₦airaland Forum

If you're picking a gateway for a new project, here's a quick comparison on what matters to developers (fees, settlement, channels, setup).

1. Interswitch Payment Gateway (IPG)
No setup or onboarding fees
1.5% local (capped at ₦2,000), 5% international (AMEX 4.5%)
T+1 settlement, with dollar settlement for international card payments
Cards (Mastercard, Visa, Verve, AfriGo), bank transfer, USSD, QR, Google Pay, Quickteller, OPay, wallets
API/SDK integration plus a WordPress plugin; PCI DSS compliant

2. Paystack
1.5% + ₦100 local (₦100 waived under ₦2,500, fee capped at ₦2,000); 3.9% + ₦100 international
Next-day settlement, no setup or monthly fees
Strong developer docs and a payment links no-code option

3. Flutterwave
2% local (1.4% transaction fee + 0.6% platform fee); 4.8% international
Next-day local settlement; international varies by region
Strongest for pan-African and multi-currency (30+ currencies)

4. Monnify (Moniepoint)
1.5% on cards and bank transfers, capped at ₦2,000; 4% international cards
Same-day settlement by 10pm, plus up to 3 express settlements a day
Dedicated virtual accounts for automatic reconciliation, so it's strong for transfer-heavy flows

What to check before choosing: sandbox quality, webhook retries, server-side transaction verification, settlement timelines, and your customer mix (local cards, transfers, international).
What are you all using, and what's been your experience?

You can now integrate interswitch payment gateway for your business for free, there are no setup fees whatsoever.

For anyone just landing here, Interswitch payment gateway now has no setup fees and is free to integrate.

If you're setting up an online shop or app, don't just pick the gateway your friend uses.
Check these things first:
Payment methods: Do your customers pay by card, transfer, USSD or QR? Make sure the gateway covers the ones they actually use.
Integration cost: most gateways already charge a fee per transaction so make sure the one you pick is free to integrate.
Documentation quality: Read the docs before you commit. Poor documentation can cost your developer wasted hours.
Webhooks: Always confirm payments on your server, not just through the browser redirect, or you'll miss orders when a customer closes the tab.
Settlement: Ask when funds reach your account and get it in writing.
Support: Find out how quickly you can reach a customer support person when payments fail.
A payment gateway you can use is the Interswitch Payment Gateway (IPG). Interswitch Payment Gateway (IPG) supports cards, transfer, USSD and QR, and it is free to integrate with no setup fees.
But, whatever you choose, compare two or three options first.
What are you building, and what stack are you using?

so for anyone landing here now: the 150,000 setup fee has changed. Interswitch Payment gateway is free to integrate.

Fellow business owners, I want to start a proper discussion on this.
Many of us still run our payments by asking customers to send screenshot for proof of transfer, then you wait to confirm it in your bank app
Someone can even pay the wrong amount, and nobody knows which payment belongs to which order
A customer abroad might want to patronise you and pay with their card and you have no way to collect it.
If you sell online, run a school, a logistics business, a fashion brand or any service business, this can delay our growth as a business but here is what I've learned about fixing it.
1. Pick up a way for customers to pay you on the spot
Customers don't want to be told "send to this account number". They want to click, pay and be done. A payment gateway lets customers pay on your website, app or invoice link, with no back-and-forth.
2. Accept more than one payment method
Some customers prefer a card, some prefer bank transfer, and some only use USSD because they're on a basic phone. If you only accept one, you lose sales. A gateway like Interswitch Payment Gateway (IPG) supports cards (Verve, Mastercard, Visa), bank transfer and USSD in one checkout. It handles Nigerian cards well because Interswitch built Verve.
3. Automatic confirmation, no more screenshots
When a customer pays through IPG, the transaction is confirmed instantly and you get a notification. Nobody argues about whether the money came in, and you can match each payment to the right order.
4. Easy to set up
If your site runs on WooCommerce, Shopify or a custom build, there are plugins and APIs for integration. Your developer can connect it, and you don't have to build everything from scratch.
5. Security you don't have to worry about
Handling card details yourself is a big risk. With a PCI DSS compliant gateway, the sensitive card data is handled for you, along with fraud checks and Secure authentication.
6. A dashboard to see all your money
You can view every transaction, successful or failed, in one place, and use it to reconcile your accounts and track your daily sales without scrolling through bank statements.
7. Settlement into your bank account
Payments are settled directly into your business account, so you can plan your cash flow properly.
My advice before choosing any gateway:
Check what payment methods it supports
Ask about settlement time
Compare charges
See how good their support is when something fails
I'm curious: what are you using right now to collect payments? Has anyone had a bad experience with failed transactions or delayed settlement? And for those using IPG, how has it been for you?

Yeahh, if payment process is slow it's bad for businesses. Another good option would be the interswitch payment gateway (IPG), it can help businesses process payment faster