Mobile Money Payment Gateway for Seven African Markets

Online card checkout asks customers to type numbers into a form. Mobile money works differently. The customer's phone is the identity, and the customer approves the payment on the phone. For a merchant, the job is to start the request correctly, wait for the customer to act, and record the final result.

A typical wallet pay-in on Payment Gateway Africa follows the same outline in every market. Your platform creates a payment with the amount, the currency and your order reference. The customer chooses a local method and enters the phone number or account details that method requires. The wallet operator then asks the customer to approve the payment, using the confirmation step for that wallet. Once the operator responds, Payment Gateway Africa sends the final status to your server.

The approval step depends on the wallet. In Kenya, for example, M-Pesa sends a prompt to the customer's handset, and the customer enters a PIN to authorise it. Other wallets ask the customer to confirm in the operator's app or through the operator's own flow. On the hosted payment page, Payment Gateway Africa presents the step for the selected method, so your checkout does not need separate screens for each operator.

Because the customer acts on a separate device, a wallet payment is not always settled in the same second the page loads. Your order logic should treat the status sent to your server as the source of truth, not the browser redirect. The section on payment status notifications explains how to handle this.

The table below lists every local method currently offered in each market, with the currency used for the transaction. Each country page holds the full detail for that market.

Some brands appear in more than one market. Wave and Orange Money run in both Senegal and Mali, both on the West African CFA franc (XOF). Orange Money is also offered in Guinea, in Guinean francs (GNF). M-Pesa is offered in Kenya and in Ethiopia, and each market uses its own currency. Treat each country and method pair as a separate route. Currency, customer flow and availability are set per market, not per brand.

Coverage is limited to the seven markets listed. For a directory view grouped by region, see the list of countries we cover.

M-Pesa (Kenya). M-Pesa is the main local method on our Kenya payment gateway, and transactions are in Kenyan shillings (KES). The customer flow uses a push request. After the customer enters a phone number at checkout, a prompt appears on that handset. The customer confirms with an M-Pesa PIN. The customer never types wallet credentials into your website, because approval happens on the device. For merchants, the practical points are clear messages while the customer reaches for the phone, and order updates driven by the server-side status rather than the page redirect.

Mobile wallet payments by phone number (Egypt). In Egypt, mobile wallets are registered against the customer's mobile number. That number is the key detail the customer gives at checkout. Payments are made in Egyptian pounds (EGP). The customer enters the wallet's phone number, then completes approval in the flow provided by the wallet. This route suits merchants who want a local alternative for customers who prefer paying from a phone-linked balance. Market details, including how the flow appears to the customer, are on the Egypt payment gateway page.

CBE Birr (Ethiopia). CBE Birr is a bank-linked mobile payment service in Ethiopia. Its provider describes it as a way for customers to pay for purchases. On Payment Gateway Africa it is one of three local options for Ethiopian birr (ETB) payments. The customer selects CBE Birr at checkout and completes approval through the service's own confirmation step. Offering it next to M-Pesa (Ethiopia) and local transfers lets customers pay with the account they actually hold. The full Ethiopian method list and market notes are on the Ethiopia payment gateway page.

M-Pesa (Ethiopia). M-Pesa also operates in Ethiopia as a separate service from the Kenyan one, and the Ethiopian regulator lists it among the country's payment providers. On Payment Gateway Africa, M-Pesa (Ethiopia) payments are in ETB and run as their own route. Settings, currency and customer flow are handled apart from M-Pesa in Kenya. If you already accept M-Pesa in Kenya, treat Ethiopia as a separate enablement with its own testing. Ethiopia also offers local transfers as a third option, described on the country page.

Orange Money (Senegal, Mali, Guinea). Orange Money is offered in three markets. It runs in XOF on our Senegal payment gateway and Mali payment gateway, and in GNF on our Guinea payment gateway. The brand is the same, but each country is a distinct route with its own currency and operator setup. Customers choose Orange Money at checkout, give their wallet number and approve in the operator's flow. Guinea is a single-method market where Orange Money is the local option.

Wave (Senegal, Mali). Wave is available in Senegal and Mali, with payments in XOF in both countries. At checkout, the customer selects Wave and completes the confirmation step required by the method. Merchants serving both markets can run Wave next to Orange Money in each country, and add Moov Money in Mali, so customers can choose among the supported wallets. Settlement and reporting still follow each project's setup.

Moov Money (Mali). Moov Money is the third wallet on our Mali route, next to Wave and Orange Money, with payments in XOF. Mali is the only market where Payment Gateway Africa offers Moov Money today. Adding it to your checkout reaches customers whose main wallet is Moov rather than Orange or Wave. The customer selects the method, gives the wallet number and confirms in the operator's flow. If you already process Mali payments with Payment Gateway Africa, you can enable Moov Money on your existing project.

D17 (Tunisia). D17 is a Tunisian mobile payment app linked to e-Dinar, and it supports payments to merchants. On Payment Gateway Africa it is one of two local methods for Tunisian dinar (TND) payments. The customer chooses D17 at checkout and completes the confirmation step required by the method. Merchants selling to Tunisian customers can offer it next to Flouci, so customers can use whichever app they already have. Market notes and the integration path are on the Tunisia payment gateway page.

Flouci (Tunisia). Flouci is a digital wallet in Tunisia and the second local method on our TND route. As with D17, the customer selects the wallet at checkout and completes the confirmation step required by the method. Running Flouci and D17 together gives Tunisian customers two app-based choices through a single Payment Gateway Africa integration, with statuses and settlement handled the same way for both.

Payment Gateway Africa runs as a payment gateway, so it handles both incoming and outgoing money. Three flows matter. Keep them apart in your systems, because each one has its own record.

Pay-ins are payments from your customers into your project, made through the local methods listed above. Each pay-in has its own status, which you receive on your server.

Payouts are transfers from your project to customers, such as refunds to a wallet, marketplace disbursements or winnings. Payouts are offered where available for the method and project. Check availability for each method you plan to use before you design a payout feature around it.

Settlement means we transfer the funds collected on your behalf to you, the merchant. We dispatch it on the same day (T+0). Dispatch and arrival are different moments: when the money is posted to your account depends on your bank or other receiving institution, so posting times vary.

Reporting covers these flows, so your finance team can reconcile customer payments, outgoing transfers and settlements against their own references.

Because the customer approves a wallet payment on a phone, the result can arrive after the customer has left your checkout page. Payment Gateway Africa therefore sends payment statuses to your backend through postbacks and webhooks. These notifications go to you, the merchant. Payment Gateway Africa does not run a separate notification service for your customers. Messages to shoppers, such as order confirmation emails, stay in your own system.

A sound setup does four things. It stores the Payment Gateway Africa transaction identifier next to your order reference. It updates the order only when a final status is received on the server. It handles repeated notifications without creating duplicate fulfilment. It uses status checks as a fallback when a notification is delayed. The webhooks and postbacks guide covers the expected structure and handling patterns.

Pay-in and payout statuses arrive as separate events, which keeps the three flows distinct in your records.

There are two ways to connect. Which methods are available through each option is confirmed during project setup.

Hosted Payment Page. Your platform redirects the customer to a payment page where they choose a local method and follow its approval step. This is the shortest route to live wallet payments, because method screens and operator-specific steps are handled for you.

H2H (API). Your server talks directly to the Payment Gateway Africa API to create payments and payouts and to read statuses. This option suits platforms that want tighter control over their own flow. It is a direct integration, not a white-label product. Customer approval still follows the confirmation step required by the selected method.

Both options use the same postbacks, reporting and settlement. You can start with the hosted page and move to the API later. Read the integration guide to compare the two in detail.

Plenty of merchants start in a single market with a single method and grow from there. If you are already a client, turning on another supported method carries no connection surcharge, and your connection price stays the same however many methods you use. Activating a method we already support is frequently finished within one day.

This applies to methods already listed in the coverage table. It does not mean onboarding is free, it does not remove transaction fees, and it is not a timing commitment for new clients. New merchants follow the standard onboarding path, including business verification.

Your quote depends on your markets, methods and expected volume. The pricing overview explains what shapes it. When you are ready, the merchant onboarding steps take you from application to a test project and then to live payments.

Tell us which of the seven markets you want to serve and which wallets matter to your customers. We will set up a project, give you access to testing, and help you reach live payments through the hosted page or the API.

Not sure where to begin? The Payment Gateway Africa African payment gateway overview shows how wallet routes fit with the rest of the product.