Times are changing, and the way people work is changing too. Many young talents utilise the internet to run jobs, services, and businesses what we can all call remote work. It doesn’t stop here. Companies, freelancers, and talents now utilise the web to achieve financial growth.
One major challenge that comes with remote work and online businesses is the means of receiving payments. And we all know that payment completes a transaction. To tackle this problem,m many fintech companies have sprung up with different solutions. This blog post will see the top payment platforms and gateways available in Nigeria.
Best Payment Platforms and Gateways in Nigeria
We have used the terms payment platforms and payment gateway together in the introductory part of this post. For those who are confused, let’s discuss these terms.
A payment gateway is a merchant that facilitates payment for eCommerce platforms. These merchant services allow businesses to connect with a customer’s banking institution. You can look at a Payment gateway like the online version of a POS terminal. Many payment gateway merchants allow developers to integrate API and plugins into their websites and apps.
On the other hand, a payment platform is any platform that processes the payment. A payment platform can involve a payment gateway and many other features. There are many payment platforms in Nigeria. However, this article would focus on cross-border payment platforms in Nigeria.
Payment Gateways in Nigeria for eCommerce Integrations
1 Flutterwave
Flutterwave payment platform for Nigerians is a whole male as it is a complete payment platform in Nigeria. Flutterwave is a tool that facilitates growth for businesses. With flutterwave, users can get a unique eCommerce store, generate links for products, create invoices and build a fantastic checkout page. Solopreneurs can tap into this feature to grow their small businesses.
Flutterwave also provides virtual and physical cards for global and local payment. You can create a physical card for your logistics team. All you have to do is top up that card and spend what is available. Virtual cards are great for expenses management. You can run IG, Facebook, and Google ads seamlessly with the card.
Developers can also integrate Flutterwave API into their websites and apps. With integration, users of digital products can make instant payments recurring payments and connect with their bank accounts. Flutterwave also allows over 15 payment options for users.
2 Paystack
Paystack is one excellent payment gateway for Africans. When international companies integrate paystack, they can receive payments from Africa. This tool is created for businesses to accept payments and grow their revenue. After integration, companies can accept different payment types ranging from bank transfers, card payments, apple pay, etc. Paystack also offers support for businesses. Here, they can track, audit, and account for payments.
3 Remita
We can’t talk about payment platforms and gateways without mentioning Remita. Remita is one old kid on the block. Without any charges, businesses can integrate remita into their websites. With Remita, companies can accept payments locally and internationally through their mobile app or website.
Remita makes available different channels of payment for users. Users can choose different card types, USSD payment, mobile bank transfer, card payments, and in-bank payment. To do this, Remita generates a RRR code that helps initiate and track the payment. Asa plus, the mobile can be used for bills, airtime purchases, and subscription payments.
4 Vogue pay
Voguepay allows businesses to receive payments from over the world. They facilitate payment by integrating their API into an eCommerce website and checking out pages. VoguePay works like the gateways mentioned above and enables businesses to receive payment in different currencies. Interestingly, API integration is usually straightforward, seamless and swift. Their tool can be integrated into websites and mobile apps.
5 Sendcashpay
SendCash is one unique API software that allows businesses to receive payment. Send Cash combines traditional payment structures and blockchain to facilitate transactions. With SendCash pay, companies can accept payments, wire payouts, and access users’ financial data.
It is a fantastic payment gateway that fintech apps use. Risevest and Accrue use SendCashPay to receive dollar payments from their users. This app connects with users’ bank apps, deducts the required amount, and funds their accounts with dollars. SendCashPay often comes at no cost to the users, unlike direct bank transfers.
6 Klasha
Klasha is an intriguing payment gateway and platform for foreigners to tap into the African market. When businesses integrate Klasha into their eCommerce platform, they can receive African payments in their specific currency. For instance, if a UK company integrate Klasha into their website, they can receive payments from Nigeria. It makes cross-border eCommerce easier, as consumers can pay in their desired currencies, and brands can receive in the currency of their choice.
Klasha’s use case doesn’t end there. With Klasha, users can get a virtual dollar card which they can use for all international purchases. The virtual card allows you to subscribe to Spotify, youtube and even run ads on Facebook and Instagram. Users just need to fund their account with an African currency, convert it to dollars, and their card is preloaded with dollars.
In addition, Klasha also supports Peer-to-peer transactions on their platform. Klasha calls it PINK money so that users can send money to their acquaintances via Klasha.
Cross-border Payment Platforms in Nigeria for Freelancers and Individuals
7 Payday HQ
Payday Hq has two products, payday and talent pay. Payday is for freelancers, while talent pay is for companies and employers that hire freelancers and remote talent. Payday accords themselves with the name PayPal of Africa. Hence, it works similarly to PayPal. With the Payday app, you can send cash to family and friends using tags. Provided the sender and the receiver are users of Payday, then you can send cash with tags rather than account numbers. Nigerian freelancers who want to use the app can convince their clients and employers to sign up here.
As a plus, Payday HQ offers virtual dollar cards to individuals and businesses. So, it is much easier to purchase goods internationally. Marketing professionals would also enjoy the virtual dollar cards, as they can run social media and google ads without stress.
8 Grey (Aboki Africa)
Grey is not a payment platform, but it is a payment app that helps freelancers and remote workers. With grey, you can generate a foreign bank account number within seconds and receive international payments. All you have to do is send the designated account number to your client, and you accept your payments. Freelancers can generate USD, GBP, and EUR accounts for diverse international transactions.
Aside from generating bank accounts, you can also convert your money to other currencies and transfer it into your local bank. For instance, if you receive payments from your client in GBP, you can swap to naira and transfer to your local bank account.
Grey is a fantastic payment platform for Nigerians compared to a domiciliary account. It offers better dollar rates and instant payment. Freelancers and remote workers can transfer money from their Payoneer or Paypal version straight into their Grey. After that, they can convert to naira send and receive in their local banks within a few minutes.
Like other payment platforms in Nigeria, Grey users can also get a virtual debit card. With the card, you can spend and make purchases around the world.
9 Lemonade Finance
Lemonade finance is a payment platform built for Africans living in the diaspora. As opposed to Grey and Payday, Lemonade finance doesn’t target remote workers and freelancers. However, the service makes sending and receiving money from Africa more accessible. International students can receive tuition funds from family and friends in Nigeria. International students can also send money to Nigeria directly without any middlemen. Lemonade finance gives you access to a bank account in both your country of residence and origin.
Read more:6 Naija Foods popular among Nigerians in Diaspora.
Conclusion
Before now, there was always a blocker to sending and receiving payments in Nigeria. Due to restrictions, it became worse when Nigerian freelancers could not use the renowned Paypal. Despite all these challenges, we soared. The rise of Fintech startups and products in Nigeria has solved all the payment issues encountered in Nigeria. There are so many gateways for payments on websites and mobile apps. There are also products created for freelancers and remote workers. Africans in the diaspora can now send money to and receive money from their origination country.