1 Best APIs for Cash Collections via Agents in 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.