Top 6 Payment Gateways For Any Business Owner in Nigeria

A tremendous transformation in the business sphere has emerged with payment gateways. As an established or a new business owner in Nigeria, having your customers’ convenience and that of your business in mind is essential.

Providing a seamless, more effortless, and reliable online payment gateway is among such comfort. But choosing one out of a hundred payment gateways in Nigeria may be tasking. With limited knowledge of payment infrastructure, a business may struggle.

In that case, this article explores some payment gateway options in Nigeria and what makes them perfect for businesses in Nigeria. If you are looking to receive payments for your online eCommerce stores or personal online brand store in Nigeria, here is a list of the top and best payment gateways for any business owner in Nigeria to consider.

Table of Contents

What is a Payment Gateway?

A payment gateway is an online service and technology that enables businesses or individuals to securely process online transactions or accept customer payments through their websites or mobile applications.

For businesses, it is an intermediary that acts as a secure bridge between the customer, the business’s website, and the financial institution that handles the funds. Simply put, a payment gateway facilitates secure online transactions and electronic payments for users. It is a safe platform that makes transferring funds from a customer’s bank account to a merchant’s account easier.

Read Also: A Comprehensive Guide to Information Security and its Importance to Nigerians

When a user (the customer in this case) makes a payment online, a payment gateway asks for identification, confirms that all information provided is genuine and belongs to the customer, and determines whether the customer has enough money to complete the transaction before approving it.

When choosing an online payment gateway in Nigeria, looking for features such as cost, transaction success rate, settlement time, payment option, security, support channels, and recurrent billing is essential.

Top 6 Payment Gateways in Nigeria

Now that we have established the understanding of an online payment gateway, it is vital to understand your options as a business owner in Nigeria. Here is a rundown of the top online payment gateways available to you as a business owner in Nigeria.

Paystack

Paystack is a top fintech company in Nigeria founded and owned by two brilliant minds, Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi. It is a payment gateway that facilitates payments to businesses globally. Existing in about 4 African countries and as one of the first payment gateways in Nigeria, businesses can take payments via money transfers, debit cards, and credit cards with Paystack.

You can still accept payments online with a Paystack starter account if your business needs to be registered. The starter account by Paystack permits businesses to receive payments even without a Corporate Bank Account or Company Registration Document.

Pricing and Features

Cost: No setup fees. 1.5% + ₦‎100 for local transactions, 3.9% + ₦‎100 for international transactions

Customer Type: Individuals, Freelancers, Large Enterprises, Medium Businesses, Small Businesses

Transaction success rate: near 100% success rate

Settlement time: 24 Hours

Support: Online

Payment options: Card, Bank account, USSD, PoS, Visa QR, MobileMoney, Bank transfer, Apple Pay, Visa QR

Security: Level 1 PCI-DSS compliant

API: Available

Recurrent billing: Available

Cons: On Paystack, you can only get a certain amount if your company isn’t registered.

Payments can be made to merchants using Paystack in five different currencies, including the naira, USD, Ghanaian Cedis, Kenyan Shilling, and Rand. It is a payment gateway trusted by over 80,000 businesses in Nigeria to receive payment. Customers do not pay more than N2,000 for local transactions, and transactions under N2,500 do not incur the N100 cost. Merchants who process large transactions may also be eligible for discounts, while accredited educational institutions, for example, are charged a flat fee.

Flutterwave

Flutterwave

Here is another excellent payment gateway that any business owner in Nigeria can utilize. Flutterwave provides payment solutions for more than one million businesses across Africa, including Nigeria, and has Uber, Chipper, PiggyVest, and Microsoft as some of its valued customers.

Flutterwave is present in 11 countries and enables businesses to accept payments in over 30 currencies. It allows payments through bank transfer, bank account, mobile money, PoS, Visa QR, and card while ensuring secure online payments.

Customers are provided with a payment link that enables their businesses to accept payments online without having a website. To make it simpler, they may set up an online store. Additionally, Shopify, WooCommerce, Joomla, Ecwid, and PrestaShop connections are available to online retailers.

Pricing & Features

Cost: No setup fees. 1.4% for local transactions, 3.8% for international transactions
Customer Type: Individuals, Small businesses, Emerging markets, and Startups alike.
Transaction success rate: N/A
Settlement time: 24 hours
Support: Online
Payment options: Bank transfer, bank account, mobile money, PoS, Visa QR, card, etc
Security: PA DSS & PCI DSS Compliant
API: Available
Recurrent billing: Only on card payments
Con: They charge you for depositing, generating a card, and using a card, so you could wind up paying up to 7.3%.

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Monnify

One of Nigeria’s top fintech businesses, Moniepoint, created a payment gateway called Monnify. It provides a simpler, quicker, and more affordable option for companies to accept payments through their online and mobile applications. Companies like Thrive Agriculture, Bankly, and others use Monnify as a payment gateway.

Pricing and Features

Cost: No setup fees. 1.5% transaction rate
Transaction success rate: About 99.8%
Settlement time: Next Working Day
Payment options: USSD, Cards, POS, Internet transfer
Security: PCI DSS compliant
API: Available
Recurrent billing: Available
Con: It is not available for businesses outside Nigeria

Monnify gives its customers flexible settlement options. Users can be settled daily, twice daily, or quickly, though payments are usually settled within 24 hours. It now exclusively handles payments for clients within Nigeria, offering a checkout option and virtual accounts and supporting all Nigerian banks.

Read Also: The Pros and Cons of Instalment Payment (Buy Now, Pay Later) in Business

Remita

Remita is a comprehensive payment gateway for anyone in Africa, serving personal and business purposes. The gateway was introduced in 2005 and created by SystemSpecs in Lagos, Nigeria.

Through nine different channels—including the Remita mobile app and website, Internet Banking, Point of Sales (PoS) Terminals, Debit/Credit Cards, Merchant’s Website, Bank Branches, Mobile Wallets, and Standing Order/Direct Debit; Remita enables businesses to receive payments from customers quickly and conveniently.

Pricing and Features

Cost: No setup fees. 2% for local transactions and 4% for international transactions.
Customer Type: Individuals, Small Businesses, Large Businesses
Transaction success rate: N/A
Settlement time: 1 day
Payment options include bank transfers, debit/credit cards, point-of-sale terminals, and USSD transactions.
Security: Level 1 PCI DSS Compliant
API: Available
Recurrent billing: Available

Remita is quickly becoming the preferred payment platform in Africa, used by millions of individuals and organizations such as DSTV, WAEC, StarTimes, etc. The Federal Government of Nigeria’s Treasury Single Account (TSA), the biggest and most significant in Africa, is made possible by using it as the default payment method.

SeerBit

Seerbit is a trusted payment gateway in Nigeria that helps businesses connect online and in-line stores. It offers services and infrastructure that enable them to receive payments from clients in Nigeria and throughout Africa.

It is trusted by thriving businesses such as CWAY, WiX, Transcorp, and the British Council. It is built for small, large, and medium-scale enterprises and enables payments without boundaries.

Regardless of the stage your business is at, SeerBit provides you with straightforward tools to accept payments and expand swiftly. You can give your customers the payment options of their choice and view their purchasing trends on your dashboard with SeerBit’s payment gateway, which will help you make more informed business decisions.

Pricing and Features

Cost: No setup fees. 1.5% for local transactions (capped at ₦‎2,000), 3.8% for international transactions
Customer Type: Small Businesses, Large Businesses
Transaction success rate: About 90%
Settlement time: 24 hours
Payment options: USSD, Card, Bank transfers, QR code, POS
Security: PCI DSS compliant
API: Available
Recurrent billing: Available

If you have consumers from other countries, SeerBit has you covered because it allows merchants to accept payments in 13 different currencies, including GBP, CAD, and USD. There are no startup costs. However, it levies 1.5% and 3.8% of the transaction fee for domestic and foreign transactions, respectively. Merchants receive a checkout page, and businesses without websites or online businesses can share payment links with their clients, thanks to SeerBit. It is integrated with eCommerce sites such as WooCommerce, Magento, and Wix.

Fincra

Fincra

Fincra checks all the boxes for a reliable payment gateway for your business in Nigeria. The integration and setup processes for Fincra are simple. For an excellent client experience, Fincra provides responsive service around the clock.

Their fantastic support makes onboarding and approval quicker once a merchant meets all KYC requirements. Fincra supports 40+ currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, and NGN, and offers a single API for cards, mobile money, bank transfers, virtual account issuance & wallets.

Pricing and Features

Cost: No setup cost. 1.4% capped at N2,000
Customer Type: Small Businesses, Large Businesses
Transaction Success Rate: N/A
Settlement Time: 24 Hours
Support: Online
Payment Options: PayAttitude, Virtual Accounts, Payment Links, Cards, Mobile Money, Bank Transfers, Wallets, POS Terminals
Security: PCI DSS Compliant
API: Available
Recurrent Billing: Available

It is one of Nigeria and Africa’s leading online payment gateways that ensures its users receive payments from anywhere worldwide. Its products ensure you enjoy a safe, fast, and efficient business operation through unique service delivery.

If you need help with the onboarding or transaction processes, Fincra’s personalized customer service enables you to contact the customer support team directly.

Conclusion

Balancing customer ease and business efficiency is crucial, and this article has ably distilled the top payment gateway options for any business in Nigeria. Whether venturing into eCommerce or establishing a personal brand, these payment gateways offer seamless and secure options, ensuring your business success in Nigeria.

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Edited by Emmanuel Odebiyi

About Author

Oluwapelumi Eweje: Oluwapelumi is a young, vibrant, and experienced creative content writer, product designer, freelancer and diplomat.

She’s passionate about words, and their usage to make utmost meaning to every audience. She’s an author of several blog posts and articles in the Personal Development, Business, Health, and Travel fields on Medium and a devoted lover of God.