2 July 2026 · Wycord
Accepting payments in Nigeria: a guide to the verified API options
Choosing a payment API in Nigeria means navigating CBN licensing, SDK breadth, USSD support, and cross-border scope. This guide covers what the verified providers in the Wycord registry actually support and when to use each.
The Nigerian payments API market is crowded. Providers differ substantially on CBN licensing status, which payment channels they actually support, SDK language coverage, and whether they can handle foreign currency or cross-border flows. This guide uses the Wycord registry to map the verified options and help you pick.
The providers fall into three categories: CBN-licensed gateways for standard domestic checkout, multi-channel providers for USSD and QR, and cross-border specialists for foreign currency revenue or supplier payments.
CBN-licensed gateways
These four are the first-choice options for most web and mobile payment flows. All are CBN-licensed and have live documentation.
Paystack is the market leader. Owned by Stripe, its API design reflects that influence: you get an OpenAPI spec, an official Postman collection, and SDKs in Python, JavaScript, PHP, and .NET. Documentation quality is consistently the strongest in the Nigerian category. Start here if developer experience and ecosystem breadth are the priority.
Flutterwave is the widest-coverage option for pan-African expansion. Its verified Wycord entry notes SDK support in 13 languages and confirmed international remittance support. Pricing for Nigerian local transactions is 2% per transaction (1.4% transaction fee plus 0.6% platform fee), subject to 7.5% VAT. Flutterwave acquired Mono, Nigeria's leading open-banking data provider, in January 2026 and continues operating it independently. Use Flutterwave when you need a single integration for multiple African markets.
Monnify is a product of TeamApt Ltd, CBN-licensed (Licence No. RC 1143) with PCI-DSS Level 1 certification. It takes a bank-first approach with a NUBAN virtual account model. Supported payment methods: virtual accounts, bank transfers, cards, USSD, and cash. SDKs exist in five languages including Java and .NET. There is no official Go or TypeScript SDK. It is the strongest option for enterprise and banking-adjacent products.
Paga is CBN-licensed and covers collections, disbursements, transfers, airtime, and bill payments through its Collect API, Business API, and Paga Connect. SDKs in Java, PHP, Python, and Node.js. Authentication uses IP whitelisting with HMAC hashing, which adds a step to your integration setup. It is a good fit for wallet-style products or platforms that need both collections and disbursements in one provider.
Multi-channel providers
Use these when USSD, QR, or POS coverage is a requirement.
Seerbit explicitly supports web, USSD, and bank payments in a single API, with SDKs in JavaScript, PHP, Python, and Java. It is the most straightforward option if you need all three channels from one integration rather than patching multiple providers together.
Nomba combines POS hardware, virtual accounts, and a payments API. It suits businesses running both physical and digital channels that want unified settlement. Node SDK only.
Opay has large-scale USSD and QR coverage in Nigeria but limited official SDK support. It makes the most sense if your target customers are already active Opay wallet users.
Cross-border and virtual-account specialists
Standard gateways settle in NGN. These providers handle foreign currency revenue, cross-border supplier payments, or customers in multiple countries.
Fincra offers NGN, GHS, KES, and TZS virtual accounts alongside checkout, direct debit, payment links, and cross-border payouts. It operates across 40+ countries, supports 50+ currencies, and claims 99.95% API uptime since January 2022. Official server-side libraries span Java, PHP, Python, Ruby, and C#. Requires approval-based onboarding.
Bani focuses on cross-border supplier payments using local-currency rails across 16+ African countries (NGN, GHS, KES, XOF, SLE, and more) plus stablecoins. Authentication uses a bearer token with an HMAC-SHA256 request signature header. It is suited to businesses paying African suppliers in their local currencies.
Juicyway handles NGN, CAD, USD, USDT, and USDC across cards, bank transfers, crypto, and Interac e-transfers. A sandbox is available before production access. Use it for Canada-to-Nigeria payment flows or products that accept or pay out stablecoins.
Grey (grey.co) offers USD, GBP, and EUR foreign accounts plus payouts to 170+ countries. As of July 2026 there is no public developer documentation portal, so it is not suitable for API-first integrations at this time.
Bills and VTU
For platforms embedding airtime, data, electricity, or cable TV top-ups as a product feature:
VTU.ng and eBills Africa both expose RESTful APIs covering airtime, data, electricity, DStv/GOtv/Startimes, and betting account funding. Both require a Reseller account with KYC verification. The key difference: eBills Africa offers a free reseller signup while VTU.ng has a higher entry bar for its Reseller tier.
What to use when
| Scenario | Recommended option |
|---|---|
| Standard web or mobile checkout, Nigeria-only | Paystack |
| Multi-country Africa, broad SDK coverage | Flutterwave |
| Enterprise or banking-adjacent, Java or .NET stack | Monnify |
| USSD plus QR plus web in one API | Seerbit |
| Physical POS and digital payments, unified settlement | Nomba |
| NGN virtual accounts plus cross-border payouts | Fincra |
| Pan-African supplier payments in local currencies | Bani |
| Canada-Nigeria or stablecoin payment flows | Juicyway |
| Airtime, data, or bills embedded in your product | VTU.ng or eBills Africa |
Other providers worth knowing
Kora bundles payments with KYC and focuses on borderless-Africa flows. Node.js SDK only.
Squad, backed by GTBank, has strong NUBAN virtual account support with JavaScript and PHP SDKs. It is a lower-profile option with a bank-backed trust signal.
Duplo targets B2B spend management and vendor disbursements rather than consumer checkout. If you are building a business finance or expense tool, evaluate it separately from the gateway tier.
Next steps
The Wycord registry tracks documentation status, CBN licensing, and verification dates for all these providers. Browse the full verified list at https://wycord.com/best/apis-in-nigeria or filter by category at https://wycord.com/apis.