Africa: Paystack vs Flutterwave, Market by Market (2026)
Africa's published rates are surprisingly good in the big four markets, Nigeria's local fees are among the lowest anywhere, and surprisingly opaque everywhere else. The continent's defining fact: cards are the minority rail. Mobile money carries most commerce, and the gateways below all aggregate it, which makes their card rates only part of the story.
Head to head in the big four
| Market | Paystack (Stripe-owned) | Flutterwave | Domestic Challengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria (NGN) | 1.5% + ₦100, capped ₦2,000 (₦100 waived under ₦2,500); intl 3.9% | 1.4%–2.0% local (capped ₦2,000); intl 3.8% | Squad (GTCO): 1.2% capped ₦1,500 · Monnify: 1.5% capped ₦2,000 |
| Ghana (GHS) | 1.95% local cards & MoMo; 3.8% intl | 2.0% local; 3.8% intl | Hubtel: 1.95% cards & mobile money |
| Kenya (KES) | 2.9% local cards (1.5% M-Pesa); 3.8% intl | 2.9% local; 3.8% intl | PesaPal: 2.9%–3.5% · DPO Group: 3.5% + $0.25 |
| South Africa (ZAR) | 2.9% + R1.00 (excl. VAT) | 2.9% local; 3.8% intl | Yoco: 2.95% online · PayFast: 2.9%–3.2% + R2.00 |
Gateway landscape by currency
Below is the African currency landscape separated into card gateways & bank switches versus mobile money wallets, USSD & Instant EFT rails.
1. Card gateways & bank switches by currency
| Currency | Markets | Card Gateways (Published Rates) | Bank Switches & Regional Processors |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGN / GHS | Nigeria, Ghana | Squad by GTCO (1.2% NGN), Paystack (1.5% NGN / 1.95% GHS), Monnify (1.5% NGN), Flutterwave (1.4%–2.0%), Hubtel (1.95% GHS) | Interswitch / Verve, Network International |
| KES / TZS / UGX / RWF | Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda | Paystack (2.9% KES), Flutterwave (2.9%–3.5%), PesaPal (2.9%–3.5%), DPO Group (3.5%–3.8%) | Network International, I&M / Equity / KCB bank acquiring |
| ZAR | South Africa | Paystack (2.9% + R1), Flutterwave (2.9%), Yoco (2.95%), PayFast (3.2% + R2) | Peach Payments, DPO PayGate, Netcash, Stitch |
| EGP / MAD / DZD / TND | North Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) | CMI Morocco (1.5% domestic), SATIM / Chargily Algeria (1.5% CIB/Edahabia), Konnect Tunisia (1.8%), Fawry (2.2% + EGP 2), Kashier (2.5% + EGP 2), YouCan Pay (2.5% + 2.50 MAD), Paymob (2.75% + EGP 3) | Network International (Egypt), Banque Misr / NBE, ClicToPay (Tunisia) |
| XOF / XAF | WAEMU (8 West African states) & CEMAC (6 Central African states) | Kkiapay (1.9% XOF), Paystack Côte d'Ivoire (1.95% XOF), NotchPay (2.0% XAF), Flutterwave (2.5%–3.2%), CinetPay (3.0%–3.5%) | GIM-UEMOA & GIMAC regional interbank card switches, DPO Group |
| ETB / AOA / CDF / ZWG | Ethiopia, Angola, DR Congo, Zimbabwe | AppyPay Angola (1.5% Multicaixa), Chapa Ethiopia (2.5% local), MaxiCash DRC (2.5%), Paynow Zimbabwe (2.5%–3.5%) | Flutterwave & DPO Group (Ethiopia) |
| ZMW / BWP / MZN / MWK | Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi | PaySuite Mozambique (2.5% MZN), PayChangu Malawi (3.0% MWK), PesaPal (3.0%–3.5%), Flutterwave (3.5%), DPO Group (3.8%) | Network International (ZM, BW, MW), Ponto24 / SIMOrede (MZ) |
| SLE / LRD / GMD / CVE | Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia, Cape Verde | ModemPay Gambia (2.0% GMD), Monime Sierra Leone (2.5% SLE), Pagali Cape Verde (2.5% + 20 CVE) | Flutterwave, SISP vinti4 (Cape Verde) |
| MUR / SCR / MGA | Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar | MIPS (1.5%–2.5% MUR & SCR) | MCB (Mauritius Commercial Bank) & SBM acquiring |
2. Wallets, mobile money & Instant EFT rails by currency
| Currency | Markets | Mobile Money, Wallets & A2A Rails | Published Merchant Rate & Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| KES / TZS | Kenya, Tanzania | M-Pesa (Lipa Na M-Pesa), Airtel Money | M-Pesa Kenya Buy Goods: 0.5% capped at KES 200 (free on ≤KES 200) · Paystack M-Pesa: 1.5% |
| XOF / GMD | Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia | Wave, MTN MoMo, Orange Money | Wave: 1.0% flat merchant fee · MTN MoMo Côte d'Ivoire: 1.0% |
| GHS / UGX / RWF / ZMW | Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Cameroon | MTN MoMo (MoMoPay), Telecel Cash, AirtelTigo | MTN MoMo standard merchant collection: 1.0% (GHS, UGX, RWF) |
| ZAR | South Africa | Ozow (Instant EFT & PayShap), SnapScan, Zapper | Ozow Instant EFT / PayShap: 1.5% (excl. VAT), roughly half the cost of South African credit cards |
| NGN | Nigeria | Paystack / Monnify / Squad Virtual Bank Accounts (NIP Instant Transfer), OPay / PalmPay | Squad bank transfer: 1.2% capped ₦1,500 · Paystack / Monnify: 1.5% capped ₦2,000 |
| TND / LRD / MGA | Tunisia, Liberia, Madagascar | Flouci (Tunisia), TipMe (Liberia), MVola by Yas (Madagascar) | Flouci: 1.2% + 0.300 TND · TipMe (wallet & Lonestar MTN MoMo): 2.0% · MVola: 1.5% |
| MUR / AOA | Mauritius, Angola | MCB Juice & MauCAS QR (via MIPS), Multicaixa Express (via AppyPay) | MauCAS instant QR in Mauritius (~0.5%–1%); Multicaixa Express QR/mobile in Angola (1.5%) |
What to watch
- The ₦2,000 / ₦1,500 cap is a big deal in Nigeria: Paystack, Flutterwave and Monnify cap local fees at ₦2,000, while Squad (by GTCO) caps at ₦1,500 (1.2%). Our calculator applies caps automatically.
- Mobile money and Instant EFT beat cards everywhere: M-Pesa Buy Goods (0.5% capped KES 200), Wave (1% flat in XOF/GMD), MTN MoMo (1%) and Ozow (1.5% in South Africa) all price far below card rails.
- North Africa runs on national interbank switches: Algeria's SATIM (CIB / Edahabia at 1.5%), Morocco's CMI (1.5% domestic) and Egypt's Meeza / InstaPay rails carry the bulk of domestic checkouts.
Gateway landscape by currency
Every major African currency below is split into two distinct tables: card gateways & bank acquirers first, followed by wallets, mobile money & instant bank rails. Rates shown are the published standard schedules from our dataset; names without rates quote per merchant.
1. Card gateways & bank acquirers by currency
| Currency | Markets | Fintech gateways (published rates) | Custom / bank acquirers |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGN | Nigeria | Squad 1.2%, Monnify 1.5%, Paystack 1.5% + ₦100 (capped ₦2,000), Flutterwave 1.4% | PayU, EBANX, DPO Group, Network International |
| KES | Kenya | Paystack 2.9%, Flutterwave 2.9%, DPO 3.5%, PesaPal 3.5% | EBANX, Network International |
| GHS | Ghana | Paystack 1.95%, Flutterwave 1.95%, Hubtel 1.95% | Republic Bank e-Commerce, DPO Group, Network International |
| ZAR | South Africa | Paystack 2.9%, Flutterwave 2.9%, Yoco 2.95%, PayFast 3.2% | PayU, EBANX, Network International |
| EGP | Egypt | Fawry 2.2%, Kashier 2.5%, Geidea 2.5%, PayTabs / Tap / Paymob / Flutterwave 2.7-2.75% | Network International, MyFatoorah, 2Checkout |
| TZS | Tanzania | Flutterwave 3.5%, DPO 3.5%, PesaPal 3.5% | Network International; M-Pesa merchant rails (see table 2) |
| UGX | Uganda | Flutterwave 3.0%, DPO 3.5%, PesaPal 3.5% | Network International; MTN MoMo and Wave rails (see table 2) |
| XOF | Francophone West Africa | Wave 1%, CinetPay 1.9%, Kkiapay 1.9%, Paystack 1.95%, Flutterwave 3.5% | DPO Group; MTN MoMo rails |
| XAF | Central Africa | CinetPay 2%, NotchPay 2%, Flutterwave 3.5% | Kkiapay, MTN MoMo rails |
| ETB | Ethiopia | Chapa 2.5%, Flutterwave 3.5% | DPO Group |
| More markets | Madagascar, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia, Angola, DRC and Indian Ocean islands | See each currency page: CMI 1.5% (MAD), Chargily 1.5% (DZD), SATIM 1% (TND via Konnect 2% / Flouci 1.5%), Paynow 2.5% (ZWG), TipMe 2% (LRD), AppyPay 1.5% (AOA), MVola 1.5% (MGA) and more | |
2. Wallets, mobile money & instant bank rails by currency
| Rail / wallet | Markets | Published merchant rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| M-Pesa (Lipa Na) | Kenya, Tanzania | 0.5% capped at KES 200 (KE) | Cut by up to 50% in Aug 2026; small payments free; Tanzania varies by Vodacom plan |
| MTN MoMo | Ghana, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Zambia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe | Custom, by merchant type | The dominant rail alongside cards in cash-heavy markets |
| Wave | Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Uganda | 1% (XOF, GMD) | Undercutting card rates across francophone West Africa |
| Ozow | South Africa | 1.5% | Instant bank payment (EFT) rail, cheaper than cards |
| MVola | Madagascar | 1.5% | Mobile money rail by Axian/Yas |
| M-Pesa, MoMo & bank rails on gateways | Continent-wide | Via Paystack, Flutterwave, DPO, PesaPal | Aggregators bundle mobile money acceptance at their published percentages |
Currencies in this region
NGN fees
GHS fees
KES fees
ZAR fees
EGP fees
MAD fees
DZD fees
TND fees
TZS fees
UGX fees
RWF fees
XOF fees
XAF fees
ETB fees
AOA fees
CDF fees
ZWG fees
ZMW fees
BWP fees
MZN fees
MWK fees
SLE fees
LRD fees
GMD fees
CVE fees
MUR fees
SCR fees
MGA fees
Run your own numbers in the fee calculator across all 28 African currencies above, or start from the NGN and ZAR comparison tables.