Nigerian National ID Database**: $0.08/successful query - **Nigerian BVN Database**: $0.80/successful query - **AML Screening**: Available as additional module - No Nigeria surcharge — domestic users are priced at the same rate as global ## Authentication Didit uses API key authentication with Bearer token. Webhook payloads are signed for verification. The API key is passed as `Authorization: Bearer your_api_key` on all requests. ## Rate Limits Not publicly documented. The free tier includes 500 verifications/month. Contact Didit for rate limit details on paid plans. ## Compliance & Regulations Didit is designed to comply with CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) remote onboarding requirements for banks and financial institutions. The platform supports FATF KYC recommendations and applicable AML/CFT compliance frameworks globally. AML screening covers OFAC, UN, EU, and UK Treasury watchlists and PEP databases. For Nigerian deployments, the combination of National ID, BVN, document, and biometric verification provides a robust foundation for meeting CBN KYC Tier 1 through Tier 3 requirements. ## Challenges & Gotchas for Nigerian Developers 1. **BVN pricing**: At $0.80/BVN check, this is higher per-check than the National ID option. For high-volume consumer apps, factor BVN check costs carefully into unit economics. 2. **Relatively new platform**: Didit is newer than Sumsub or Onfido. While technically strong, the ecosystem maturity (support depth, edge case coverage) may be less than established providers. 3. **Wallet screening scope**: Confirm the specific risk database coverage for Nigerian crypto users before relying on wallet screening for compliance purposes. 4. **NDPR compliance**: Biometric and personal data processed must be handled under appropriate data agreements. Review Didit's DPA for NDPR alignment. ## Company Background Didit is an AI-native identity and fraud infrastructure company. In May 2025, the company raised $6 million in funding to expand its global identity and fraud platform. Didit's platform is explicitly developer-focused, with documentation written to support AI-assisted integration via Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor. The company has a dedicated Nigeria solutions page (didit.me/solutions/countries/nigeria/) reflecting active investment in the Nigerian market. ## Frequently Asked Questions **Q: Does Didit support Nigerian BVN verification?** A: Yes. Didit offers BVN verification at $0.80 per successful query against NIBSS records, with ~100% coverage of banked Nigerian adults. **Q: Can I start without a credit card?** A: Yes. Didit's free tier includes 500 real production verifications per month with no credit card required. **Q: What is the cheapest way to verify a Nigerian user's identity with Didit?** A: The Nigerian National ID database check at $0.08/query provides the lowest-cost verification. The full KYC bundle at $0.33 includes document + liveness + face match + IP analysis. **Q: Is Didit CBN-compliant?** A: Didit's platform is designed to meet CBN remote onboarding requirements for banks and financial institutions in Nigeria.

16. Paga

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Paga is one of Nigeria's oldest and largest mobile money platforms, founded in 2009 by Tayo Oviosu. Paga is operated by Pagatech Limited, a subsidiary of Paga Group Ltd (UK), and holds a CBN Mobile Money Operator license — one of the most comprehensive payment licenses in Nigeria. Paga also has NDIC (Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation) insurance coverage, meaning customer funds are protected up to ₦500,000. With over 20 million registered users and more than 30,000 agents across Nigeria, Paga has built deep financial infrastructure that it has opened to developers via the Paga Business API. The Paga Business API is a RESTful API accessed at developer-docs.paga.com. Unlike most Nigerian payment APIs that use standard Bearer tokens, Paga uses a custom authentication scheme based on SHA-512 HMAC hashing. Each API request requires three custom headers: principal (the organization's public ID), credentials (the organization password), and hash (an SHA-512 hash computed from specific request parameters combined with a secret hash key provided by Paga). This non-standard auth scheme means developers must implement the hashing algorithm correctly or all requests will fail — a common gotcha for developers new to the Paga API. The Paga Business API supports a wide range of financial operations beyond just payment collection. The moneyTransfer endpoint allows sending money to any Nigerian bank account or Paga account. The depositToBank endpoint specifically handles bank-to-bank transfers. The airtimePurchase endpoint buys airtime or data bundles for any major Nigerian network (MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile). The merchantPayment endpoint enables payment to registered Paga merchants. The billPayment endpoint covers utilities and service payments including DSTV, GoTV, EKEDC, and other billers. The accountBalance endpoint retrieves current balance, and registerCustomer allows platforms to programmatically onboard new customers to Paga. A powerful feature is bulk transaction support — the Bulk Transfer API allows sending up to 300 transfer instructions in a single API call. This makes Paga highly efficient for Nigerian companies that run regular payroll, commission disbursements, or refund processing at scale. Paga also offers a Collect API — a payment request mechanism where a business generates a payment request for a specific customer, and the customer receives a notification to approve the payment from their Paga account or via USSD. This is similar to a payment link but operates within the Paga network. The Direct Debit API enables businesses to set up recurring debit mandates on customer accounts, allowing automatic deductions for subscriptions, loan repayments, and installment payments — a critical feature for Nigerian lending platforms and SaaS businesses. Pricing is competitive: P2P transfers between Paga accounts are free, making Paga attractive for platforms where both payer and recipient use Paga. Transfers to Nigerian bank accounts cost 1.5% of the transfer amount for card-funded transactions. A minimum fee of ₦10 applies. Enterprise API partners may negotiate custom pricing based on volume. The sandbox environment is available at beta.mypaga.com with test credentials. Live APIs run at mypaga.com. Moving from sandbox to production requires completing Paga's business onboarding process, which includes submitting your use case description, CAC registration documents, and director KYC. From a compliance perspective, Paga holds a CBN Mobile Money Operator license and is NDIC-insured. All transactions are processed within the CBN regulatory framework. Paga is also registered with the NDPR as a data processor. Paga has been operating since 2009 — one of the longest-standing fintech licenses in Nigeria. Known challenges: The SHA-512 HMAC authentication is non-standard and requires careful implementation. The API documentation uses older REST conventions that may feel less intuitive compared to Paystack or Flutterwave. Paga's coverage is strongest in regions where Paga agents are concentrated (North, Southwest Nigeria). Integration support is primarily email-based. Frequently Asked Questions: Why does Paga use SHA-512 hashing instead of Bearer tokens? Paga's authentication predates the widespread adoption of JWT Bearer tokens. The SHA-512 HMAC scheme ensures request integrity and authenticity without requiring TLS-only trust. Can I use Paga API without a Nigerian business? Paga requires a registered Nigerian business account for API access. The CBN licensing requirements mandate that only registered entities can access the Paga Business API. Does Paga support USSD payments? Yes — Paga's agent and consumer USSD product (*242#) is widely used. The Collect API leverages USSD as a notification and payment confirmation channel.

17. Prembly (IdentityPass)

Identity & KYC, Data Validation, Nigeria

Prembly (formerly known as IdentityPass) is a Nigerian-founded identity verification and compliance infrastructure company serving businesses across Africa. Originally launched as IdentityPass — with the Identitypass brand still widely recognized — the company now operates under the Prembly name while maintaining the "Identitypass by Prembly" product identity. All three domains (identitypass.com, myidentitypass.com, prembly.com) resolve to the same company, with prembly.com being the current primary brand. Prembly provides a comprehensive API that allows businesses to verify individual and business identities using government-backed data sources across seven African countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda. In Nigeria, Prembly is NIMC-licensed, meaning it has direct, authorized access to NIN data from Nigeria's National Identity Management Commission — one of the most critical authorizations for any Nigerian KYC provider. **Core Verification Services** For Nigeria, Prembly's API covers: 1. **BVN Verification (Basic and Advanced)**: Verify a Bank Verification Number against the CBN/NIBSS database. Basic returns name and DOB; Advanced returns full customer details including phone, enrollment bank, and photo. 2. **NIN Verification**: Verify a National Identification Number against NIMC's database, returning name, DOB, gender, and photo. Supports both standard NIN and Virtual NIN (vNIN) verification — the tokenized format required by NIMC's new data privacy policy. 3. **BVN + NIN + Phone Mashup**: A single API call that simultaneously verifies BVN, NIN, and phone number — dramatically simplifying KYC integration by reducing three separate calls into one. 4. **CAC Company Verification (KYB)**: Look up and verify a Nigerian company's CAC registration details — company name, registration number, directors, and status — for Know Your Business (KYB) compliance. 5. **FRSC Driver's License Verification**: Verify a Nigerian driver's license against the Federal Road Safety Commission database. 6. **International Passport Verification**: Verify a Nigerian international passport number and details. 7. **Vehicle Plate Number Verification**: Match a vehicle plate number to the registered owner's details. 8. **Stamp Duty Verification**: Verify stamp duty documents. 9. **Bank Account Name Verification**: Confirm that a bank account name matches the account number before initiating transfers — fraud prevention for disbursements. 10. **Address Verification**: Physical and digital address verification for Nigerian addresses. 11. **Facial Recognition & Liveness Detection**: Biometric verification matching a live selfie to a government ID photo, with liveness checks to prevent spoofing. **RadarR — AML & Compliance Screening** Prembly's RadarR product provides Anti-Money Laundering (AML) screening, sanctions list checking, and Politically Exposed Person (PEP) screening. This is a separate product within the Prembly ecosystem, designed for businesses with regulatory obligations to screen customers against global watchlists. **Pan-African Coverage** Beyond Nigeria, Prembly supports identity verification in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda — using country-specific national ID documents and verification databases. This makes Prembly a strong choice for platforms expanding across Africa without needing country-specific verification vendors. **Authentication & Developer Experience** API access is managed through dashboard.prembly.com. Keys are passed via the x-api-key header or as Bearer tokens. Sandbox credentials are available immediately upon account registration — no documents or credit card required for testing. Production access requires business verification (CAC + director ID). SDKs are available for Python (github.com/prembly/prembly_python) and JavaScript (Vanilla), with additional language support maintained in the Prembly GitHub organization. **Pricing** Prembly uses per-verification pricing. Rates vary by verification type (simpler lookups like NIN cost less than biometric or address verifications). No flat-rate pricing is publicly listed — sign up at dashboard.prembly.com for a pricing quote or enterprise plan. Volume discounts are available. **Compliance** Prembly is NIMC-licensed for NIN data access and complies with CBN KYC tiers 1–3, NDPR (Nigeria Data Protection Regulation), and relevant data privacy regulations in each supported country. All data handling adheres to NIMC's vNIN tokenization requirements. **Challenges** Pricing is not transparent without registration, which slows initial evaluation. Physical address verification involving field agents takes longer than instant digital checks. For international markets beyond Prembly's seven supported countries, a global KYC provider (Smile Identity, Sumsub, Jumio) would be needed. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Is Prembly the same as IdentityPass? A: Yes. Prembly is the parent company, and "Identitypass by Prembly" is the product name. All three domains (identitypass.com, myidentitypass.com, prembly.com) are the same company. Q: Can I test without a registered business? A: Yes. Sandbox access at dashboard.prembly.com requires only an email registration — no documents needed. Q: Does Prembly support AML screening? A: Yes, via the RadarR product — a separate AML and sanctions screening module within the Prembly ecosystem. Q: What is the BVN+NIN+Phone mashup endpoint? A: A single API call that verifies all three data points simultaneously, simplifying KYC for Nigerian customer onboarding. Q: Which African countries does Prembly support? A: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda.

18. NIMC NIN API

Identity & KYC, Nigeria

The NIMC NIN API refers to the suite of identity verification services provided by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) — the Nigerian government agency responsible for establishing, managing, and maintaining the National Identity Database (NIDB). NIMC is the authoritative source for Nigerian identity data, having enrolled over 100 million Nigerians in its National Identity Management System (NIMS) since its establishment under the NIMC Act of 2007. NIMC provides two primary API products for identity verification: the NIMC Verification Service (NVS) — a SOAP-based enterprise web service for direct database queries — and NINAuth, a newer OAuth 2.0-based digital identity authentication service designed for seamless integration into government and private-sector applications. **NIMC Verification Service (NVS)** NVS is the original NIMC API, exposing Nigeria's National Identity Database as a SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) web service. The service provides five levels of data access: - Level 1: Minimum — confirms NIN exists and is valid (name only) - Level 2: Basic demographic data (name, DOB, gender) - Level 3: Extended demographic + contact details - Level 4: Full demographics + enrollment details - Level 5: Maximum — full data including biometric indicators Verification can be performed using three input methods: 1. **NIN-based lookup**: Provide the 11-digit NIN to retrieve identity data 2. **Fingerprint-based verification**: Submit biometric data for fingerprint matching against the NIMC database 3. **Demographic search**: Search by name/DOB combination to locate identity records Access to NVS is secured via dedicated VPN connections, providing an additional layer of security beyond standard HTTPS. This enterprise-grade security posture makes NVS appropriate only for institutional integrators with the technical infrastructure to manage VPN connections. **NINAuth — Modern Digital Identity Authentication** In 2023–2024, NIMC launched NINAuth (ninauth.nimc.gov.ng), a new identity authentication service designed to modernize NIN-based verification. NINAuth uses OAuth 2.0 and is designed for: - Government service portals needing federated Nigerian identity login - Private sector applications wanting NIMC-backed user authentication - Any platform where "Login with NIN" is appropriate NINAuth provides a developer-friendly interface at app.ninauth.nimc.gov.ng/developers and represents NIMC's move toward a more accessible, REST-friendly verification experience. **Tokenization and Virtual NIN (vNIN)** To address data privacy concerns around the raw 11-digit NIN, NIMC introduced vNIN (Virtual NIN) — a tokenized alias generated per-institution that allows verification without exposing or storing the raw NIN. Under NIMC's new policy, no entity in Nigeria is permitted to verify or store the raw 11-digit NIN — they must use vNIN tokens instead. This is a critical compliance requirement for all new NIN verification integrations as of 2024. **Who Can Access NIMC APIs** Direct NIMC NVS access is not self-serve — it requires institutional authorization. The typical path: - CBN-licensed banks, fintechs, insurance companies, and regulated businesses apply to NIMC - Government agencies have institutional data-sharing agreements with NIMC - Most Nigerian startups and SMEs access NIN verification indirectly via licensed aggregators (Prembly, Dojah, Youverify, Smile Identity) who hold NIMC data processor licenses **Pricing** NIMC offers tiered pricing for the NVS: - **SME Service Plans**: Bronze, Silver, Gold — tiered by monthly verification volume - **Enterprise Bulk Purchasing Groups**: Five enterprise tiers for high-volume institutional use Current pricing schedules are available at the NIMC pricing portal (wiki.nimc.gov.ng/en/pricing/enterprises). NINAuth pricing is separate. **NDPR Compliance** All NIMC data access is governed by the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR). Organizations accessing NIN data must implement appropriate data protection measures, complete Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) where required, and must not store raw NINs beyond what is necessary for the immediate verification purpose. **Challenges for Nigerian Developers** The main challenge for Nigerian startup developers is that direct NIMC access requires institutional authorization that most early-stage companies do not have. The SOAP protocol (rather than REST) adds integration complexity for modern web applications. The recommended path for startups is to use a licensed aggregator API (Prembly, Dojah, Youverify) rather than attempting direct NIMC integration — the aggregators have already obtained NIMC licenses and provide modern REST APIs with developer-friendly onboarding. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Can a startup developer access NIMC NVS directly? A: Generally no — direct NVS access requires institutional authorization. Use a licensed aggregator like Prembly, Dojah, or Youverify instead. Q: What is vNIN and why does it matter? A: Virtual NIN is a tokenized alias for the raw NIN. NIMC now prohibits storing or sharing the raw 11-digit NIN — all new integrations must use vNIN for compliance. Q: What is NINAuth? A: NINAuth is NIMC's newer OAuth 2.0-based authentication service, providing a more developer-friendly "Login with NIN" capability for government and private-sector portals. Q: Is there a free tier? A: No. NIMC NVS is a paid institutional service. There is no free tier or sandbox environment for NVS. Q: What protocol does NIMC NVS use? A: SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), not REST. NINAuth uses REST/OAuth 2.0.

19. ExchangeRate-API

Forex, Data Analytics

ExchangeRate-API is one of the most developer-friendly and widely-used currency exchange rate APIs available globally. Founded to provide reliable, accurate, and affordable foreign exchange data, the platform delivers real-time and historical exchange rates for 165 currencies across 200 countries — including the Nigerian Naira (NGN) — through a clean, well-documented RESTful API. It is particularly popular among Nigerian developers building fintech apps, e-commerce platforms, and financial tools that require accurate NGN conversion rates against major world currencies. **What ExchangeRate-API Does** The API provides two primary services: real-time exchange rates and historical rate data. The standard endpoint returns the latest exchange rates for all 165 supported currencies relative to a chosen base currency. The pair conversion endpoint returns the conversion rate between any two specific currencies. The enriched data endpoint includes additional localization information such as currency symbols, decimal separators, and locale-specific formatting — useful for building polished financial UIs. **Nigeria Support** NGN (Nigerian Naira) is fully supported as both a base and target currency. Nigerian developers can fetch the current USD/NGN, EUR/NGN, GBP/NGN rates in a single API call, or query any cross rate between NGN and any of the other 164 supported currencies. This makes ExchangeRate-API suitable for any Nigerian application that displays, converts, or tracks exchange rates. **Historical Data** ExchangeRate-API provides access to historical exchange rate data going back to 1990 — available on all plans including the free tier. This is a rare feature among free exchange rate APIs and makes the platform valuable for building Naira devaluation charts, historical FX analysis tools, and financial reports requiring period-specific exchange rates. **Authentication** The API uses API key authentication. Keys are issued immediately upon free sign-up with just an email address — no credit card required. The key is appended to every request URL as a query parameter. For developers who want to test without even signing up, ExchangeRate-API also offers a no-key open access endpoint that returns exchange rates without authentication, though at a lower rate limit. **Pricing Plans** ExchangeRate-API offers three tiers: - **Free**: $0/month — 1,500 requests/month, daily rate updates, no credit card required - **Pro**: $10/month ($100/year) — 30,000 requests/month, hourly rate updates - **Business**: $30/month ($300/year) — 125,000 requests/month, rate updates every 5 minutes, priority support All plans include historical data, enriched data, high availability, and a long-term support (LTS) commitment — meaning the API will not break without advance notice of deprecation. **Rate Limits** Rate limits are enforced on a monthly basis. The quota consumed is tracked and the remaining allowance is provided in response headers. When the monthly quota is exhausted, the API returns HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests). After 20 minutes without requests, rate-limited open-access (no-key) IPs are automatically unblocked. **No Sandbox (Test with Free Tier)** ExchangeRate-API does not provide a dedicated sandbox environment. Testing is done using the free tier itself — since the free tier requires no credit card and provides 1,500 real API calls per month, this is typically sufficient for development and integration testing. **Use Cases for Nigerian Developers** ExchangeRate-API is appropriate for any Nigerian project that needs exchange rate data as a data source rather than as a core payment processing feature. It does not process transactions — it only provides rate data. Common Nigerian use cases include: displaying live NGN rates on remittance platforms, powering multi-currency invoice tools, building Naira rate trackers, and auto-converting product prices in NGN to USD/EUR for international storefronts. **Important Limitation for Nigeria** ExchangeRate-API provides mid-market exchange rates sourced from financial data providers. These rates are the "official" interbank rates, not the parallel market (black market) NGN rate that often differs significantly in Nigeria. For apps that need to track or display the Nigerian parallel market rate, Monierate is a more appropriate data source. ExchangeRate-API's NGN rates reflect the official CBN/interbank rate. **Challenges** The free tier's daily update frequency means the rate data can be up to 24 hours stale — not suitable for high-frequency trading or real-time FX conversion in production payment flows. For production fintech use where real-time accuracy matters, the Pro plan ($10/month) with hourly updates is the minimum recommended tier. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Do I need a credit card to start? A: No. The free plan requires only an email address. Q: Does ExchangeRate-API support NGN? A: Yes. NGN is one of 165 supported currencies. Q: How current are the rates on the free plan? A: Updated once per day. For hourly updates, upgrade to Pro ($10/month). Q: Does it provide black market / parallel market NGN rates? A: No. Only official mid-market rates. Use Monierate for Nigerian parallel market rates. Q: Can I use this for live payment processing in production? A: For rate display yes, but not for actual transaction processing — this is a data API, not a payment gateway.

20. NGX Data Portal

Financial Data, Market Data, Nigeria

Official Nigerian Exchange Group market data portal with real-time, EOD, and historical data. Direct access to Nigerian stock exchange information.

21. NiMet Weather API

Weather, Forecasts, Nigeria

Official Nigerian Meteorological Agency weather API. Provides local weather data, forecasts, seasonal climate predictions, rainfall data, and crop-related information. Best source for Nigeria-specific accuracy and government compliance.

22. Temi Kolawole Nigeria Geo API

Geocoding, Nigeria, Geographic Data

Free and comprehensive Nigerian geographic data API. Contains all 36 states + FCT, 774 LGAs, 8,800+ wards with coordinates. Perfect for dropdowns, forms, and location-based Nigerian apps.

23. Naira Exchange Rates API

Forex, Exchange Rates, Nigeria

Free API providing CBN official rates, Bureau de Change rates, bank rates, and remittance service rates (Western Union, MoneyGram) vs Naira. Historical rate lookups available. Perfect for Nigeria-focused fintech and remittance apps.

24. Korapay Exchange Rate API

Forex, Exchange Rates, Nigeria

Korapay's exchange rate service providing real-time currency conversion with NGN support. Integrates seamlessly with Korapay payment services for fintech applications.

25. FastForex

Forex, Exchange Rates, Global

Fast exchange rate API with broad currency coverage and reliable real-time rates. Simple integration and good developer experience.

26. Exchangeratesapi.io

Forex, Exchange Rates, Global

Simple REST API for exchange rates with frequent updates and comprehensive currency coverage. Easy integration for rate lookups and historical analysis.

27. Xe Currency Data API

Forex, Exchange Rates, Global

Highly accurate currency data from Xe.com covering 220+ currencies with rates from 100+ data sources including central banks. Enterprise-grade service for mission-critical applications.

28. Busha Commerce API

Crypto Exchange, Trading, Nigeria, Business

SEC-licensed Nigerian exchange with a business-focused API for trading, digital payments, and asset management. Perfect for embedded crypto services in fintech and merchant applications.

29. SeerBit

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

SeerBit is a Nigerian payment gateway and pan-African payment infrastructure provider founded in 2019 by Omoniyi Kolade and Emmanuel Imam. SeerBit holds a CBN Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) license, is PCI-DSS certified, and has expanded beyond Nigeria to provide local payment acquiring in over 10 African markets including Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, and others. This multi-country capability makes SeerBit unique among Nigerian payment gateways — developers can use a single SeerBit account and integration to accept local payment methods across anglophone and francophone Africa. The SeerBit API is RESTful with JSON payloads. Authentication uses two separate keys: a Public Key (used client-side to initialize the checkout widget in the browser) and a Secret Key (used server-side for all backend API calls including transaction verification, transfers, and refunds). Keys are obtained from the SeerBit merchant dashboard. Standard payments flow follows the initialize-then-verify pattern common in Nigerian gateways. SeerBit supports a comprehensive set of payment channels. For Nigeria: card payments (Visa, Mastercard, Verve) with 3D Secure 2.0, bank transfer checkout (virtual account assignment), USSD, direct debit, and cash collections via agents. For other African countries: mobile money (MTN Mobile Money, Orange Money, Airtel Money), local card networks, and bank transfers where available. This unified multi-channel API significantly reduces integration complexity for African-facing platforms. On pricing, SeerBit charges 1.5% per local Nigerian transaction capped at ₦2,000, with no setup fee. International card transactions are charged at 3.8% — slightly lower than Paystack (3.9%) and Monnify (4%), which can represent meaningful savings at scale. There is no monthly platform fee. Settlement occurs within 24 hours for Nigerian transactions. Rates for other African countries vary by market and are available from SeerBit's pricing page. SeerBit also offers SeerBit Alpha — a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering that enables fintechs and platforms to launch embedded financial products including wallets, virtual cards, lending, and savings features without building payment infrastructure from scratch. Alpha is targeted at Nigerian startups that want to go to market quickly with financial products. The Direct Debit feature allows businesses to set up debit mandates on customer bank accounts for recurring billing. Customers authorize the mandate once, and the platform can automatically debit them on a schedule. This is particularly useful for subscription-based products, loan repayment collection, and Nigerian SaaS companies billing in recurring cycles. The sandbox environment mirrors production. SeerBit provides test card numbers, simulated bank transfer flows, and test USSD responses for all supported channels. The sandbox is accessible immediately after creating a developer account. From a compliance standpoint, SeerBit is regulated by the CBN under the PSSP license category, which covers payment gateway, payment terminal service, and payment solution service operations. SeerBit is also PCI-DSS certified, ensuring all card data is handled and stored securely. The company is backed by Adaverse and other African-focused venture funds. Known challenges: SeerBit's documentation is functional but less polished than Paystack's. Community support resources (Stack Overflow answers, third-party tutorials) are more limited. Some advanced features like marketplace split payments are not yet available. For West African mobile money corridors in ECOWAS countries, SeerBit's coverage continues to expand. Frequently Asked Questions: How does SeerBit's international rate compare to competitors? SeerBit charges 3.8% for international cards compared to Paystack's 3.9% + ₦100 and Monnify's 4%. For high-value international transactions, SeerBit can be more cost-effective. Can I accept mobile money from Ghana and East Africa with SeerBit? Yes — SeerBit supports MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, and Orange Money in multiple African markets through the same API integration. Does SeerBit support Nigeria-to-Africa cross-border payouts? SeerBit is primarily a collection gateway. For cross-border payouts originating from Nigeria, complementary tools are needed.

30. Interswitch

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Interswitch Group is Nigeria's pioneering payment infrastructure company and the creator of the Verve card network — the most widely used debit card in Nigeria with over 35 million cardholders. Founded in 2002 and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Interswitch owns and operates Nigeria's core payment switching infrastructure, connecting virtually all Nigerian banks. The company provides developer access to its infrastructure through the Interswitch Developer Center and the Quickteller Business platform. What the API Does The Interswitch API ecosystem covers multiple products: (1) Quickteller SVA — access to 3,000+ billers for airtime vending, utility payments, and transfers to all Nigerian banks and selected African mobile wallets; (2) Quickteller Business — a comprehensive payment gateway for card acceptance, USSD, QR, hosted fields, and mobile SDKs; (3) Virtual Accounts — for NGN collections via dedicated account numbers; (4) NIP Instant Transfers — for bank-to-bank transfers across the Nigerian banking system. How Developers Use It Developers sign up at developer.interswitch.com, create an app in the developer console, and obtain a Client ID and Secret Key for OAuth 2.0 authentication. The API uses standard OAuth 2.0 authorization to generate access tokens. A sandbox environment is available for testing with test credentials. Integration options include REST API, hosted fields (for PCI-compliant card capture), web gateway, and mobile SDKs. Pricing Integration is free — no setup or monthly fees. Local transactions (cards, USSD, QR): 1.5% capped at ₦2,000. 7.5% VAT applies to all transaction fees. Volume-based custom pricing available for high-volume merchants — contact sales. Authentication OAuth 2.0 using Client ID and Secret Key from the developer console. Access tokens are generated and included in API request headers. Token expiry and refresh are managed per OAuth 2.0 standards. Compliance Interswitch is CBN-licensed, PCIDSS certified, and regulated as a switching and processing company under Nigerian financial regulations. As an NSE-listed company it is subject to SEC and public disclosure requirements. Challenges and Gotchas (1) OAuth 2.0 is more complex to implement than simple Bearer token APIs — requires proper token management. (2) Quickteller SVA and Quickteller Business are separate products with different documentation. (3) Settlement takes up to 48 hours — not instant. (4) Verve card processing is Interswitch's core strength; for international card processing, competitors like Paystack may offer better rates. Company Background Interswitch was founded in 2002 by Mitchell Elegbe in Lagos. The company processes hundreds of millions of transactions monthly and serves over 40,000 merchants across Nigeria. Interswitch is valued at over $1 billion, making it one of Africa's fintech unicorns. Products include Verve, Quickteller, Paydirect, and eClat. FAQs Q: What is the fee for local card transactions? A: 1.5% capped at ₦2,000, plus 7.5% VAT on the fee. Q: Does Interswitch support 3,000+ billers? A: Yes. Quickteller SVA gives access to airtime, utilities, and thousands of Nigerian billers. Q: What authentication does Interswitch use? A: OAuth 2.0. You get a Client ID and Secret Key from the developer console to generate access tokens. Q: Is there a sandbox? A: Yes. Available at developer.interswitch.com with test credentials.

31. Airwallex API

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Forex

Airwallex is a global financial technology platform founded in Melbourne, Australia in 2015, now operating in 60+ countries including Nigeria. The platform provides businesses with multi-currency accounts, international payment infrastructure, FX conversion, and a full-featured API for automating cross-border financial operations. Airwallex is used by over 100,000 businesses globally, ranging from startups to large enterprises, and has raised over $900 million in funding from investors including Tencent, DST Global, and Salesforce Ventures. **What Airwallex Does for Nigerian Businesses** Airwallex entered the Nigerian market as part of its broader Africa expansion strategy. For Nigerian CAC-registered businesses, Airwallex solves one of the most persistent pain points in Nigerian commerce: the difficulty and cost of holding, receiving, and sending international currencies. Through the Airwallex platform and API, Nigerian businesses can open multi-currency accounts that hold USD, GBP, EUR, and 20+ other currencies simultaneously — receiving payments from international clients without forced immediate conversion to NGN. **Core API Products** The Airwallex API is RESTful and organized around four main product areas: 1. **Global Accounts (Multi-currency Wallets)** — Create and manage accounts in multiple currencies. Each currency account comes with local payment details (e.g., a USD account with US routing and account numbers, or a GBP account with UK sort code and account number) enabling international clients to make local transfers to your business. 2. **Payouts API** — Send money to beneficiaries in 150+ countries. For Nigeria specifically, Airwallex supports NGN payout to Nigerian bank accounts via bank transfer. The payout API handles beneficiary management, payment status tracking, and webhook notifications for payment lifecycle events. 3. **FX Conversion API** — Convert between currencies at rates 0.5–1.0% above the interbank mid-market rate — dramatically cheaper than traditional Nigerian commercial bank FX spreads (often 3–5%). The API allows businesses to convert on-demand or set conversion rules programmatically. 4. **Payment Acceptance API** — Accept card payments (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) and local bank transfers from customers in 40+ markets. Card payment fees follow either blended pricing (2.8% + $0.30 per transaction) or interchange++ for high-volume merchants seeking cost transparency. Payment links, hosted payment pages, and direct API integrations are all available. **Authentication** Airwallex uses API Key authentication for server-side API calls. API keys are created through the Airwallex Dashboard and passed as Bearer tokens in the Authorization header. OAuth 2.0 is used for connected account workflows where your platform needs to manage payments on behalf of sub-merchant accounts. All API communication is over HTTPS. **Sandbox Environment** Airwallex provides a full sandbox environment for testing all API features without moving real money. Developers can test FX conversions, simulate payouts, create test beneficiaries, and trigger webhook events. The sandbox environment mirrors production behavior, making it suitable for end-to-end integration testing before going live. **Rate Limits** Specific rate limits are not publicly documented in Airwallex's developer documentation. Rate limits vary by endpoint and plan tier. Contact Airwallex support or your account manager for production rate limit policies. **Pricing for Nigerian Users** - Account opening: Free - Monthly account fee: Free - FX conversion: 0.5–1.0% above mid-market rate - International transfers: $0–$3 per transaction depending on corridor - Card payment collection: 2.8% + $0.30 (blended) or interchange++ (high volume) - Bank transfer collection: Free - NGN payout: Conversion fees apply at standard FX rates **Nigeria-Specific Requirements** To open an Airwallex account as a Nigerian business, you need: a CAC-registered company (Certificate of Incorporation or Business Name Registration), director/owner government ID (international passport or NIN), proof of business address (utility bill or bank statement not older than 3 months), 3–6 months of company bank statements, and a business description. Individual freelancers without formal business registration typically cannot qualify for all platform features. Approval takes 1–3 business days after document submission. **Compliance & Regulation** Airwallex holds licenses in multiple jurisdictions including the UK (FCA), EU, Australia (ASIC), Hong Kong, Singapore, and the US. In Nigeria, Airwallex operates as an international payment service provider serving registered Nigerian businesses. It is not a CBN-licensed Nigerian institution but interfaces with Nigerian banking rails for NGN settlements. **Challenges for Nigerian Developers** The key limitation is that Airwallex does not currently support accepting NGN-denominated payments from local Nigerian customers — it is designed for outbound international payments and inbound foreign currency collection, not domestic Nigerian payment acceptance. For local NGN payment acceptance, Nigerian businesses still need Paystack, Flutterwave, or similar local gateways. Additionally, individual freelancers without a registered company face barriers to access, as Airwallex prioritizes formal business entities. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Can Nigerian individuals (non-business) use Airwallex? A: Airwallex primarily serves registered businesses. Individual freelancers without a CAC-registered company may not qualify for all features. Q: Can I accept NGN payments from Nigerian customers through Airwallex? A: No. Airwallex is designed for foreign currency collection and cross-border payouts. Use Paystack or Flutterwave for local NGN payment acceptance. Q: How long does it take to get approved? A: Typically 1–3 business days after submitting all required documents. Q: What currencies can I hold? A: USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, SGD, HKD, CAD, JPY, and 15+ additional currencies depending on your account configuration. Q: Is Airwallex safe for Nigerian businesses? A: Yes — Airwallex is a regulated fintech holding licenses in the UK, EU, Australia, and other jurisdictions, and is backed by major institutional investors.

32. Anchor API

Banking & Fintech, Payments, Identity & KYC, Nigeria

Anchor is a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and embedded finance platform headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, purpose-built for African businesses and developers who want to launch financial products without building core banking infrastructure from scratch. Founded and Y Combinator-backed, Anchor has become one of Nigeria's most important fintech infrastructure companies — serving clients including Wema Bank, Mono, Squad, and SeamlessHR across SaaS, digital health, e-commerce, and enterprise sectors. At its core, Anchor provides a suite of RESTful APIs covering five major product pillars: Accounts, Payments, Cards, Credit, and Savings & Investment. Each pillar is designed to be modular — developers can adopt one or all, depending on what their product needs. This modularity makes Anchor equally suitable for a single-purpose wallet app and a full-scale neobank. **Accounts API** The Accounts API allows developers to create and manage deposit accounts, savings accounts, and virtual accounts for both individual and business customers. These accounts operate on Nigerian banking rails, giving end users real Nigerian bank account numbers that can receive NIP transfers from any bank in Nigeria. Developers can manage balances, retrieve transaction histories, and generate account statements programmatically. Sub-ledger and sub-account functionality is also available for platforms that need to manage multiple customer accounts within a single ledger system. **Payments API** Anchor's Payments API handles instant NIP bank transfers — the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System standard for real-time money movement between Nigerian banks. The API supports single transfers, account-to-account transfers within the Anchor ecosystem, and bulk transfer operations for payroll, disbursements, or vendor payments. The Bill Payments module extends this further, enabling developers to integrate airtime top-up, mobile data purchases, cable TV subscriptions (DSTV, GOtv), and electricity prepaid token purchases directly into their applications using a single set of API endpoints. **Cards API** The Cards API enables businesses to issue both physical and virtual debit cards under their own brand. Virtual cards can be issued instantly for digital spending, while physical cards can be dispatched to cardholders via courier. Card controls — freezing, unfreezing, setting spend limits — are all available via API, giving product teams full programmatic control over the card lifecycle. **Credit API** For companies building lending products, Anchor's Credit API handles the full loan lifecycle: origination, disbursement, repayment scheduling, and delinquency tracking. Combined with the KYC/KYB customer verification capabilities, this makes it possible to build a complete loan origination system in Nigeria without needing separate infrastructure for identity, disbursement, and collections. **Savings & Investment API** Anchor allows developers to build savings products with customizable interest rates, lock periods, and contribution schedules. This is ideal for savings-focused fintech apps, target savings groups (like ajo/esusu), or employer benefit platforms that want to offer automated saving features. **Authentication & API Security** Anchor uses API key-based authentication with Bearer token delivery. API keys are created through the Anchor Dashboard under the Developers section and must have explicit permissions assigned at creation time — Anchor follows a least-privilege model where keys only access the endpoints you explicitly authorize. Developers are strongly encouraged to use environment variables rather than hardcoding API keys and to rotate keys on a regular schedule. Two environments are available: the Sandbox environment (api.sandbox.getanchor.co) for testing and the Live environment (api.getanchor.co) for production transactions. **Sandbox Environment** Anchor's sandbox environment is a full-fidelity replica of the production system. Developers can test account creation, simulate incoming payments, test transfers, trigger webhook events, and validate KYC flows without touching real money or real customer data. This makes it significantly easier to build and QA financial products before going live. **Compliance & CBN Regulation** Anchor is not itself a bank — it is a technology infrastructure provider. Banking services delivered through the platform are provided by CBN-licensed Nigerian partner banks, which means end users benefit from regulated deposit-taking and payment services. This structure allows Anchor's business customers to offer banking products under a compliance umbrella without obtaining their own banking or PSSP license from the CBN. For customer-facing products, Anchor handles individual KYC verification (identity, BVN, liveness checks) and business KYB verification (CAC registration, director identity, beneficial ownership) through its API. **Pricing** Anchor uses a custom, volume-based pricing model negotiated based on the type of financial products deployed and the transaction volumes involved. No publicly listed free tier or flat-rate pricing exists — businesses are encouraged to contact the sales team for a tailored quote. This model is typical for BaaS platforms where the pricing reflects the regulatory overhead and compliance infrastructure being provided. **Rate Limits** Specific rate limits are not publicly documented. Developers should contact Anchor support or consult the enterprise agreement for rate limit policies. **Challenges & Considerations for Nigerian Developers** One common challenge is that Anchor's platform is designed for businesses launching financial products — not individual developers experimenting for personal use. Getting full production access typically requires completing KYB verification with a registered Nigerian company (CAC registration) and meeting Anchor's partner onboarding requirements. The platform is not self-serve in the same way smaller payment gateways are. Additionally, pricing is not transparent, which can make budgeting difficult at the early exploration stage. However, for serious fintech builders, the depth of capabilities — especially card issuance and credit — is unmatched in the Nigerian BaaS market. **Frequently Asked Questions** Q: Can I use Anchor without a CBN banking license? A: Yes. Anchor's banking services are provided by CBN-licensed partner banks, so you do not need your own banking license to offer deposit accounts, transfers, or card products to your users. Q: Does Anchor support both individual and business customers? A: Yes. The API handles individual customer KYC and business KYB as separate flows with distinct verification requirements. Q: Is there a sandbox environment for testing? A: Yes — the sandbox at api.sandbox.getanchor.co has full feature parity with production, allowing you to simulate all transaction types. Q: Does Anchor support international transfers or foreign currency accounts? A: Anchor is primarily focused on Nigerian Naira (NGN) banking rails. International SWIFT transfers and multi-currency accounts are not currently supported. Q: Who are Anchor's partner banks? A: Anchor works with CBN-licensed Nigerian partner banks but does not publicly disclose all partner names. Contact the Anchor team for details relevant to your use case.

33. AZA Finance API

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Forex, Cross-Border

AZA Finance is a pan-African payments and foreign exchange infrastructure company that enables businesses and fintechs to send, receive, and convert money across Africa and globally through a single API. Originally founded as BitPesa in Nairobi in 2013, AZA Finance has evolved into one of Africa's most established cross-border payment platforms, holding regulatory licenses from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Bank of Uganda — a rare multi-jurisdictional licensing achievement in African fintech. What the API Does The AZA Finance API, documented at docs.azafinance.com and accessed via the developer portal at developers.transferzero.com, enables developers to programmatically initiate and manage cross-border payments across 30+ currencies and 115+ markets. Core capabilities include: sending payouts to bank accounts, mobile money wallets (M-Pesa, MTN Mobile Money, Airtel), and cash pickup points; real-time FX conversion between African and major global currencies; bulk payment processing for high-volume disbursements; account validation before sending; and webhook callbacks for real-time transaction status updates. How Developers Use It Developers integrate by creating an account at developers.transferzero.com. Authentication is via API Key and Secret issued from the portal. AZA Finance provides official SDKs for .NET, Java, JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby, significantly reducing integration time. The typical flow involves: creating a sender (KYC-verified entity), creating recipients (beneficiaries with bank or wallet details), initiating a transaction specifying corridors and currencies, and listening for webhook callbacks for status updates (pending, processing, paid, cancelled). The API supports test transactions in sandbox mode before going live. Supported Currencies and Countries AZA Finance supports 30+ currencies including NGN (Nigeria), GHS (Ghana), KES (Kenya), UGX (Uganda), TZS (Tanzania), ZAR (South Africa), XOF/XAF (CFA franc zones), MZN (Mozambique), USD, EUR, GBP, AED, CNY, and more. Nigeria is fully supported with CBN licensing in place. Pricing AZA Finance does not publish a public fee schedule. Pricing is determined by enterprise contract and depends on volume, corridor, and currency pair. The FX spread is embedded in the exchange rate offered. There is no self-serve free tier — you must contact their sales team to negotiate a contract. A sandbox environment is available for technical integration and testing at no cost. Authentication API authentication uses a Key + Secret pair obtained from the developer portal at developers.transferzero.com. Requests are signed with the secret to create an authorization header. The portal also supports role-based access controls for team members. Rate Limits AZA Finance operates on enterprise SLAs. Specific rate limit figures are not published publicly — they are determined by agreement. The platform maintains a 99.5% uptime guarantee. Compliance and Regulations AZA Finance is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, making it one of the few Africa-focused payment APIs with direct CBN authorization. It also holds FCA authorization in the UK and Bank of Uganda licensing. The platform is PCI-DSS compliant and certified to ISO27001:2022 for information security management. All transactions undergo AML screening and compliance monitoring 24/7. Challenges and Gotchas Key limitations for Nigerian developers: (1) AZA Finance is B2B only — it is not designed for consumer checkout flows. (2) Pricing is opaque — you cannot estimate costs without contacting sales. (3) KYC onboarding can be lengthy for enterprise clients. (4) The developer portal still uses "TransferZero" branding from the previous product name — this can confuse developers unfamiliar with the company history. (5) No USSD or card payment support — AZA Finance is purely for push-payment corridors. Company Background AZA Finance was founded in 2013 as BitPesa, a Bitcoin-based remittance platform for Kenya. It later pivoted away from crypto, rebranded as TransferZero, and finally as AZA Finance in 2020. The company is headquartered in Nairobi with offices in Lagos, London, Madrid, Luxembourg, and Dakar. It has processed over $3 billion in transactions and serves major clients including global remittance firms and banks. FAQs Q: Can a Nigerian startup use AZA Finance without CBN licensing? A: Yes. AZA Finance holds the CBN license on your behalf — you access their infrastructure without needing your own license. However, you must sign a partner agreement and pass their KYC checks. Q: Is there a sandbox for testing? A: Yes. Developers can test at developers.transferzero.com in sandbox mode before production. Q: Does AZA Finance support NGN? A: Yes. Nigerian Naira (NGN) is a core supported currency with payouts to all major Nigerian banks. Q: Is AZA Finance suitable for consumer apps? A: No. AZA Finance is built for B2B use — enterprises, fintechs, and money transfer operators. It does not offer a consumer-facing checkout widget or SDK.

34. CarbonIVS

Banking & Fintech, BaaS, Identity & KYC, Payments, Nigeria

Carbon (OneFi Limited) is a Nigerian digital financial services company operating as Carbon Microfinance Bank, licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Carbon offers two developer-facing API products: the Carbon Business API — a BaaS layer for virtual accounts, payouts, and transaction management — and CarbonIVS, an identity verification system that connects directly to Nigeria government identity databases including BVN, NIN, International Passport, Driver's Licence, and Voter Registration. What the APIs Do The Carbon Business API enables fintechs and businesses to issue virtual bank account numbers to customers (static or dynamic), initiate and monitor payouts to any Nigerian bank, retrieve transaction history, and receive webhook events for real-time transaction notifications. It is designed as a BaaS layer for building financial products on top of CBN-licensed infrastructure. CarbonIVS is a separate identity verification product that lets developers automate KYC flows by verifying users against all major Nigerian identity databases in real time. All verification results are reported on a dashboard in real time. CarbonIVS requests require AES encryption using your API key for additional security. How Developers Use It Developers access the API at docs.getcarbon.co. Authentication uses an API key passed via the x-carbon-key header. The sandbox base URL is carbonapistagingsecure.getcarbon.co/baas/api. Responses are JSON. To go live, businesses must complete Carbon onboarding and provide required compliance documents. Rate limits are not publicly documented — developers should contact Carbon support for current thresholds. Pricing Carbon does not publish pricing publicly. Both the Business API and CarbonIVS are enterprise products that require direct engagement with the Carbon sales team. A sandbox environment is available for testing at no cost. Authentication All API requests use an x-carbon-key header with your API key. CarbonIVS requests additionally require AES encryption of the payload using the API key for enhanced security during identity data transmission. Compliance Carbon operates as Carbon Microfinance Bank (RC 1642222), regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This makes it one of the most credible BaaS providers in Nigeria for businesses requiring a licensed banking infrastructure partner. CBN mandates KYC compliance — Carbon handles this through CarbonIVS for its partners. Challenges and Gotchas (1) Pricing is not public — requires a sales call before you can estimate integration costs. (2) Business API and CarbonIVS are separate products with separate onboarding. (3) Rate limits undisclosed — must be requested directly. (4) AES encryption requirement for CarbonIVS adds implementation complexity. (5) Carbon is Nigeria-only — no cross-border or international payment support. Company Background Carbon was founded in Nigeria by Chijioke Dozie and is headquartered in Lagos at Plot 642C Akin Adesola Street. The company employs over 90 people and has served millions of Nigerian consumers through its personal finance app. The business API suite is a newer B2B offering targeting fintechs and enterprises needing CBN-backed infrastructure. FAQs Q: Is Carbon a bank? A: Yes. Carbon operates as Carbon Microfinance Bank, CBN-licensed and regulated. Q: Can I use Carbon API without being a Nigerian business? A: No. Carbon BaaS and CarbonIVS are designed for Nigeria-registered businesses operating in Nigeria. Q: Is there a sandbox? A: Yes. Sandbox access is available at carbonapistagingsecure.getcarbon.co. Q: What identity documents can CarbonIVS verify? A: BVN, NIN, International Passport, Driver's Licence, and Voter Registration card — all major Nigerian government IDs. Q: Do I need to encrypt requests for the Business API? A: AES encryption is specifically required for CarbonIVS identity verification calls. Standard Business API calls use the x-carbon-key header without additional encryption.

35. CashEnvoy

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

CashEnvoy is one of Nigeria's earliest payment gateways, operated by E-Settlement Limited (ESL) and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The platform enables Nigerian merchants to accept online payments from customers using Nigerian debit cards (Verve, Visa, Mastercard), international cards, and the CashEnvoy wallet. The company claims to have processed over 10 million transactions and serves 5,000+ active merchants. What the API Does The CashEnvoy API enables developers to integrate payment processing into websites and applications, accepting NGN and USD transactions. Core capabilities include card payment acceptance (Verve, Visa, Mastercard), CashEnvoy wallet payments, and multi-currency support. The integration process is described as developer-friendly with API documentation provided through the merchant portal. How Developers Use It Developers create a merchant account at cashenvoy.com, obtain API keys from the dashboard, and integrate using the provided documentation. Authentication is via API key from the merchant dashboard. The API enables payment initiation, transaction verification, and merchant settlement processing. Pricing CashEnvoy does not publish its transaction fees publicly. As a CBN-regulated payment gateway, fees are likely in line with Nigerian payment industry standards. Contact CashEnvoy directly for current fee schedules. Compliance CashEnvoy is regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which means it must comply with Nigerian payment system regulations, PCI-DSS standards for card processing, and merchant onboarding requirements including KYC for businesses. Challenges and Gotchas Important considerations: (1) CashEnvoy has a reported headcount of 1 employee as of early 2026 — this raises legitimate concerns about support responsiveness, active development, and long-term platform viability. (2) The platform is functional but far less actively developed than Paystack or Flutterwave. (3) API documentation is limited and not publicly accessible without account creation. (4) No support for newer payment methods like bank transfer checkout, USSD, or crypto. (5) Developers should carefully evaluate support SLAs and integration longevity before choosing CashEnvoy over more actively maintained alternatives. Company Background CashEnvoy was founded as one of Nigeria's early digital payment platforms and is operated by E-Settlement Limited. It was a notable player in the early Nigerian fintech ecosystem, predating the Paystack era. While the platform remains operational, it has not kept pace with the growth and feature velocity of newer Nigerian payment gateways. FAQs Q: Is CashEnvoy still active in 2026? A: The website is live and the API appears functional. However, the company reportedly has a very small team which may affect support and future development. Q: Does CashEnvoy accept Verve cards? A: Yes. CashEnvoy accepts Nigerian debit cards including Verve, Visa, and Mastercard. Q: What currencies does CashEnvoy support? A: NGN (Nigerian Naira) and USD are supported. Q: Should I use CashEnvoy for a new project? A: For new projects, consider Paystack or Flutterwave as primary options given their active developer ecosystems, robust documentation, and larger support teams. CashEnvoy may be suitable as a fallback or for specific existing integrations.

36. CBI Monie

Payments, Banking & Fintech, BaaS, Nigeria

CBI Monie is a Nigerian payment infrastructure platform operated by CBI Technologies Limited. The company is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), ISO-certified, NDPR-compliant, and PCI-DSS certified — making it one of the compliance-ready options for Nigerian businesses and fintechs needing embedded payment capabilities. CBI Monie offers multi-channel payment acceptance including POS terminals, dynamic QR codes, virtual account numbers, payment links, and a developer API for programmatic integration. What the API Does The CBI Monie API provides RESTful endpoints for: wallet balance and transaction management; QR code and virtual account generation; merchant onboarding for agent networks; payment links and checkout sessions; and real-time webhook events for automated workflows. The API is designed for fintechs, ERP systems, government platforms, and agent network operators that need to embed payment infrastructure into their products. How Developers Use It API access is by request — developers contact support@cbitechnologiesltd.com to initiate onboarding. Once approved, API credentials are issued. The platform provides SDKs and webhook integration modules. A sandbox environment is available for safe testing of transactions and webhook events before going live. The API follows RESTful conventions. Pricing Not publicly listed. CBI Monie pricing is available upon request through their sales and support team at support@cbitechnologiesltd.com. There is also a dedicated pricing page at cbimonie.com/pricing for merchant plans. Compliance CBN-licensed, ISO-certified, NDPR-compliant (Nigeria Data Protection Regulation), and PCI-DSS certified. CBI Monie handles cardholder data in compliance with international payment security standards. All merchant and API partner onboarding includes KYC verification. Supported Payment Channels POS terminals (physical card-present), dynamic QR codes, virtual account numbers (NIP transfers), payment links and hosted checkout, and web/mobile integration via API. Challenges and Gotchas (1) API access is not self-serve — requires approval and manual onboarding. (2) No USSD payment support. (3) No crypto or cross-border payment capabilities. (4) Rate limits and detailed technical specs are not publicly documented. (5) Compared to Paystack or Flutterwave, documentation is less comprehensive and publicly accessible. Company Background CBI Monie is a product of CBI Technologies Limited, a Nigerian fintech infrastructure company. The platform targets enterprise and institutional clients including government agencies, large merchants, fintechs building on top of their rails, and agent network operators who need a compliant multi-channel payment stack. FAQs Q: How do I get API access? A: Contact support@cbitechnologiesltd.com to request API access. Access is not self-serve. Q: Is there a sandbox? A: Yes. CBI Monie provides a developer-safe sandbox for testing transactions and webhooks. Q: Is CBI Monie suitable for a consumer app? A: Yes, through the wallet and virtual account APIs. It is also well-suited for B2B and enterprise platforms. Q: Does CBI Monie accept international cards? A: Yes. POS and card acceptance includes Verve, Visa, and Mastercard. Q: Can CBI Monie handle agent network onboarding? A: Yes. The Merchant Onboarding API is specifically designed for programmatically onboarding agents at scale.

37. Duplo

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Duplo is an API-first financial operating system for African businesses, providing a unified platform for B2B payments, expense management, virtual accounts, FX transfers, and NRS-compliant e-invoicing. Headquartered in Victoria Island, Lagos, Duplo is CBN PSSP-licensed, PCI DSS certified, ISO 27001 and 22301 certified, and NDPR-compliant. In early 2026, Duplo became one of the first Nigerian companies to secure dual NRS (Nigerian Revenue Service) licences for e-invoicing — a critical milestone as Nigeria moves toward mandatory digital invoicing for tax compliance. What the API Does The Duplo API enables businesses to: issue and manage virtual bank accounts; initiate bulk payments to up to 500 recipients simultaneously; process local and international card payments; perform FX conversions in 80+ currencies across 160+ countries; automate expense approval workflows with budget controls; perform auto-reconciliation of transactions; and generate NRS-compliant e-invoices. The platform is designed as both a business tool and an embeddable API layer for fintechs and platforms. How Developers Use It Developers access documentation at developers.tryduplo.com. Authentication uses API keys with clear environment prefixes: dp_test_ for test mode, dp_live_ for live mode. The API is REST-based with JSON payloads over HTTPS. All API calls must be made over HTTPS. Developers must complete compliance requirements before being granted live mode access. A sandbox environment is available for full testing. Pricing Local card transactions: 1.5% capped at approximately ₦1,200–₦1,300. International card transactions: 3.8%–4.0%. Custom volume tiers available for high-volume international processing. Contact Duplo for enterprise pricing. Authentication API keys are managed via the Duplo Dashboard. Test mode uses dp_test_ prefixed keys; live mode uses dp_live_ prefixed keys. Never share live keys publicly. Compliance CBN PSSP-licensed, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, ISO 22301, NDPR-compliant, and NRS dual-licensed for e-invoicing. Duplo is also expanding into South Africa via a partnership with Ozow for instant EFT payments. Challenges and Gotchas (1) Live mode requires completing compliance requirements — not instant. (2) Rate limits not publicly documented. (3) The NRS e-invoicing feature is relatively new and developers should check docs for current implementation status. (4) Duplo is B2B focused — not designed for high-volume consumer checkout flows. (5) International card fees (3.8–4%) are higher than local card fees. Company Background Duplo was founded in Nigeria by Yele Oyekola and Damola Ajao and is backed by prominent African and global VCs. The company is focused on solving the complexity of B2B financial operations in Africa, where businesses often manage payments through manual bank transfers, spreadsheets, and fragmented tools. Duplo consolidates this into a single API-first platform. FAQs Q: Does Duplo support bulk payments? A: Yes. Duplo supports bulk payments to up to 500 recipients in a single API call. Q: What is the fee for local card payments? A: 1.5% capped at approximately ₦1,200–₦1,300 per transaction. Q: Is there a sandbox? A: Yes. Test mode is available using dp_test_ API keys from your dashboard. Q: Does Duplo support e-invoicing for Nigerian tax compliance? A: Yes. Duplo holds NRS dual licences for NRS-compliant e-invoicing — one of the first Nigerian companies to do so. Q: Can Duplo handle international payments? A: Yes. Duplo supports 80+ currencies across 160+ countries with international card acceptance at 3.8–4.0%.

38. Elipa

Payments, Forex, Banking & Fintech

Elipa Global is a licensed Payment Service Provider (PSP) built exclusively for FX brokers and retail trading platforms operating in Africa. Unlike general-purpose payment gateways, Elipa is engineered specifically for the demands of trading operations — where failed deposits mean lost funded accounts, delayed withdrawals damage trader trust, and payment issues become expensive support tickets. The platform currently operates in Nigeria and Uganda, with Tanzania and Rwanda in active implementation phases. What the API Does The Elipa API enables FX and trading platforms to process local deposits and withdrawals in African currencies — NGN in Nigeria and UGX in Uganda. Core capabilities include: local bank transfer deposit processing with automatic trader account crediting; withdrawal disbursement to trader bank accounts; redundant payment rails with automatic failover to backup providers; real-time transaction monitoring; and settlement controls with regulatory reporting. The API is designed for reliability and uptime over feature breadth — its singular focus is making sure payments work when traders expect them to. How Developers Use It API access requires direct engagement with Elipa. There is no self-service signup. Platforms must contact Elipa to initiate onboarding, during which API credentials are issued. The API is REST-based and tailored to the deposit/withdrawal flow of trading platforms. Integration support is provided by Elipa during onboarding. Pricing Not publicly listed. Elipa operates on enterprise contracts negotiated based on transaction volume and market. Contact Elipa directly for pricing. Compliance Elipa operates as a licensed PSP with built-in compliance infrastructure including transaction monitoring, settlement controls, and regulatory reporting support. This is not a workaround payment solution — it is a regulated provider for platforms that require proper licensing in each market. Challenges and Gotchas (1) Not a general-purpose payment gateway — cannot be used for e-commerce or consumer apps. (2) API access is by request only — no self-serve onboarding. (3) Pricing is fully opaque. (4) Coverage is currently limited to Nigeria and Uganda. (5) Platforms must themselves hold appropriate trading/FX licences to onboard with Elipa. Company Background Elipa Global is focused exclusively on the African FX trading infrastructure market. The company provides the payment layer that FX brokers rely on for trader fund management — a niche but critical infrastructure role in Africa's growing retail trading market. FAQs Q: Can I use Elipa for a regular Nigerian e-commerce store? A: No. Elipa is built exclusively for FX brokers and trading platforms. For e-commerce, use Paystack or Flutterwave. Q: Does Elipa support Nigeria? A: Yes. Nigeria is Elipa's primary market with full local deposit and withdrawal support. Q: Is there a sandbox? A: Contact Elipa directly — sandbox availability is not publicly confirmed. Q: What currencies does Elipa support? A: NGN (Nigeria) and UGX (Uganda) currently, with TZS and RWF in implementation.

39. Epic Pay

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Epic Pay (Epic Payment Technologies Limited) is a Nigerian PSS-licensed payment gateway offering a full suite of developer APIs through a dedicated developer portal at developer.epicpay.com. The platform is PCI DSS 4.0 certified — one of the most current versions of the payment security standard — and provides Payment, Boarding/Agent, and Reporting APIs alongside SDKs for Java and C#/.NET. Epic Pay is notable for its white-label capabilities and its active developer community, the Epic Pay Developers Circle. What the API Does The Epic Pay API suite covers three main areas: (1) Payment API — initiate one-time and recurring payments, tokenize card payloads, manage customer records, and perform Address Verification Service (AVS) checks. (2) Boarding/Agent API — programmatically onboard merchants and agents onto the Epic Pay gateway, configure their settings, and manage their accounts. (3) Reporting API — retrieve real-time and historical transaction data for reconciliation and financial reporting. How Developers Use It Developers access the portal at developer.epicpay.com, create an account, obtain API keys, and integrate using the provided documentation and SDKs. Java and C#/.NET SDKs are available to simplify integration. The API is REST-based. A Dev Lab environment is available for sandbox testing. AVS codes are returned in real-time within sale and authorize responses. Pricing Not publicly listed. Developers can access the developer portal and Dev Lab for free. Transaction fee structure requires contacting Epic Pay directly. As a PSS-licensed provider, fees are likely in line with CBN-regulated payment industry standards. Authentication API Key from the EpicPay Gateway Developer Portal. Keys are used to authenticate all API requests. Compliance PSS (Payment Service Solution) licensed by the CBN. PCI DSS 4.0 certified — one of the most current PCI versions, demonstrating strong card data security practices. Challenges and Gotchas (1) No USSD or crypto support. (2) Pricing not public — requires direct engagement. (3) Less community presence than Paystack/Flutterwave — documentation depth may be lower. (4) White-label and agent boarding make it more suitable for ISOs and platform builders than simple merchant integrations. Company Background Epic Payment Technologies Limited is a Nigerian payment company focused on providing payment infrastructure for businesses, developers, and agent networks. The Developers Circle community initiative shows active engagement with the Nigerian developer ecosystem. FAQs Q: Does Epic Pay support recurring billing? A: Yes. The Payment API supports recurring payments with tokenized card storage. Q: Is there a sandbox? A: Yes. A Dev Lab environment is available at developer.epicpay.com/Docs/DevLab. Q: What SDKs are available? A: Java and C#/.NET SDKs are available on GitHub under EpicGateway organization. Q: Can I build a white-label payment product with Epic Pay? A: Yes. Epic Pay specifically supports white-label payment platform deployments with the Boarding API for sub-merchant management.

40. ErcasPay

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

ErcasPay is a CBN PSSP-licensed, PCI DSS-certified, and NDPA-compliant multicurrency payment gateway built specifically for Nigerian businesses. The platform supports 8 currencies — NGN, USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, GHS, GMD, and KES — enabling Nigerian merchants to accept both local and international payments through a single API integration. ErcasPay processes transactions from 5,000+ businesses and has offices in Lagos, Abuja, and Ibadan. What the API Does The ErcasPay REST API enables developers to: initiate and process local card payments (Verve, Visa, Mastercard), bank transfers, USSD, and QR code payments; accept international card payments in 7 foreign currencies; issue and manage virtual account numbers for NGN collections; generate payment links; and create invoices. The API uses separate sandbox and live environments with distinct base URLs. How Developers Use It Developers create an account at ercaspay.com, obtain API keys from the dashboard under developer settings, and integrate using the documentation at docs.ercaspay.com. Authentication uses Bearer tokens with secret keys prefixed ECRS-TEST-SK (sandbox) and ECRS-LIVE-SK (live). Sandbox base URL: api-staging.ercaspay.com/api/v1. Live base URL: api.ercaspay.com/api/v1. All requests require Accept: application/json and Content-Type: application/json headers. Pricing Local transactions (cards, bank transfer, QR, USSD): 1.4% per transaction, capped at ₦2,000. International card transactions: 4.8% per transaction. International payments first settle to a USD wallet; conversion to NGN is triggered from there. A 10% rolling reserve is applied on international card transactions, held for 180 days — refundable if no chargebacks occur. No monthly subscription fee. Authentication Bearer token authentication. Secret key placed in the Authorization header as "Bearer {SECRET_KEY}". Separate keys for test and live modes. Keys managed from the ErcasPay Dashboard. Compliance CBN PSSP-licensed, PCI DSS certified, and compliant with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA). Multi-location presence in Lagos, Abuja, and Ibadan. Challenges and Gotchas (1) 10% rolling reserve on international card transactions held 180 days can be a significant cash flow constraint for new merchants. (2) International payments do not settle directly in NGN — they go to a USD wallet first. (3) No recurring billing or split payment support currently. (4) Rate limits not publicly documented — confirm with ErcasPay before high-volume implementations. Company Background ErcasPay is operated by ErcasPay Nigeria Limited, headquartered in Lagos with offices in Abuja and Ibadan. The company targets Nigerian businesses of all sizes needing a reliable, multi-currency alternative payment gateway. FAQs Q: What is the fee for local card payments? A: 1.4% capped at ₦2,000 per transaction. Q: Does ErcasPay support USSD payments? A: Yes. USSD is supported at the same 1.4% (capped ₦2,000) local rate. Q: What currencies can I accept through ErcasPay? A: NGN, USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, GHS, GMD, and KES — 8 currencies total. Q: Is there a sandbox? A: Yes. Sandbox at api-staging.ercaspay.com/api/v1 using ECRS-TEST-SK keys. Q: What is the rolling reserve? A: A 10% hold on international card transaction amounts, retained for 180 days. It is refunded in full if no chargebacks are filed during that period.

41. Fincra

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Forex

Fincra is a CBN PSSP-licensed payment gateway and fintech infrastructure company enabling African businesses to collect payments locally and cross-border across 50+ currencies in 40+ countries — with a single API covering 150+ countries globally. Fincra processes millions of API requests monthly and provides checkout, virtual accounts, direct debit, and cross-border payment products to businesses ranging from startups to enterprise clients. The company maintains a dedicated developer hub at FincraHub for the Nigerian and African developer community. What the API Does The Fincra API enables developers to: process card payments (Verve, Visa, Mastercard), bank transfers, M-Pesa, mobile money, and PayAttitude; issue multi-currency virtual accounts (NGN, USD, GBP, EUR) for collections from anywhere in the world; set up direct debit mandates for recurring collections from Nigerian bank accounts; initiate cross-border payouts in 50+ currencies; and receive real-time webhook notifications for all transaction events. The platform is designed as a single integration point for both local Nigerian payments and pan-African/international payment needs. How Developers Use It Developers access documentation at docs.fincra.com. Account creation is at fincra.com. Authentication uses API keys obtained from the Fincra Dashboard under Settings > API keys and webhook configuration tab. Sandbox and live environments are fully isolated — separate business IDs, API keys, and identifiers for each. Never use live credentials in the sandbox environment. The sandbox is available for full integration testing with simulated data. Pricing Custom pricing based on product type, transaction volume, markets, and risk profile. No public fee schedule. Contact Fincra sales to design a custom package. The pricing page at fincra.com/product-pricing offers a starting point for conversations. Rate Limits 50 API calls per second. HTTP 429 error returned for requests exceeding this limit. Authentication API keys from the Fincra Dashboard, separated by environment (sandbox vs. live). Keys are configured in the Profile > Settings > API keys section. Compliance CBN PSSP-licensed in Nigeria. Fincra is also incorporated in the US (Fincra Inc.) and holds appropriate licences for cross-border operations. Handles M-Pesa and mobile money under applicable East African regulations. Challenges and Gotchas (1) Pricing requires a sales conversation — no instant self-serve pricing. (2) Sandbox and live environments are fully isolated — you cannot transfer test accounts to live. (3) Rate limit of 50 req/sec may constrain high-frequency use cases — design API calls with batching in mind. (4) No USSD support. (5) Cross-border payouts pricing may vary significantly by corridor. Company Background Fincra Inc. is incorporated in the US and operates its Africa business from Lagos, Nigeria. The company is focused on solving Africa's payment fragmentation problem — where businesses traditionally needed separate integrations for each country. Fincra's FincraHub developer community is active in the Nigerian tech ecosystem. FAQs Q: What is Fincra's rate limit? A: 50 API calls per second. Exceeding this returns HTTP 429. Q: Does Fincra support M-Pesa? A: Yes. M-Pesa is supported as a payment method for East African collections. Q: Are sandbox and live environments the same? A: No. They are fully isolated with separate business IDs, API keys, and identifiers. You cannot transfer test data to live. Q: Does Fincra support direct debit for subscriptions? A: Yes. The Direct Debit API enables recurring collections from Nigerian bank accounts on a schedule.

42. eTranzact

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

eTranzact International Plc is one of Nigeria's oldest and most established fintech companies, listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Founded in 2003, eTranzact has been a foundational player in Nigeria's digital payments ecosystem — predating Paystack, Flutterwave, and most modern Nigerian payment gateways by over a decade. The company offers a suite of enterprise API products designed for banks, telcos, financial institutions, and government agencies. Developer documentation is available at developers.etranzactng.com. What the API Does eTranzact offers six primary API products: (1) SwitchIT — a bill payment API for utility, airtime, and service payments; (2) Virtual Account Service — for issuing and managing virtual bank account numbers; (3) AntPeer — loan mandate setup and automated repayment collection for digital lenders; (4) Instant Transfer — real-time interbank fund transfers via NIP; (5) e-Invoicing API — generating FIRS-compliant electronic invoices for tax compliance; (6) WaaS (Wallet-as-a-Service) — embedding wallet functionality into third-party applications. How Developers Use It Developers access the portal at developers.etranzactng.com for documentation and API reference. Authentication is via API key from the developer portal. eTranzact is an enterprise provider — onboarding typically requires a formal integration agreement rather than self-service signup. A sandbox environment is available for testing. Pricing Enterprise pricing only — not publicly listed. eTranzact targets institutional clients with contracts negotiated based on integration type, transaction volume, and product combination. Contact eTranzact for pricing. Compliance eTranzact is CBN-licensed and operates under CBN payment system regulations. As an NSE-listed company, it is subject to SEC regulations and public reporting requirements — providing institutional clients with a high level of corporate accountability and transparency. Challenges and Gotchas (1) Not a self-service platform — enterprise onboarding required. (2) Documentation is less accessible than Paystack or Flutterwave. (3) Primarily institutional focus — not designed for individual developers or small startups. (4) Pricing requires sales engagement. (5) Product suite is broad but each product may require a separate integration agreement. Company Background eTranzact International Plc was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Lagos. It is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and serves over 200+ banks and financial institutions across Nigeria and Africa. The company has expanded into Ghana, Zimbabwe, and other African markets. Its longevity and stock exchange listing make it one of the most trusted institutional payment infrastructure providers in Nigeria. FAQs Q: Is eTranzact publicly listed? A: Yes. eTranzact International Plc is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Q: Can a startup integrate eTranzact independently? A: eTranzact is primarily enterprise-focused. Small startups should consider Paystack or Flutterwave as more accessible alternatives. Q: Does eTranzact support loan mandate processing? A: Yes. The AntPeer product handles loan mandate setup and automated repayment debit for digital lenders and microfinance banks. Q: What is WaaS? A: Wallet-as-a-Service — an API that lets third-party apps embed NGN wallet functionality without building their own wallet infrastructure.

43. Flutterwave API

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Forex

Flutterwave is one of Africa's most widely used payment infrastructure companies, providing a comprehensive API that enables businesses to accept payments locally across Africa and internationally in 150+ countries. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco with major operations in Lagos, Flutterwave powers payments for over 1.3 million businesses across Africa. The platform is CBN-licensed, PCI DSS Level 1 certified, and handles billions of dollars in transactions annually. What the API Does The Flutterwave API provides a unified payment layer covering: card payments (Verve, Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Discover); bank transfer checkout (USSD and direct NIP); mobile money (M-Pesa, MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, and more); virtual accounts for NGN collections; recurring billing and subscription management; split payments for marketplace revenue sharing; bulk transfers for mass payouts; multi-currency settlement in NGN, USD, GBP, EUR, and more; and payment links for no-code collections. How Developers Use It Developers sign up at flutterwave.com, obtain API keys from the Developer section of the dashboard, and integrate using the documentation at developer.flutterwave.com. Authentication uses Bearer token — secret key placed as "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..." in request headers. Test mode keys only work in the test environment. SDKs are available for JavaScript, React, React Native, Flutter, Python, PHP, Node.js, and more. Inline checkout and redirect checkout are both supported. Webhooks deliver real-time transaction events to developer endpoints. Pricing Local transactions (cards, bank transfer, USSD, POS, Visa QR): 2% per transaction, broken down as 1.4% transaction fee + 0.6% platform fee. International cards (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Discover): 4.8% per transaction. Transfer fees: ₦10 for transfers up to ₦5,000; ₦25 for ₦5,001 to ₦50,000; ₦50 for transfers above ₦50,000. All fees are subject to 7.5% VAT. No monthly fee — only pay when you transact. By default, customers bear transaction charges but this can be adjusted in the dashboard. Authentication Bearer token using the secret key from your Flutterwave dashboard. Format: "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_{KEY}" for test, "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_{KEY}" for live. Never expose secret keys client-side. Rate Limits Flutterwave enforces rate limits and returns HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests) when exceeded. Specific thresholds are documented at developer.flutterwave.com/v3.0/docs/rate-limit. Compliance CBN-licensed, PCI DSS Level 1 certified. Flutterwave is registered with multiple African central banks and financial regulatory authorities. NDPR-compliant for Nigerian data protection. Challenges and Gotchas (1) The 0.6% platform fee on top of the 1.4% transaction fee makes the effective local rate 2% — ensure pricing models account for both components. (2) 7.5% VAT applies to all fees, not just the base rate. (3) International card chargeback risk requires careful implementation of refund and dispute handling. (4) Flutterwave has faced some regulatory challenges historically — stay current on their operational status. (5) Webhook endpoint verification (signature check) is mandatory in production. Company Background Flutterwave was founded by Olugbenga Agboola (GB) and co-founders in 2016. The company has raised over $500M in funding and is valued at over $3 billion, making it one of Africa's most valuable fintech companies. It operates in 34+ African countries and has processed over $26 billion in transactions. FAQs Q: What is the fee for local card payments in Nigeria? A: 2% per transaction (1.4% + 0.6% platform fee), subject to 7.5% VAT. No cap publicly published — verify on the pricing page. Q: Does Flutterwave support USSD payments? A: Yes. USSD is supported at the same 2% local rate. Q: Does Flutterwave support M-Pesa in Kenya? A: Yes. M-Pesa is supported for Kenya and other East African markets. Q: Is there a sandbox? A: Yes. Use test mode API keys (sk_test_...) for sandbox testing. Q: What is the transfer fee? A: ₦10 for transfers ≤₦5,000; ₦25 for ₦5,001–₦50,000; ₦50 for transfers above ₦50,000. All subject to VAT.

44. GT Pay (GTPay)

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

GTPay is the online payment gateway from Guaranty Trust Bank (now Guaranty Trust Holding Company — GTCo), one of Nigeria's largest and most recognized tier-1 banks. GTPay enables Nigerian merchants to accept card payments online from customers using Interswitch (Verve), Visa, and Mastercard — both locally issued and international cards. The gateway is backed by GTBank's banking infrastructure and has been serving Nigerian e-commerce merchants since the early days of online payments in Nigeria. What GTPay Does GTPay processes card-present-not-required (CNP) transactions for online merchants, collecting payment from customers and settling into the merchant's GTBank business account. The gateway supports NGN (currency code 566) and USD (currency code 840) transactions, making it usable for both local NGN e-commerce and international USD billing. How Developers Use It Developers obtain a Merchant ID and Hash Key by physically visiting any GTBank branch nationwide and registering as a GTPay merchant. After registration, integration is done using the technical parameters documented at ibank.gtbank.com/gtpay/IntegrationAPI/mman-tech.html. Key parameters include: gtpay_mert_id (merchant identifier), gtpay_tranx_id (unique transaction ID from merchant), gtpay_tranx_amt (amount in kobo or cents), and gtpay_tranx_curr (ISO currency code — 566 for NGN, 840 for USD). The Hash Key is used to generate a transaction hash for request signing. Pricing Local card transactions: 1.5% fee capped at ₦2,000. Contact GTBank for the full fee schedule including international card rates. Authentication Merchant ID and Hash Key pair obtained from GTBank branch. Transactions are signed using the Hash Key to generate a security hash that GTBank validates before processing. Compliance GTPay is operated by Guaranty Trust Bank (CBN-licensed), ensuring full CBN compliance for all payment processing. PCI DSS compliant for card data handling. Important Note on Legacy Status GTCo (formerly GTBank) has since launched Squad (squadco.com) as their modern, developer-first payment platform under HabariPay Limited. Squad offers a comprehensive REST API with sandbox, webhooks, virtual accounts, and full documentation. For new integrations, Squad is the recommended modern alternative to GTPay. GTPay remains operational for existing merchants. Challenges and Gotchas (1) Merchant registration requires a physical GTBank branch visit — not self-serve online. (2) GTPay is a legacy product — documentation is older and less comprehensive than modern gateways. (3) No bank transfer, USSD, or recurring billing support. (4) Integration is form-post based rather than modern REST JSON API. (5) New projects should seriously consider Squad (HabariPay) instead. FAQs Q: How do I get a GTPay Merchant ID? A: Visit any GTBank branch nationwide with your business documents to register as a GTPay merchant. Q: Is GTPay still active? A: Yes, GTPay remains operational for existing merchants but GTCo's newer platform Squad is the recommended modern alternative. Q: Does GTPay support USSD or bank transfer? A: No. GTPay only supports card payments (Interswitch/Verve, Visa, Mastercard). Q: What currencies does GTPay support? A: NGN (566) and USD (840).

45. Kora Payments API

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Forex

Kora (formerly Korapay) is a CBN-licensed pan-African payment infrastructure company offering a unified API for payment acceptance, payouts, identity verification, and exchange rates across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. The company rebranded from Korapay to Kora to signal its evolution from a single-market payment gateway to a multi-country API platform. Kora serves Nigerian and pan-African fintechs, marketplaces, and enterprises with a developer-first API design. What the API Does The Kora API provides: card payment acceptance (local and international); bank transfer checkout; mobile money payments across Africa; payouts to Nigerian and other African bank accounts; identity verification (BVN, NIN, vNIN, CAC, and multi-country KYC); a real-time exchange rate API; and webhook notifications for all transaction events. The API base URL is api.korapay.com/merchant. How Developers Use It Developers sign up at korahq.com, complete business verification, and obtain API keys from their Kora dashboard. Authentication uses Bearer tokens — the secret key is passed as "Authorization: Bearer {SECRET_KEY}" in request headers. Test mode uses separate test keys; live mode requires dashboard activation. Sandbox testing is available with specific test cards and bank account numbers. The full API reference is at developers.korapay.com and docs.korapay.com (OpenAPI spec available at developers.korapay.com/llms.txt). Pricing Not publicly listed. Per-verification costs for identity services are deducted directly from the Kora account balance. Payment processing fees require contacting Kora directly. Sandbox/test mode is free. Rate Limits Not publicly documented — contact Kora support for limits before high-volume integrations. Compliance CBN-licensed in Nigeria. Multi-country presence with appropriate regulatory relationships in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Encryption and security-grade protocols for all identity verification calls. Challenges and Gotchas (1) Identity service activation is separate from standard payment access — must be enabled in dashboard. (2) No public rate card — pricing requires direct engagement. (3) Rate limits not documented. (4) Two documentation sites exist (developers.korapay.com and docs.korapay.com) — both are maintained but can cause confusion. (5) Recurring billing not currently supported. Company Background Kora was founded in Nigeria and has grown into a multi-country payment infrastructure provider. The company raised a Series A round and is backed by African and global investors. The rebrand from Korapay to Kora reflected the platform's expansion beyond Nigeria to serve pan-African payment flows. FAQs Q: Is Kora the same as Korapay? A: Yes. Korapay rebranded to Kora to reflect its multi-country expansion. Q: Does Kora support mobile money across Africa? A: Yes. Mobile money payments are supported across multiple African markets. Q: Is there a sandbox? A: Yes. Use test keys and the provided test card/bank account numbers to simulate payments. Q: Does Kora have an exchange rate API? A: Yes. A real-time exchange rate API is included in the Kora API suite.

46. Monnify

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Monnify is a Nigerian payment gateway and payment infrastructure provider operated by Moniepoint Inc, a CBN-licensed payment solutions company and one of Nigeria's largest agent banking networks. Originally launched as a standalone product by TeamApt, Monnify was rebranded under the Moniepoint brand as the company expanded. Monnify provides Nigerian businesses with APIs for accepting payments via local debit cards, bank transfers, USSD, and direct debit, as well as disbursing funds to bank accounts across all Nigerian banks. The Monnify API is RESTful and uses JSON for all request and response payloads. Developers can authenticate using Basic Auth — by encoding the API key and secret key as a base64 string — or by exchanging credentials for an OAuth Bearer Token via the /auth/login endpoint. Most implementations prefer Bearer Token authentication for production use, obtaining a token at server startup and refreshing as needed. The Monnify dashboard is available at app.monnify.com and provides API credentials, transaction history, settlement reports, and webhook configuration. Payment collection works by initializing a transaction with a unique reference and an amount, then displaying the payment modal to the customer. The Monnify SDK handles the checkout experience, allowing customers to choose between card, bank transfer, USSD, or direct debit. For bank transfers, Monnify generates a reserved virtual account number for the customer — they transfer any amount to that account and the payment is automatically matched and settled to the merchant. This is particularly powerful for recurring or subscription-like payment flows. In terms of pricing, Monnify charges 1.5% per transaction for local card payments, USSD payments, and bank transfers, with a cap of ₦2,000 per transaction. An alternative flat fee of ₦500 may apply for certain bank transfer transactions. International card payments attract a 4% fee. Cash collection is also charged at 4%. There are no setup fees and no monthly platform fees. Payouts (disbursements to Nigerian bank accounts) are charged at flat rates: ₦10 for transfers below ₦10,000, ₦20 for transfers between ₦10,000 and ₦49,999, and ₦40 for transfers of ₦50,000 and above. All fees are exclusive of VAT. A key differentiator for Monnify is its settlement speed. Transactions are settled to merchants same-day by 10pm, and businesses can trigger up to 3 on-demand express settlements per day outside the standard settlement window. This is important for Nigerian e-commerce and service businesses that need immediate access to collected revenue. The Monnify sandbox environment is a full replica of the production environment. Developers can create a free sandbox account at developers.monnify.com without any business registration documents. The sandbox provides test card numbers, simulated bank transfer flows, and test USSD responses. Moving from sandbox to live requires completing the standard CBN KYC process, including submitting CAC documents, director BVN, and business bank account details. Rate limits for the Monnify API are not publicly published. However, for high-volume integration partners, Monnify support can provide guidance on expected throughput limits. The Webhook system sends real-time notifications for transaction completion, refunds, and disbursements — developers must validate the webhook hash to confirm the event originated from Monnify, and must respond with HTTP 200 within a defined timeout. From a compliance standpoint, Monnify is CBN-licensed and operates under the same regulatory framework as all Nigerian payment service providers. Moniepoint Inc holds a Payment Service Bank license and a Switching and Processing license from the CBN. Monnify is also PCI-DSS certified, which is required for handling card payment data in Nigeria. Merchants are not required to be PCI-DSS certified themselves, as card data is processed on Monnify servers rather than the merchant's infrastructure. The BVN verification endpoint available through Monnify allows developers to verify a customer's Bank Verification Number — returned with name, date of birth, and phone number — which is a CBN requirement for KYC compliance in lending and financial services. Common challenges Nigerian developers face with Monnify include webhook delivery delays during peak traffic (Black Friday, end-of-month), and the need to handle cases where bank transfer payments arrive outside the transaction expiry window. Developers should set generous expiry windows for bank transfer transactions, and use the transaction status query endpoint to confirm payment before fulfilling orders, rather than relying solely on webhook delivery. Moniepoint Inc, the parent company, is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria and has expanded operations across several African markets. It was voted the fastest-growing company in Africa by the Financial Times in 2023 and has raised over $100 million in funding. Notable investors include QED Investors, Lightrock, and Google. The Monnify gateway is used by thousands of Nigerian businesses including e-commerce platforms, SaaS companies, and lending products. Frequently Asked Questions: Can I use Monnify without CAC registration? You can test the API freely on the sandbox with just an email. However, to go live and receive real settlements, full CBN KYC including CAC registration is required. Does Monnify support NGN only? Yes, Monnify primarily settles in Nigerian Naira (NGN). International card transactions are charged at 4% but are settled in NGN after currency conversion. Does Monnify have a no-code payment link? Yes, Monnify supports payment links and invoice generation from the dashboard — no coding required. What happens if my webhook fails? Monnify retries failed webhook deliveries. However, developers should use the transaction status API (/api/v1/merchant/transactions/query) as a fallback to confirm payment independently.

47. Paystack API

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Paystack is Nigeria's most widely adopted payment gateway API and is a subsidiary of Stripe, the global payments infrastructure company that acquired Paystack in 2020. Founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, Paystack was part of Y Combinator's 2016 batch and quickly became the default payment choice for Nigerian developers and businesses. The company is CBN-licensed and PCI-DSS compliant, and currently serves thousands of businesses across Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya. The Paystack API is RESTful and uses Bearer Token authentication. Every request must include an Authorization header with the format: Authorization: Bearer sk_live_xxxx (for production) or Authorization: Bearer sk_test_xxxx (for sandbox). API keys are obtained from the Paystack dashboard at dashboard.paystack.com. Paystack provides both public keys (used in client-side code to initialize the checkout) and secret keys (used server-side for all API calls). Developers must never expose the secret key in client-side code. The standard Paystack integration flow involves three steps: initialize a transaction server-side using the /transaction/initialize endpoint (passing email, amount in kobo, and optional metadata), redirect the user to the returned authorization URL or embed the Paystack inline popup using the JavaScript SDK, then verify the transaction on your server using /transaction/verify/:reference after the customer is redirected back. This three-step flow ensures transactions are validated server-side before fulfilling orders, preventing fraud and order manipulation. Paystack supports the widest range of payment channels of any Nigerian gateway: Verve, Visa, and Mastercard debit cards; bank transfer (pay by transfer); USSD (for customers without smartphones); mobile money (in Ghana); and QR code payments. The Paystack Checkout modal intelligently displays only the channels available for the customer's device and location. In terms of pricing, local card transactions cost 1.5% plus ₦100, capped at ₦2,000 per transaction. The ₦100 flat fee is waived for transactions of ₦2,500 or less. This means very small transactions (micro-payments) are effectively charged at 1.5% only. International card transactions cost 3.9% plus ₦100, with no cap. Bank transfers (receiving payments via bank account) are charged flat: ₦10 for amounts up to ₦5,000; ₦25 for ₦5,001 to ₦50,000; and ₦50 for amounts above ₦50,000. Outgoing transfers (disbursements) are: ₦10 for ₦0–₦5,000; ₦25 for ₦5,001–₦50,000; ₦50 for above ₦50,000. There are no setup fees and no monthly platform fees. Businesses processing more than ₦10 million per month are eligible for volume-based discounts by contacting Paystack enterprise support. The Paystack sandbox environment mirrors production exactly — all features available in live mode are available in test mode. This is a critical advantage for Nigerian developers who need to test subscription billing, split payments, and bulk transfers without using real money. Test mode uses test card numbers provided in the Paystack documentation and simulates bank transfer payments via a confirmation prompt. Paystack also provides a Subscriptions API that allows developers to create subscription plans with daily, weekly, monthly, or annual billing cycles. When a customer first pays, a subscription authorization token is generated and stored securely by Paystack. Subsequent charges happen automatically without requiring the customer to re-enter card details. This is the foundation for building SaaS billing, membership platforms, and digital subscription products in Nigeria. The Split Payments (multi-split) feature allows marketplace operators to automatically split collected revenue between multiple subaccounts at the time of transaction — specifying percentages or flat amounts for each recipient. This is commonly used by Nigerian food delivery platforms, logistics aggregators, and gig economy apps. The Bulk Transfers API enables disbursement to hundreds of Nigerian bank accounts in a single API call by submitting a list of transfer recipients. This is used for payroll, agent commissions, loan disbursements, and customer refunds. From a compliance standpoint, Paystack is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified — the highest level of payment card security certification. All card data is encrypted and processed on Paystack's infrastructure. Merchants are not required to be PCI-DSS certified themselves. Paystack operates under CBN supervision and complies with the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR). Webhook events from Paystack must be validated using the HMAC-SHA512 signature sent in the X-Paystack-Signature header. Developers should validate this signature before processing any webhook event. Paystack retries failed webhooks for up to 72 hours. Known challenges for Nigerian developers: (1) International card transactions have no cap on the 3.9% fee — high-value international payments can be expensive. (2) Bank transfer payments can take up to 30 minutes during bank downtime, so developers must handle pending states gracefully. (3) BVN and NIN verification are not built into Paystack directly — these require Dojah or Smile Identity as a separate integration. Frequently Asked Questions: Can I use Paystack without a registered business? Yes — individuals can create a starter account and start accepting payments. However, you will need to provide CAC documents to unlock higher transaction limits and settlements. Does Paystack support USD payments? Paystack processes international cards in USD, but settlements are in NGN after conversion. USD settlement is available only for Paystack International accounts. Can I process recurring payments automatically? Yes — use the Subscriptions API to save a customer authorization token and charge them on any schedule automatically. Is the test environment exactly like production? Yes — Paystack test mode has full feature parity with live mode, including subscriptions, splits, and bulk transfers.

48. Squad

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Squad is a Nigerian payment gateway and developer-first payment infrastructure platform operated by HabariPay Limited, the fintech subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) — the parent company of Guaranty Trust Bank, one of Nigeria's Tier 1 commercial banks. This institutional backing gives Squad a unique position in the Nigerian fintech ecosystem: it combines the regulatory standing of a CBN-licensed commercial bank group with a modern API-first developer experience. Squad is available at squadco.com and provides documentation at docs.squadco.com. The Squad API is RESTful with JSON payloads. Authentication is via Bearer Token — developers obtain a secret key from the Squad dashboard and pass it in every request as Authorization: Bearer sk_test_xxxx (sandbox) or Authorization: Bearer sk_live_xxxx (production). All amounts are passed in Naira (NGN), unlike some Nigerian gateways that require amounts in Kobo. Squad's payment gateway supports card payments (Verve, Visa, Mastercard), bank transfers, and USSD — the three primary payment channels used by Nigerian consumers. The standard integration follows a three-step flow: initialize a transaction by posting to the Squad initiate endpoint with amount, email, and a unique transaction reference; display the Squad checkout widget to the customer; and verify the transaction on your server after the customer completes payment. Squad provides both a hosted checkout page and an embeddable inline SDK for seamless checkout experiences. One of Squad's most notable differentiators is its fee structure. The payment gateway charges a percentage fee capped at ₦1,500 per transaction — lower than Paystack (₦2,000 cap) and Monnify (₦2,000 cap). For virtual account collections, Squad charges a percentage capped at ₦1,000, which is again among the lowest caps in the Nigerian market for bank transfer collections. Payment links (used for social commerce and invoicing) are charged at 1% for local transactions and 3.5% for international transactions. This pricing advantage makes Squad particularly attractive for businesses processing high-value transactions, where the cap limits the absolute cost per transaction regardless of size. Squad's Virtual Accounts feature assigns a dedicated bank account number to each customer for use in collections. Businesses can create virtual accounts for individual customers — when a customer transfers any amount to their dedicated account, the Squad webhook fires and the balance is credited in real time. This is widely used by Nigerian savings apps, investment platforms, and bill payment services where customers top up wallets via bank transfer. The Subscription API allows platforms to create recurring billing products. When a customer first pays via Squad, the platform receives a unique charge token tied to that customer's card. Future charges can be triggered by passing this token without requiring the customer to re-enter card details — enabling automatic monthly subscriptions, usage-based billing, and installment plans for Nigerian consumers. Squad also provides a Payouts API for disbursing funds to any Nigerian bank account. Developers submit a destination bank code, account number, and amount, and Squad executes the transfer. Payout pricing is competitive and the API supports both single and bulk transfers. The BVN verification endpoint available through Squad allows platforms to look up a Bank Verification Number and return the associated name and basic identity information. This is commonly used by Nigerian lending products and fintech apps to confirm user identity as part of CBN-required KYC processes. The Squad sandbox environment provides full test mode access. Developers can test all features — gateway payments, virtual accounts, subscriptions, payouts, and BVN verification — using test credentials without processing real transactions. Moving to live requires completing Squad's business onboarding, including submitting CAC registration, director BVN, and a valid business bank account. From a compliance perspective, HabariPay Limited is a CBN-licensed Payment Service Provider operating under the regulatory oversight of the Central Bank of Nigeria. GTCO's banking license adds an additional layer of institutional compliance. Squad is also PCI-DSS certified, ensuring that card payment data is processed and stored to the highest security standards. Squad runs an annual Hackathon for Nigerian students and early-career developers — Squad by GTBank Hackathon — providing cash prizes and API credits to winners. This investment in the developer community has built significant goodwill among Nigeria's emerging developer ecosystem. Known challenges: Squad's documentation, while functional, is less comprehensive than Paystack's. Some advanced integration patterns (split payments, multi-vendor marketplace flows) are not as fully documented. The Squad developer community is smaller than Paystack's, which can make troubleshooting harder for niche use cases. Frequently Asked Questions: Is Squad backed by GTBank? Yes — Squad is operated by HabariPay Limited, which is a subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), the same holding company that owns GTBank. What is the fee cap advantage? Squad's gateway fee is capped at ₦1,500 versus ₦2,000 for Paystack and Monnify — meaning on large transactions, you save ₦500 per collection. Does Squad support dollar transactions? Squad supports international card payments (Visa/Mastercard). Settlement is in NGN. Can I test Squad without registering a business? Yes — create a free developer account and use the sandbox with test credentials before submitting any business documents.

49. Netapps IaaS API

Insurance, Insuretech, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Netapps Insurance-as-a-Service (IaaS) is a cloud-based, API-driven insurance engine that enables fintechs, banks, e-commerce platforms, ride-hailing companies, agent networks, and digital service providers to seamlessly embed, distribute, and manage insurance products within their own platforms. Built for Africa's unique needs, Netapps IaaS combines insurance aggregation technology with local execution, inclusion-driven pricing, and claims confidence. Supported product lines include health, auto, life, travel, agriculture, and device protection insurance. The API lets developers offer customers the right cover at the right price without friction — directly inside wallets, POS systems, apps, and marketplaces.

50. Nomba Global Payout API

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

The Nomba Global Payout API is a cross-border payment disbursement product launched by Nomba in March 2026, designed specifically for Nigerian payment operators, remittance platforms, and fintechs that need to collect Naira or stablecoin funds from Nigerian users and disburse to recipients in international markets. It eliminates the need for operators to manually source foreign exchange or maintain multi-currency liquidity pools across different countries. Nomba is a CBN-licensed Nigerian Payment Service Provider. The Global Payout API represents a significant expansion of Nomba's capabilities beyond domestic Nigerian payments into the cross-border remittance corridor, addressing one of the most operationally complex challenges facing Nigerian fintech operators: access to affordable, reliable FX and settlement infrastructure for international disbursements. The API enables operators to collect funds in two ways: via NGN virtual accounts (where Nigerian senders transfer Naira) or via stablecoin deposits (USDT or USDC). Once funds are received, Nomba automatically converts them to the target currency and routes the disbursement through the appropriate local payment rail in the destination country. This auto-conversion capability is a critical differentiator — operators do not need to hold USD, GBP, EUR, or CAD reserves; Nomba handles the full FX lifecycle. Supported corridors at launch include: United Kingdom via Faster Payments (transfers up to £1,000,000, settled in 1–3 hours), European Union via SEPA transfer (up to €100,000, settled in under 1 hour), Canada via Interac (instant) and standard bank transfer, and the Democratic Republic of Congo via Mobile Money (instant) and bank transfer. Additional corridors are expected to expand over time. The developer integration flow involves four main steps. First, call the exchange rates endpoint to get the current NGN-to-destination-currency rate. Optionally use the Convert Money endpoint to lock this rate before initiating the transfer. Then call the payment methods endpoint for the destination country to retrieve available rails and required recipient details (bank account type, purpose of payment, etc.). Finally, authorize the transfer with the recipient's bank details and monitor the transaction status via the returned transaction ID. Authentication uses OAuth2 Bearer Tokens, consistent with Nomba's main API. Developers use either Client Credentials (for server-to-server) or PKCE flow (for mobile apps). Webhooks deliver real-time status updates for each disbursement, enabling operators to update their internal systems when a transfer succeeds or fails. Pricing for the Global Payout API is not publicly published. Nomba charges transaction-based fees for each corridor; operators are advised to contact Nomba's team for enterprise pricing based on expected monthly volumes. Given that the product targets high-volume remittance operators and fintechs, volume discounts are likely available. The Global Payout API is particularly significant for the Nigerian diaspora remittance market. Nigeria receives over $20 billion per year in remittances and is Africa's largest remittance destination. By enabling Nigerian-licensed platforms to send money OUT of Nigeria via a single API, Nomba addresses the reverse corridor — outbound from Nigeria — which is critical for freelancer payments, business vendor payments, and capital repatriation. From a compliance standpoint, all cross-border disbursements via Nomba are processed within the CBN's regulatory framework. Nomba holds the necessary licenses for international money transfer operations. For high-volume corridors, operators may be required to provide AML documentation and demonstrate the nature of their disbursement use case. Frequently Asked Questions: Which countries can I disburse to? At launch in March 2026: UK, EU, Canada, and DRC. Additional corridors are planned. Contact Nomba for the latest corridor list. Can I collect from Nigerian users in NGN? Yes — Nomba provides NGN virtual accounts for collection. The collected Naira is automatically converted to the destination currency at the prevailing rate. Can I lock the FX rate before initiating a transfer? Yes — use the Convert Money endpoint to lock the exchange rate before authorizing the disbursement. This protects against rate fluctuations between quoting and execution. Is this separate from Nomba's domestic API? Yes — the Global Payout API is a distinct product with its own documentation at developer.nomba.com/docs/products/global-payout/introduction. Domestic Nigerian payments use the main Nomba Checkout and Transfer APIs.

51. Mono Connect

Banking & Fintech, Payments, Identity & KYC, Nigeria

Mono is a Nigerian open banking and financial data infrastructure company that enables developers to build financial products by connecting customer bank accounts for data access, payments, and identity verification. Founded in 2020 by Abdul Hassan and Prakhar Sharma, Mono has raised funding from Sequoia Capital India and other top investors, and is one of Africa's leading open banking providers, covering over 30 Nigerian banks and financial institutions. The Mono platform is organized into three main API products: Financial Data, Payments (DirectPay), and Identity Verification. All three use the same developer credentials and are accessed via the Mono Connect widget — an embeddable authentication flow that allows customers to authorize Mono's access to their bank account using their internet banking credentials, in accordance with CBN open banking guidelines. The Financial Data API provides programmatic access to a bank account's transaction history, current balance, income patterns, and bank statements after the customer authorizes access through the Connect widget. Lenders use this data for credit scoring — analyzing spending patterns, income credits, and debt obligations from actual bank statements rather than relying on self-reported income. The transactions endpoint returns categorized transaction records covering 12–24 months of history depending on the bank. The Payments API, branded as DirectPay, enables businesses to initiate single direct debits from a linked customer bank account — charging the account directly without requiring the customer to enter card details. DirectPay is powered by open banking standards, with all transactions encrypted end-to-end. Pricing is 1% per successful transaction, capped at NGN 1,000. This makes DirectPay significantly cheaper than card payment fees (Paystack charges 1.5% + ₦100 capped at ₦2,000) for high-value transactions — for example, a ₦500,000 loan repayment via DirectPay costs ₦1,000 (capped), versus ₦2,100 via card. Mono also offers a Recurring Direct Debit product — where a customer authorizes ongoing debits on a schedule — enabling subscription billing, loan installment plans, and salary deductions using open banking mandates rather than card tokens. Authentication is handled via the Client Secret Key, which is included in request headers as mono-sec-key. Public keys are used client-side to initialize the Connect widget. Mono provides SDKs for React, React Native, JavaScript, Android, and iOS — all of which embed the Connect widget and handle the token exchange flow. Most integrations take 2–4 hours. For identity verification, Mono offers BVN verification, NIN verification, and document verification (government-issued ID). These are standalone API calls that do not require bank account linking — useful for KYC onboarding where the business needs to verify user identity before granting access to financial services. Mono's Identity API also supports address verification and company verification via CAC data — enabling Know Your Business (KYB) checks for B2B platforms and marketplace operators. The sandbox environment is available at mono.co/sandbox with test bank credentials provided in the documentation. All three products (Financial Data, DirectPay, Identity Verification) are testable in sandbox mode before going live. From a compliance standpoint, Mono operates under the CBN's Regulatory Framework for Open Banking in Nigeria. All data access is customer-authorized and consent-revocable. Mono is registered with the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) as a data controller and processor. The Connect widget displays clearly what data a business is requesting before the customer approves access. Mono covers over 30 Nigerian financial institutions including GTBank, First Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, UBA, Sterling Bank, Kuda, OPay, PalmPay, and most major microfinance banks. Frequently Asked Questions: Can I access a customer's bank account without their permission? No — the Mono Connect widget requires explicit customer authorization. The customer sees exactly what data the platform is requesting and must provide their internet banking credentials to approve access. How long does bank account access last? Customer authorizations can expire or be revoked. Mono's refresh token mechanism allows businesses to refresh data access periodically, but customers can revoke access at any time via the Mono Customer Portal. Does DirectPay work for all Nigerian banks? DirectPay covers 30+ institutions but not all banks. Coverage continues to expand as Mono adds new integrations. Can I use Mono for business account verification? Yes — Mono's Identity API includes CAC verification for business account checks, in addition to individual BVN/NIN verification.

52. OPay

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

OPay is a Nigerian digital financial services company and CBN-licensed Payment Service Bank that provides payment gateway APIs for businesses to accept online and offline payments. Originally founded as Opera Pay, OPay has grown into one of Nigeria's largest fintech platforms, backed by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Sequoia Capital China, and other major investors. OPay operates the largest mobile money network in Nigeria with over 40 million registered users and hundreds of thousands of agents — making it unique among Nigerian payment gateways in that its checkout is also deeply integrated with a mass-market e-wallet used daily by tens of millions of Nigerians. The OPay Checkout API is a RESTful, PCI-compliant payment gateway that enables businesses to accept multiple payment methods through a single integration. Developers access the API documentation at doc.opaycheckout.com, which provides both a hosted Express Checkout option (where OPay handles the entire payment UI) and a Server-to-Server API option (where developers build their own payment UI and call OPay endpoints directly for full control over the customer experience). Authentication uses AppId and AppKey credentials from the OPay Business Dashboard. Requests are signed using HMAC for security. The AppId is passed in the request header, and the AppKey is used to generate a signature that validates the integrity of each API call. The Business Dashboard is also used to configure webhook URLs and IP whitelisting — both of which are required for production deployments. OPay supports the following payment channels for Nigeria: local debit card payments (3DS and non-3DS), bank transfer checkout (where customers receive a virtual account number to transfer to), USSD payments, bank account direct debit, and OPay e-wallet QR payments. The e-wallet QR channel is uniquely powerful — customers with the OPay app can scan a QR code to pay directly from their OPay wallet, and the cost to the merchant is just ₦5 per transfer (the lowest payout rate in the Nigerian market). On the pricing side, OPay charges 1.5% per local transaction capped at ₦2,000 — identical to Paystack and Monnify. International card transactions are charged at 4% with no cap. For payouts (transfers out), OPay wallet transfers cost ₦5 flat, while bank transfers to other Nigerian banks follow the industry standard: ₦10 for amounts up to ₦5,000, ₦25 for ₦5,001–₦50,000, and ₦50 above ₦50,000. Volume discount pricing is available for large-volume processors upon request. OPay also provides a WooCommerce plugin for WordPress-based e-commerce stores, enabling non-technical merchants to add OPay checkout without writing any code. A PHP SDK is also available for backend developers. Webhook notifications are available for payment confirmation events. Developers must configure webhook endpoints in the dashboard and validate webhook signatures to prevent fraudulent event injection. OPay's sandbox environment allows full testing of all payment channels before going live. Moving to live requires completing OPay's business onboarding including CBN KYC: CAC registration, director BVN and government ID, and a business bank account. From a compliance standpoint, OPay Digital Services Limited is CBN-licensed as a Payment Service Bank and operates under the Payment Service Bank (PSB) regulatory framework. All card data is processed in compliance with PCI-DSS. The OPay e-wallet is NDIC-insured up to ₦500,000. Known challenges: OPay's developer documentation is less comprehensive than Paystack's. Some advanced features (split payments, recurring billing) are not available. The e-wallet QR payment channel requires customers to have the OPay app installed, which is only relevant for merchants targeting OPay's user base. Frequently Asked Questions: How is OPay different from Paystack? OPay's main differentiator is the integration with its 40M+ user e-wallet for ₦5 QR payments. For developers building for OPay's mass-market user base, this is a significant advantage. For general e-commerce, Paystack has better documentation and more developer features. Does OPay support split payments or subscriptions? No — OPay's checkout API does not currently support split payments or recurring subscription billing. What is the OPay wallet QR payment? It allows merchants to display a QR code that customers with the OPay app can scan to pay directly from their OPay wallet at ₦5 per transaction.

53. Remita

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Remita is Nigeria's most widely deployed government payment infrastructure platform, operated by SystemSpecs — a Lagos-based technology company founded in 1992. Remita is the payment engine behind the Nigerian Federal Government's Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), which processes salaries for over 1.7 million federal civil servants monthly. It is also integrated with the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), making Remita the de facto standard for Nigerian government financial transactions. Beyond government, Remita is used by over 100 Nigerian universities for school fees, thousands of corporate organizations for payroll and collections, and millions of individuals for bill payments. The Remita API is RESTful with JSON payloads and uses a multi-layer authentication scheme: OAuth 2.0 Bearer Token combined with a separate API-Key header. Both are required for all API calls. This double authentication layer is by design — given that Remita processes government and institutional transactions that carry higher security requirements than typical commercial gateways. OAuth 2.0 tokens are obtained by authenticating against the Remita token endpoint using merchant credentials. The API-Key is a static key assigned during merchant onboarding. Full API documentation is at api.remita.net. The core Remita Collections product works via a unique concept called the Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR). When an invoice or payment obligation is created via the Remita API, a unique 12-digit RRR code is generated. The payer can then present this RRR at any of Nigeria's 30+ bank branches, ATMs, mobile banking apps, or online banking portals and make the payment. Funds are automatically routed to the merchant's account, and Remita reconciles the transaction in real time. This multi-bank collection capability — where a single reference code is valid at every bank in Nigeria — is Remita's most powerful differentiator. The Collections API is available for all business types. Government-specific integrations (Ministries, Departments, and Agencies — MDAs) connect to Remita's TSA (Treasury Single Account) integration, which automatically sweeps collected funds to the CBN Treasury Single Account as mandated by the Federal Government's 2015 TSA policy. The Agency Banking API enables fintech platforms and banks to build agent banking products — where registered agents (typically airtime kiosks, POS shops, supermarkets) can process financial transactions on behalf of their customers. Remita's agent network spans rural and urban Nigeria. The Vending API provides programmatic access to utility top-ups: airtime and data purchases for all four major Nigerian networks (MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile), electricity unit purchases for EKEDC, IKEDC, AEDC, BEDC, EEDC, JED, KAEDCO, and other NERC-licensed DISCOs, and DStv/GOtv subscription management. This makes Remita a convenient single integration point for platforms offering VAS (Value Added Services) products. The Direct Debit API enables businesses to set up standing debit mandates on customer bank accounts — automatically debiting on a schedule without requiring manual customer action for each transaction. This is used for insurance premium collection, loan repayments, and subscription services. Pricing for Remita is transaction-based and varies by product type (collections, transfers, vending). Unlike some gateways, Remita does not publish a flat public pricing table — rates are agreed during merchant onboarding and depend on volume and business type. Government entities and high-volume enterprises typically negotiate custom rates. The demo/test environment is available at remitademo.net, which mirrors all production functionality. Moving from demo to live requires completing Remita's merchant onboarding, which is more involved than typical payment gateways — reflecting the higher compliance requirements of its government-focused products. From a compliance standpoint, SystemSpecs Ltd (Remita's operator) holds CBN licensing and has SOC 2 Type II certification. Remita is also ISO 27001 certified for information security management. These certifications are required for the government contracts that form Remita's core business. Known challenges: Remita's developer documentation and API design are less modern than Paystack or Flutterwave. The API uses older REST conventions. The multi-layer authentication (OAuth 2.0 + API-Key) requires careful implementation. Merchant onboarding is more bureaucratic than self-service gateways. These trade-offs are acceptable for government and institutional clients where regulatory compliance outweighs developer experience. Frequently Asked Questions: Does Remita only serve government institutions? No — Remita is available to private businesses, educational institutions, and individuals. Government integration is its strongest use case, but any Nigerian business can use Remita for collections, payroll, and VAS. What is an RRR code? A Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR) is a unique 12-digit code generated for each payment obligation. Payers can use this code to pay at any Nigerian bank, ATM, or mobile app — making it ideal for widespread collection from diverse payment sources. Is Remita safe for government revenue? Yes — Remita is SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certified, and is the CBN-approved platform for federal government revenue collection under the Treasury Single Account policy.

54. Payaza API

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Payaza Africa Limited is a pan-African payment gateway and financial services platform headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with operating licenses in 16+ countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Liberia, Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda, Benin Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Namibia, the DRC, Bahrain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and the UAE. This extensive multi-country licensing makes Payaza one of the most geographically diverse African payment platforms available to developers — a single Payaza API integration can power both local Nigerian payments and international collections from the UK, Canada, and the UAE. Payaza's developer documentation is available at docs.payaza.africa, with integration support at payaza.africa/integration-support. The API is RESTful with JSON payloads. Authentication uses a Bearer Token (Secret Key from the Payaza merchant dashboard). The API design follows standard patterns familiar to developers who have used Paystack or Flutterwave. Payaza supports card payments (Visa, Mastercard, Verve), bank transfer checkout, and mobile money across its supported markets. In Nigeria specifically, the gateway supports local debit card transactions, bank transfer collections, and outbound payouts to Nigerian bank accounts. In West Africa, mobile money is supported via integration with MTN Mobile Money, Orange Money, and other providers. For UK and international merchants, Payaza's local acquiring licenses enable card acceptance in British pounds and other major currencies. Multi-currency support is a primary differentiator. Merchants can configure Payaza to accept payments in NGN, GBP, USD, CAD, EUR, KES, GHS, and other currencies depending on their licensed market. This is particularly valuable for Nigerian diaspora businesses, e-commerce platforms with international customers, and SaaS companies billing customers globally. Payaza offers fast local and international payouts. For Nigerian businesses, payouts to local bank accounts are processed within standard Nigerian interbank timelines. For international payouts, Payaza's licenses in the UK, US, and Canada enable direct disbursement to foreign bank accounts without the complexity of SWIFT correspondent banking. The platform is built with security and compliance at its core. Payaza holds investment-grade security certifications and is PCI-DSS compliant. The platform has been described as offering "the most enjoyable payment experience" by Nigerian SME users, reflecting a focus on clean UI, fast onboarding, and responsive merchant support. Payaza has a particular strength in the creator economy and SME segment. Nigerian freelancers, digital product sellers, and content creators use Payaza to collect international card payments from overseas clients and receive settlement in their Nigerian accounts. The payment link feature requires no coding — making it accessible to non-technical merchants. Exact pricing is not publicly published on the Payaza website. Transaction fees are approximately 1.4–1.5% for local Nigerian transactions plus applicable flat fees, with international rates higher. Merchants are advised to contact Payaza directly for current rates based on their expected transaction volume and geography. The Payaza sandbox environment is available for testing. Moving from sandbox to live requires completing KYC onboarding including CAC registration, director BVN and government ID, and a business bank account. For international markets, Payaza may request additional compliance documentation depending on the country. From a compliance standpoint, Payaza Africa Limited is licensed by the CBN in Nigeria and has equivalent regulatory approvals in each of its 16+ operating jurisdictions. The breadth of licenses is a significant competitive advantage that took years to accumulate and represents a high barrier to entry for competitors. Frequently Asked Questions: How many countries does Payaza support? Payaza is licensed in 16+ countries as of 2026, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, UK, US, Canada, and UAE. Additional markets are being added. Does Payaza support USD and GBP collection? Yes — Payaza can collect USD and GBP directly using its US and UK licenses, eliminating the need for separate payment processors in those markets. What is the onboarding time for Payaza? Nigerian business onboarding typically takes 2–5 business days depending on KYC document completeness. Is Payaza publicly traded? No — Payaza Africa Limited is a private company.

55. Quidax

Blockchain, Crypto, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Quidax is Nigeria's first Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-licensed cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2018 by Buchi Okoro. The SEC provisional license, obtained in 2024, authorizes Quidax to operate as a Digital Assets Exchange — allowing it to collaborate with Nigerian banks and financial institutions, and offer institutional-grade API access to businesses building crypto-enabled products. Quidax has further deepened its infrastructure play by partnering with Lisk, an Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain optimized for Africa, to build DeFi rails connecting Quidax's NGN liquidity with on-chain applications. The Quidax Developer API (developer.quidax.com) is designed for businesses — not just retail traders — who want to embed cryptocurrency services into their products. The API enables fintechs, e-commerce platforms, and financial applications to integrate crypto buying, selling, holding, and payment acceptance without building exchange infrastructure from scratch. Quidax boasts a 99.8% uptime SLA backed by multi-region infrastructure, making it suitable for production-grade business integrations. Authentication is via Bearer Token (API Key) obtained from the Quidax account dashboard. Requests are made over HTTPS with JSON payloads. Quidax provides webhook notifications for transaction events including order fills, deposits, and withdrawals. One of the most commercially interesting features for Nigerian developers is stablecoin payment acceptance. Businesses can configure Quidax to accept USDT (Tether) or USDC (USD Coin) from customers and automatically receive NGN settlement in their business account. This eliminates the need for merchants to manage cryptocurrency volatility while offering customers the option to pay with stablecoins — a payment rail popular with Nigerian diaspora and crypto-native consumers. Quidax supports multiple digital assets including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USDT, USDC, and other tokens listed on the exchange. The crypto trading API allows platforms to execute market and limit orders, query order books, access price feeds, manage wallets, and retrieve transaction history programmatically. The Lisk partnership announced in 2026 opens Quidax's liquidity to DeFi protocols on the Lisk network. Developers building DeFi applications on Lisk can access Quidax's Nigerian NGN/crypto liquidity pools — creating Africa's first DeFi infrastructure with Nigerian naira integration. This positions Quidax at the intersection of centralized exchange liquidity and DeFi composability. From a regulatory standpoint, Quidax's SEC Digital Assets Exchange license is the most comprehensive crypto regulatory approval in Nigeria. The SEC license permits institutional partnerships with banks, which is not available to unlicensed crypto platforms. This creates significant competitive advantages for developers building crypto products that require banking integration or institutional KYC. All users and businesses accessing the Quidax API must complete KYC verification as required by the Nigerian SEC and SCUML (Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering). For businesses embedding Quidax APIs, compliance documentation for the business entity is required during onboarding. Known challenges: The Quidax API is more focused on exchange functionality than payment gateway use cases. For pure payment acceptance without crypto trading, developers may find the API overhead higher than using stablecoin-native payment APIs. Additionally, the regulatory landscape for crypto in Nigeria continues to evolve, which may affect permitted use cases. Frequently Asked Questions: Is Quidax the only SEC-licensed crypto exchange in Nigeria? Quidax was the first to receive the provisional SEC Digital Assets Exchange license in Nigeria (2024). Other exchanges are applying for licenses under the same framework. Can I use Quidax to accept Bitcoin payments on my website? Yes — but Quidax also provides stablecoin (USDT/USDC) payment acceptance which protects merchants from Bitcoin price volatility while still accepting crypto. Does Quidax support NGN withdrawal to bank accounts? Yes — businesses receive NGN settlement to their Nigerian bank accounts for accepted crypto payments.

56. Onafriq (Baxi)

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa) is Africa's largest digital payments gateway, operating across 40+ African countries and reaching over 500 million mobile wallets and bank accounts on the continent. In Nigeria, Onafriq operates the Baxi super-agent network — a branded agency banking network with over 460,000 active agents nationwide, covering both urban and rural areas. Baxi is one of Nigeria's largest super-agent networks and is used by streaming platforms, utilities, government agencies, and fintech companies to collect payments from and disburse to cash-preferred Nigerian consumers. Onafriq provides a unified API that connects businesses to its full collection and disbursement infrastructure across Nigeria and Africa. The API documentation is at docs.onafriq.com, and Onafriq Nigeria Payments Ltd holds a CBN Payment Service Provider license for all Nigerian operations. The Collections API enables businesses to receive payments through multiple channels: mobile money wallets (pan-African, where applicable), bank account transfers, debit cards, and cash payments via Baxi agents. This multi-channel collection capability is the core value proposition — a single API integration enables a business to collect from tech-savvy card users, bank transfer users, and cash-paying offline customers all at once. This is particularly powerful for Nigerian companies serving a diverse customer base that spans different income levels and digital adoption stages. For bill payments, Onafriq's Baxi network integrates with over 248 billers including electricity DISCOs (EKEDC, IKEDC, AEDC, and others), DSTV and GOtv subscription management, water corporation payments, and various government agencies. Businesses can integrate the Biller API to let their users pay any of these billers from within their application. The Disbursements API enables fast, secure payouts to bank accounts and mobile wallets across Nigeria. This is used by social protection programs (conditional cash transfers), agricultural buyers (paying farmers at harvest), insurance companies (claims payouts), and any platform that needs to send money to Nigerian recipients who may not have traditional bank accounts. A significant 2026 milestone was Onafriq's PAPSS (Pan-African Payment and Settlement System) integration, launched in partnership with Nigerian banks and mobile money operators. This enables wallet-based outbound payments from Nigeria to Ghana — a first step toward real-time pan-African interoperable payments using local currencies, bypassing USD correspondent banking for intra-African transfers. In January 2026, Showmax partnered with Baxi by Onafriq to offer Nigerian subscribers a new payment option for streaming subscriptions — allowing users to pay in person at any Baxi agent point without needing a bank card or mobile banking app. This demonstrates the commercial value of the Baxi network for digital businesses that want to capture Nigeria's large cash-preferred segment. Authentication for the Onafriq API uses Bearer Token or API Key credentials obtained through the developer portal. Enterprise integration partners may have specific authentication flows depending on their market and product. A sandbox environment is available for testing. Known challenges: Onafriq's developer documentation is less self-service-oriented than Paystack or Flutterwave — enterprise integration partnerships are the primary onboarding path. Nigeria-specific Baxi agent banking integration may require additional operational setup beyond just API access. Pricing is negotiated per partnership rather than published on a public pricing page. Frequently Asked Questions: Can I use the Baxi agent network without building a full integration? Baxi provides physical agent points where end customers can pay using reference codes — the integration generates a reference code that the customer presents at the Baxi agent. Full API integration is required to generate reference codes and reconcile payments. Is Onafriq the same as Baxi? Baxi is Onafriq's Nigeria-specific super-agent brand. Onafriq is the pan-African parent. The API covers all Onafriq products including Baxi. Does Onafriq support mobile money in Nigeria? Onafriq's mobile money expertise is strongest in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania) and West Africa (excluding Nigeria, where mobile money adoption has been slower than agent banking). In Nigeria, the focus is on bank transfers and Baxi cash agents.

57. RexPay (Global Accelerex)

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

RexPay is a Nigerian payment gateway solution developed by Global Accelerex Limited, a leading electronic payment and business management solutions company operating in Nigeria and West Africa. Global Accelerex holds both a CBN Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) certification and a CBN Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTSP) certification — a dual certification that covers online payment processing and POS terminal management respectively. This makes Global Accelerex one of the few Nigerian companies with both licenses, giving RexPay institutional-grade credibility as a payment infrastructure partner. The RexPay API is RESTful with JSON payloads. Documentation is available at rexpay-docs.globalaccelerex.com. Authentication uses an API Key obtained from the RexPay merchant dashboard. Developers initialize payment transactions by sending a POST request with the amount and transaction reference, then display the RexPay checkout to the customer. RexPay supports three payment channels in Nigeria: card payments (Visa, Mastercard, Verve with 3D Secure / 2FA verification), internet banking transfers (bank-to-bank transfers via the customer's internet banking), and USSD (for customers on basic mobile phones without internet access). This covers the three primary payment behaviors of Nigerian consumers: card users, mobile banking users, and USSD users. For WordPress-based e-commerce stores, RexPay provides a WooCommerce plugin that can be installed directly from the WordPress plugin directory. This no-code integration allows Nigerian merchants to add RexPay checkout without writing a single line of code — simply install, configure the API key from the dashboard, and payments start flowing. Pricing for RexPay starts from $0 per month, indicating no mandatory platform fee. Transaction fees are commission-based and negotiated during merchant onboarding. The exact percentage rates are not published publicly but are competitive with other Nigerian gateways. The $0/month model makes RexPay accessible to small businesses and startups that cannot commit to monthly subscription fees. The sandbox environment allows full testing of all payment channels. Moving to live requires completing the Global Accelerex KYC process, which involves submitting CAC documents, director BVN, and business bank account information. From a compliance standpoint, Global Accelerex is CBN-certified under both the PSSP and PTSP frameworks, meaning that all payment transactions processed through RexPay meet CBN regulatory standards. PCI-DSS compliance ensures card data is handled and stored securely. RexPay is a focused Nigeria-only payment gateway — it does not currently support international payment corridors or other African countries. This is a trade-off that simplifies compliance but limits its usefulness for businesses with pan-African payment needs. Known challenges: RexPay's documentation and developer community are smaller than Paystack or Flutterwave. Advanced features like split payments, virtual accounts, and recurring billing are not currently supported. International card acceptance (for non-Nigerian Visa/Mastercard holders) may have limitations. Frequently Asked Questions: What is Global Accelerex? Global Accelerex is the parent company of RexPay. It is one of Nigeria's oldest e-payment companies, providing POS terminals, payment switches, and software solutions to Nigerian banks and enterprises since the early 2000s. Does RexPay work with WooCommerce? Yes — a WooCommerce plugin is available that allows Nigerian WordPress store owners to accept payments through RexPay without any coding. Can I use RexPay for B2B corporate payments? Yes — RexPay supports internet banking transfers, which is the preferred payment method for Nigerian corporate clients making large business-to-business payments.

58. Woven Finance

Banking & Fintech, Payments, Nigeria

Woven Finance is a Nigerian Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) infrastructure company that enables fintechs, microfinance banks, cooperatives, and digital platforms to embed banking products into their applications through a developer-first API. Woven partners with CBN-licensed Nigerian microfinance banks to provide its underlying banking infrastructure — meaning the virtual accounts and financial products that businesses build on Woven are backed by actual licensed banking institutions, not just payment licenses. The Woven Finance developer API is documented at woven.finance/developer and provides access to virtual accounts, payouts, card payments, bank transfer collections, and direct debit mandates. Authentication uses an API Key or Bearer Token obtained through the Woven Finance developer account. SDKs and plugins are available for popular development environments, with the Woven support team providing direct assistance during integration. The flagship Woven product is multi-bank virtual accounts. Unlike single-bank virtual accounts offered by most Nigerian gateways (which are typically backed by one specific bank), Woven Finance enables customers to be assigned virtual account numbers from multiple Nigerian microfinance banks simultaneously. This multi-bank approach significantly improves payment collection resilience — if one bank's system is experiencing downtime or NIP (Nigerian Inter-Bank Payment) routing issues, customers can use another bank's virtual account number. For wallet-based fintech apps, this means higher collection success rates and fewer failed deposits during peak periods. The Payouts API allows platforms to disburse funds to any Nigerian bank account. The Bank Transfer Collections module enables businesses to receive payments via bank transfers into assigned virtual accounts, with real-time webhook notifications on fund arrival. The Direct Debit feature allows platforms to set up recurring debit mandates on customer accounts for subscription billing, loan repayments, or savings contributions. Woven Finance also supports card payment acceptance, enabling platforms that want to offer multiple payment options to collect from card-holding customers without managing a separate card payment gateway integration. A notable use case for Woven Finance is cooperative societies and savings groups. Nigerian cooperatives (ajo, esusu) can use Woven's virtual account API to assign unique collection accounts to each member — automatically reconciling monthly contributions, tracking balances, and sending notifications when a member's contribution arrives. This eliminates the manual cash collection processes that most cooperatives still rely on. For Nigerian microfinance banks (MFBs) themselves, Woven Finance offers a platform for extending their banking infrastructure to fintech partners — allowing MFBs to participate in the growing embedded finance ecosystem by powering the backend of apps built by their fintech partners. The sandbox environment is available for testing all Woven Finance products. Moving to live requires completing onboarding and KYC with Woven Finance and their partner MFBs. As a BaaS provider working with multiple banking partners, Woven may require additional documentation depending on the specific banking product being deployed. From a compliance standpoint, Woven Finance operates through its partner microfinance banks, which are CBN-licensed. All customer funds held in Woven-powered virtual accounts are held in licensed bank accounts with NDIC deposit insurance protection. Woven Finance itself complies with the CBN's guidelines on Banking-as-a-Service and embedded finance. Known challenges: Woven Finance is less publicly documented than Paystack or Flutterwave. Developer documentation is functional but less comprehensive. Integration support is primarily relationship-driven — the Woven team provides active support during onboarding but self-service documentation depth is growing. Frequently Asked Questions: What makes Woven Finance different from other Nigerian payment gateways? Woven's multi-bank virtual account model is a significant differentiator. Most gateways give you virtual accounts from one bank; Woven gives customers accounts from multiple banks simultaneously, improving collection resilience. Do Woven Finance virtual accounts have NDIC deposit insurance? Yes — because Woven operates through licensed microfinance bank partners, customer funds in Woven virtual accounts benefit from NDIC insurance coverage. Can I use Woven Finance for a savings or wallet app? Yes — Woven Finance is specifically designed for wallet and savings product infrastructure. The multi-bank virtual account product is ideal for building savings apps, digital wallets, and cooperative management systems.

59. VFD

Banking & Fintech, Payments, Nigeria

VFD Tech is the technology subsidiary of VFD Group Plc, a Lagos-based diversified financial holding company listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). VFD Tech provides Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) infrastructure through its VBaaS platform, powered in collaboration with VFD Microfinance Bank Limited — a CBN-licensed microfinance bank that is also part of the VFD Group ecosystem. The VBaaS platform enables fintechs, lenders, savings platforms, and non-bank financial companies to embed banking products into their applications without obtaining their own banking license. The VFD Tech BaaS API documentation is available at vbaas-docs.vfdtech.ng. Authentication is handled via Access Tokens generated through the VBaaS portal at vbaas.vfdtech.ng. Developers access their sandbox environment at vbaas-dev.vfdtech.ng. The portal provides a controlled, structured onboarding process — unlike pure self-service gateways, BaaS access may require completing a partnership application with the VFD Tech team. The VBaaS Wallets API is the core product. It enables platforms to create and manage digital wallets for their users, with each wallet backed by a VFD Microfinance Bank account. This means wallet balances are held in a CBN-licensed, NDIC-insured bank — not in a non-bank payment processor's float. Wallet operations include: create wallet, credit/debit wallet, check balance, retrieve transaction history, and transfer between wallets. The Loans API enables fintech platforms to originate and manage loan products through the VFD BaaS infrastructure. This is a significant product for Nigerian digital lenders that want to offer credit products without holding a separate money lending license — by partnering with VFD Microfinance Bank as the licensed lender. Loan disbursements go directly into borrower wallets or bank accounts. The Direct Debit / Debit Mandates API enables platforms to set up recurring debit authorizations on customer bank accounts. Customers authorize a standing mandate, and the platform can trigger automatic debits on a defined schedule — ideal for loan repayment collection, subscription billing, and cooperative savings deductions. The Bills Payment API provides access to Nigerian utility and VAS services: electricity (NERC-licensed DISCOs), airtime (MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile), data bundles, cable TV (DStv, GOtv), and other billers. Platforms can let users pay bills directly from their VFD BaaS-powered wallets. Additional features include: QR Code payment generation and processing, POS infrastructure integration, and a Liveness Check API for identity verification during onboarding. From a compliance standpoint, VFD Microfinance Bank is CBN-licensed and NDIC-insured. All customer funds in VFD BaaS wallets benefit from NDIC deposit insurance coverage. The VBaaS platform inherits VFD Microfinance Bank's regulatory standing — a key advantage over non-bank BaaS providers. VFD Group Plc's diversified portfolio (which includes asset management, securities trading, insurance, and real estate in addition to microfinance banking and technology) gives VFD Tech a stable institutional foundation. The company is publicly listed on NGX, providing additional transparency and accountability. Pricing for VFD Tech BaaS is not publicly listed. Rates are transaction-based and negotiated during the partnership onboarding process. Developers can request a demo and pricing quotation through the VBaaS portal. Frequently Asked Questions: Can I build a lending product without a money lending license? VFD Tech's Loans API is powered by VFD Microfinance Bank, a licensed lender. Depending on your product structure, you may be able to offer credit products through VFD BaaS as an agent/partner without your own license — but legal advice is recommended for your specific use case. Are customer wallets protected by NDIC? Yes — funds in wallets backed by VFD Microfinance Bank are covered by NDIC deposit insurance up to the applicable limit.

60. Nomba API

Payments, Banking & Fintech, Nigeria

Nomba is a Nigerian payment infrastructure company and CBN-licensed Payment Service Provider. Formerly known as Kudi, Nomba pivoted from a consumer-facing payment agent app to a comprehensive B2B payments infrastructure platform serving Nigerian businesses with APIs for checkout, virtual accounts, transfers, and POS terminal management. Nomba is backed by Stripe and significant venture capital, and powers millions of transactions daily across Nigeria's merchant and agent banking ecosystem. The Nomba API is RESTful with JSON payloads and uses OAuth2 for authentication. Developers can authenticate via two methods: the Client Credentials grant (server-to-server, for backend integrations) or the PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange) grant (for mobile and single-page app integrations where the secret cannot be safely stored). In both cases, an access_token is generated and passed in every API request as an Authorization: Bearer <token> header. API keys are retrieved from the Nomba business dashboard under Settings > API Keys. The Checkout API is the core product for accepting payments. Developers initialize a checkout session server-side by sending a POST request with the amount, currency (NGN), and a unique transaction reference. Nomba returns a hosted checkout URL that the developer redirects the customer to. The checkout supports card payments (Verve, Visa, Mastercard), USSD, and bank transfers. Nomba handles the entire payment experience on its hosted page — merchants do not need to build a custom checkout interface. For fund collection from specific customers, Nomba supports Virtual Accounts — unique bank account numbers assigned to individual customers or transactions. When a customer transfers any amount to their virtual account number, Nomba fires a webhook confirming the payment. This is ideal for Nigerian wallet top-ups, marketplace deposits, and savings apps where customers fund their balance via bank transfer. The Transfers API enables instant outbound bank transfers to any Nigerian bank account. Developers can send disbursements by specifying the destination bank code, account number, amount, and a unique transfer reference. Nomba executes the transfer via the Nigerian banking system. This is commonly used for payroll, agent commissions, loan disbursements, and refunds. Nomba also supports tokenized card flows — when a customer first pays with a card, Nomba can return a card authorization token that the merchant stores and uses for future charges without requiring the customer to re-enter card details. This enables installment plans, subscription-like products, and one-click repeat payments. For merchants with physical locations, Nomba provides a Terminals API that enables developers to build custom POS applications. Integrators can send payment requests to Nomba POS terminals, receive confirmation webhooks, and build merchant dashboards that pull transaction data from the terminal network. This is a unique capability that distinguishes Nomba from pure online payment gateways like Paystack or Flutterwave. Webhooks are available for all major events: payment success, payment failure, transfer completion, and virtual account credit. Developers must validate the webhook signature before processing events to ensure authenticity. The Nomba sandbox environment is available for all API products. Developers can test checkout, virtual accounts, and transfers without processing real money. Moving to live requires completing Nomba's business onboarding and CBN KYC verification. From a compliance standpoint, Nomba holds a CBN Payment Service Bank license and is licensed as a Payment Service Provider. All transactions are processed within the CBN regulatory framework. The platform is used by hundreds of thousands of Nigerian merchants, particularly small businesses, market traders, and logistics companies that use Nomba POS terminals. Frequently Asked Questions: How is Nomba different from Paystack? Paystack is primarily an online payment gateway. Nomba additionally offers POS terminal integration, agent banking infrastructure, and the Global Payout API for cross-border disbursements — making it more comprehensive for merchants with physical and digital presence. Is Nomba pricing public? Nomba does not publish exact API pricing. Contact the Nomba team for transaction fee schedules based on your volume and use case. Can I use Nomba for cross-border payments? The main Nomba API is for domestic Nigerian payments. For cross-border disbursements, use the separate Nomba Global Payout API which was launched in March 2026.