E-commerce payments in Africa: cards, mobile money and currency

To sell online across Africa you need to offer the payment methods customers actually use in each market: cards and instant EFT in South Africa, mobile money such as M-Pesa in Kenya and Tanzania or MTN MoMo in Ghana, Uganda and other MTN markets, bank transfers and cards in Nigeria, and so on. Price in local currency, use a gateway (or several) with local acquiring in your key markets, and plan for settlement, currency conversion and exchange control from the start.

There's no single "African checkout". Here's how to approach it market by market.

Payment preferences vary by market

This is a simplified view: every market has several operators and changes quickly, so check your gateway's current coverage for each country you target.

How mobile money payments work online

1. At checkout the customer chooses mobile money and enters their mobile number.
2. The gateway sends a payment request to the mobile money operator.
3. The customer receives a prompt on their phone (for example an STK push for M-Pesa, or a USSD or app prompt) and approves with their PIN.
4. The operator confirms the payment to the gateway, which notifies your system by webhook.
5. The gateway settles funds to you on its schedule, usually net of fees.

Because the customer approves on their own phone, there's no card data to handle, but you still need webhooks to confirm payment status; don't rely on the customer returning to your site.

Gateways for African e-commerce

Several payment providers operate across multiple African markets, each with different country coverage, methods, pricing and settlement options. Examples include:

• Paystack: operates in several African markets including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, with cards, bank transfers and mobile money depending on the country.
• Flutterwave: pan-African coverage with cards, mobile money and bank transfers in many countries.
• Pesapal: focused on East Africa, with cards and mobile money.
• Direct mobile money integrations such as M-Pesa and MTN MoMo APIs, typically requiring a merchant account with the operator.
• South African gateways (PayFast, Ozow, Yoco, Peach Payments, PayGate/DPO and others) for the South African market; some also serve other African countries.

Compare each provider's own current country list and pricing page rather than relying on summaries. Using more than one gateway is common; our colleagues explain the trade-offs in multiple payment gateways strategy.

Multi-currency pricing

• Price in local currency where you can (KES, NGN, GHS, UGX, ZAR). Customers convert less and abandon less.
• Decide how you set prices: fixed local price lists, reviewed periodically, are simpler for customers than live conversion.
• Understand settlement currency: some gateways settle in local currency in-country, others can settle in USD or ZAR. Conversion fees and timing affect your margin.
• Show taxes correctly for each market. VAT and digital services taxes differ by country; South Africa's rules are covered in VAT on digital services.

Cross-border considerations for South African businesses

If you're based in South Africa and selling into other African countries:

• Exchange control. Receiving foreign currency into South Africa is subject to the South African Reserve Bank's exchange control rules, administered through authorised dealers (your bank). Speak to your bank about receiving offshore settlements.
• Local entities. Some gateways and mobile money operators require a local registered entity in each country to settle locally.
• Consumer rules and tax in each country apply to your sales there.
• Delivery and returns for physical goods: customs, duties and courier costs often matter more than the payment method.

Recurring payments across Africa

Subscriptions are harder outside South Africa because debit orders are local and mobile money is mostly customer-initiated. Common approaches:

• Cards on file where card penetration is high enough.
• Mobile money payment requests each period: send a reminder with a payment link or push a payment request for the customer to approve.
• Prepaid periods (quarterly or annual) to reduce the number of payment moments.

See SaaS payments in South Africa for the local side.

Checkout checklist for African markets

• Local currency pricing for each target market
• At least one local method per market (mobile money where it dominates)
• Webhook-based payment confirmation
• Clear mobile-first checkout (most customers are on phones)
• Settlement currency and fees understood per gateway
• Reconciliation per gateway and currency (see bank reconciliation basics)
• Refund process per method (mobile money refunds work differently from card refunds)

How CentraPoint helps

CentraPoint connects to multiple gateways in one account, including Paystack, Flutterwave, Pesapal, M-Pesa and MTN MoMo for other African markets, and PayFast, Ozow, Yoco, Peach, PayGate/DPO and Netcash for South Africa, plus manual EFT. Your hosted checkout pages and payment links show customers the methods relevant to them, webhooks confirm payments, and invoices and reports keep multi-gateway income reconciled. See the gateways page and gateways docs.

Frequently asked questions

How can I accept M-Pesa payments online?

Through a payment gateway that supports M-Pesa in the relevant country, or by integrating directly with the operator's API using a merchant account. The customer approves each payment on their phone.

Which African countries use MTN MoMo?

MTN MoMo operates in many MTN markets, including Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire. Check the operator's and your gateway's current coverage for each country.

Should I price in US dollars or local currency?

Local currency usually converts better for consumers. USD pricing can work for B2B software, but confirm your gateway's currency support and conversion fees first.

Can mobile money be used for subscriptions?

Mobile money is mostly customer-initiated, so recurring billing usually works through periodic payment requests or reminders, prepaid periods or cards on file rather than automatic pulls.