Comparing Nigerian Payment Gateways: Paystack, Flutterwave, Monnify

Choosing the right payment gateway for your Nigerian application involves balancing cost, supported payment rails, and developer experience. This guide provides a structured comparison of Paystack, Flutterwave, and Monnify using only verified data.

At a Glance

Feature	Paystack	Flutterwave	Monnify
REST API Base URL	https://api.paystack.co	https://api.flutterwave.com/v3	https://api.monnify.com
Webhook Signature	HMAC-SHA512	Secret Hash (verif-hash)	HMAC-SHA512 (monnify-signature)
Sandbox Environment	Available via Dashboard	Available via Dashboard	https://sandbox.monnify.com
Virtual Accounts	Yes	Yes	Yes
Subscriptions	Yes	Yes	Yes

Domestic Card Pricing

When processing domestic card transactions in Nigeria, each provider has a distinct pricing structure:

• Paystack: 1.5% + ₦100 (The ₦100 fee is waived for transactions under ₦2,500). Fees are capped at ₦2,000.
• Flutterwave: 2.0% flat fee. Fees are capped at ₦2,000.
• Monnify: 1.5% flat fee. Fees are capped at ₦2,000.

Depending on the transaction size, the most cost-effective gateway changes. For very small transactions (under ₦2,500), Monnify and Paystack offer the same rate (1.5%) while Flutterwave is slightly higher (2.0%). On larger transactions, Monnify’s flat 1.5% may be slightly more cost-effective than Paystack’s 1.5% + ₦100, though both cap out at ₦2,000, meaning for very large transactions, all three gateways charge the same maximum fee.

International Card Pricing

For accepting international cards, the fees are structured as follows:

• Paystack: 3.9% + ₦100.
• Flutterwave: 4.8% flat fee.
• Monnify: 4.0% flat fee.

Note on American Express (Amex): Paystack has a specific, published rule for Amex cards at 4.5%. Flutterwave and Monnify do not have a separate, published pricing rule specifically for Amex in their verified data.

Bank Transfer and USSD

Bank transfers and USSD are highly popular payment methods in Nigeria.

• Bank Transfer Pricing: Flutterwave and Monnify both support bank transfers. Paystack also supports bank transfers, and specifically offers an exclusive Dedicated Virtual Account (DVA) bank transfer rail priced at 1.0%, capped at ₦300.
• USSD Pricing: All three providers—Paystack, Flutterwave, and Monnify—support USSD payments.

Payment Rail Coverage

The verified pricing rules indicate the breadth of payment rails actively supported and priced by each provider:

• Paystack (6 rules): Domestic Card, International Card, International Card (Amex), Bank Transfer, Bank Transfer (DVA), and USSD.
• Flutterwave (4 rules): Domestic Card, International Card, Bank Transfer, and USSD.
• Monnify (4 rules): Domestic Card, International Card, Bank Transfer, and USSD.

Developer Experience

All three providers offer robust REST APIs and support webhooks, but they differ slightly in implementation details:

• API Ecosystem: Paystack uses https://api.paystack.co, Flutterwave uses https://api.flutterwave.com/v3, and Monnify uses https://api.monnify.com.
• Webhooks: Paystack and Monnify both use HMAC-SHA512 for webhook signatures (Monnify uses the monnify-signature header). Flutterwave uses a Secret Hash sent via the verif-hash header.
• SDKs: Flutterwave explicitly lists official SDKs for Node.js, Python, and PHP. Paystack has a verified paystack-node SDK for Node.js.
• Testing: All three provide sandbox environments to safely test integrations before going live.

When Pricing Alone Isn’t Enough

While pricing is a critical factor, evaluating a payment gateway often requires looking beyond the transaction fees. Consider the following:

• Documentation Quality: Review the official developer documentation for clarity, completeness, and up-to-date API references.
• Specific Rail Support: If your business heavily relies on Dedicated Virtual Accounts (DVAs) or needs explicit support for American Express, Paystack’s dedicated rails might be a deciding factor.
• Webhook Security Mechanisms: Ensure your engineering team is comfortable with the webhook signature mechanisms (HMAC-SHA512 vs. Secret Hash) provided by the gateway.
• Ecosystem and SDKs: The availability of official SDKs in your backend language can significantly speed up development.

How to Evaluate

To make the best decision for your specific use case, we recommend using the Fee Calculator to simulate the exact costs for your average transaction volume and size.

Additionally, you can review the detailed, verified capabilities of each provider by visiting their respective detail pages:

• Paystack
• Flutterwave
• Monnify

Sources

The data in this guide is sourced directly from the official, verified channels of each provider:

Paystack

• Website: https://paystack.com
• Docs: https://paystack.com/docs
• API Docs: https://paystack.com/docs/api
• Pricing: https://paystack.com/pricing
• Status: https://status.paystack.com

Flutterwave

• Website: https://flutterwave.com
• Docs: https://developer.flutterwave.com
• API Docs: https://developer.flutterwave.com/docs
• Pricing: https://flutterwave.com/ng/pricing
• Status: https://status.flutterwave.com

Monnify

• Website: https://monnify.com
• Docs: https://developers.monnify.com
• API Docs: https://docs.monnify.com
• Pricing: https://monnify.com/pricing