Author: Chioma Anozie

Chioma Anozie is a positive thinker and a serial entrepreneur. She loves to inspire and lift up entrepreneurs by helping them succeed online. She works one on one with her clients to give them the tools to achieve their goals.

The five best payment processors in Nigeria

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Gone are the days when customers had no choice other than to go through the hassle of making direct payments into a merchant’s bank account for a successful order. Now, with the availability of online payment processors, customers can place orders right from their homes, once they are connected to the internet. Merchants yet to embrace the online payment method are throwing a lot of money out the window.

But not all payment processors are built equal.

While there are a plethora of payment processors to choose from, some of these payment processors are designed for small scale businesses while some are designed for established businesses. I give a rundown of the 5 best processors, as well as their strengths and weaknesses to guide you in making the right choice for your business. My benchmarks for accessing each processor is ease of use, website integration, ability to undertake local and international transactions, timely processing of transactions, Cost of procuring service and if they have affiliate opportunities.

  1. Interswitch

Interswitchs Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) switching application, supports major networks including Verve, Mastercard, and China Union Pay, besides other proprietary networks. The infrastructure is based on open-system architecture and uses relational database technology, offering clients portability, and reliability as they expand.Our open-systems architecture reduces/eliminates the considerable expense, of paying for proprietary hardware, software, and PCIDSS compliance.

My verdict: 4 stars (٭٭٭٭)

Pros: Interswitch is an established platform with international links and has been in this game for a long time. Their network is robust and is used by most other payment portals. If you are a top-tier company whose ranks fall within the same space as Jumia or Microsoft, then this is the platform for you. Also with this option, customers can pay for you services from anywhere: ATMs, computers, mobiles etc. Also they process payments in a timely manner, and money made reflects in your bank account.

Cons: Very Expensive. Not designed for the small business. Their setup fees alone start from N150,000 with 1.5% fee on each transaction to a maximum of N2000 (as of the time of writing). Their cheapest plan, Quickteller basic, has a setup fee of 16,500 and a percentage deduction of 3.5% on every transaction made. Unless you are an established business with a high rate of turnover, this is not the platform for you. No affiliate program. So you can’t make money by recommending them.

WEBSITE: http://www.interswitchng.com

  1. GTPay

GTPAY is a one-stop, safe, secure and convenient web payment solution that enables merchants receive payments from both local and international payment cards.

My Verdict: 4 stars (٭٭٭٭)

Pros

  • International Acceptance: GTPAY accepts both locally and internationally issued cards including Interswitch, MasterCard and VISA.
  • Timely transaction processing and reporting: Merchants get value next day after transaction takes place.
  • Reduced sign-on fee: GTPAY integration fee is waived for merchants, so you don’t need to pay a developer to integrate the platform for you, unlike Interswitch.

Cons:

  • Very expensive. Setup is N150,000 (as at time of writing).
  • A noted preference for GT Naira card. I have noticed that e-commerce sites that use GT Pay accept GTB Naira mastercard easily than other cards. For some other banks, if you don’t have internet banking activated, it will be extremely difficult to pay with GT Pay.
  • No Affiliate program.

WEBSITE: http://www.gtbank.com/

  1. Simple Pay

Simple Pay allows any business or consumer with an e-mail address and a bank account to securely, conveniently and cost-effectively send and receive payments online or through their mobile phone. Their network provides a global, real-time merchant transaction processing solution. SimplePay for merchants is ideally suited for small businesses, online merchants, individuals, and others currently underserved by traditional payment systems.

My Verdict: 5 stars (٭٭٭٭٭)

Pros:

  • Ideal for small businesses. Registration is free. With rates of 1.5 per transaction, they are affordable for the small business owner.
  • They charge all types of cards, local or international. So you can accept payments from Nigeria and beyond.
  • Sales Reports. This way you know just how much you have sold in real time.
  • The processor with the most plugins developed for different platforms like wordpress, joomla, woocommerce etc.
  • An Affililate System: They reward their affilates with N125 per verified account. So you can also make money by recommending them.

Cons:

  • Integration Costs: Unless you have some knowledge of programming languages like HTML, you might need to hire a programmer to integrate their platform on your website. If you decide to contact them to do that, you have to pay them for such a service.

Website: www.simplepay4u.com

  1. Cash Envoy

Cash Envoy is like the Nigerian version of Paypal; it allows account owners to send money without sharing financial information, with the flexibility of payment using their bank accounts and debit cards. It is safe because account holders will not have to expose account details on the numerous websites they do business on. Convenient, because users don’t have to carry about cards to process transactions. Apart from using it to pay for goods and services online, it can also be used to donate money for a cause.

My Verdict: 4 stars (٭٭٭٭)

Pros:

  • The only independent payment platform I know that is approved by Central Bank of Nigeria – BPS/PSP/GEN/PSM/02/010.
  • No integration fees (as of the time of writing)
  • Fast Settlement: According to them you get all funds generated from business transactions that same day.
  • Relatively affordable: Transaction rates For Naira Cards: 2.5% + N12.60, maximum of N3500.For Int’l Cards: 3.9% + N12.60, maximum of N5000.

Cons:

  • No affiliate program
  • Integration cannot be done by self, unless the merchant has some knowledge of programming knowledge. You must rely on them. A service they have warned might not be free in the future.

Website: https://www.cashenvoy.com.

  1. Vogue Pay

VoguePay is a unique online payment processor whose vision is to offer buyers and sellers a secure and easy-to-use means of transacting business online.
VoguePay allows site owners to recieve payment for their goods and services on their website without any setup fee.

My verdict: 3 stars (٭٭٭)

Pros:

  • Vogue Pay has been around for a while and can accept money from local and internation cards
  • Simple integration: You don’t need a developer. All the help you need is in their members area.
  • Wonderful Affiliate system: They use a multi-tier affiliate system. So when someone signs up through your link, you will keep earning a percentage from every single sale the person makes on their website. And this will go on for 6 months before the affiliate duration expires. If you are also looking for a way to make money in your sleep system, this is one of it.

Cons:

  • High verification fee: You have to verify your business account before you can use it. And the verification cost N2500
  • Everything is charged on percentage level. For people to buy your product you can pay up to 4.5% per transaction. For you to withdraw your money, you pay 1% per amount you are withdrawing. For transfer of funds, a transaction percentage of 1% applies. In the end, you are milked for every single transaction you can think of that you want to make using this payment processor.

Website: https://voguepay.com

So there you have it. The five payment processors any business in Nigeria should consider. If you have other suggestions, lets know in the comments. If you have a question, send a mail to canozie@simplyquinessential.com. I try to answer every mail I receive.

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The fastest way to acquire success

The easiest way to succeed as an entrepreneur is to take advantage of opportunities. When Ebola broke out and nearly halted international transactions with certain countries (Nigeria inclusive), many saw the disease as a problem. Only a few saw it as an opportunity. Because of the Ebola outbreak, Businessman Jon Schultz of Blue String Ventures made a whopping $200,000 in one day!

How?

In 2008, he bought the domain Ebola.com for $13,500. When Ebola broke out in 2014 causing global panic and frenzy, he put the domain in the market and sold it to a Russian company for $200,000. (The Verge)

But Jon Schultz was not the only one to capitalize on an epidemic.

The first place winners of the 2014 AMPION Venture Bus West Africa were developers who used their skills to create solutions tackling healthcare issues; specifically Ebola. Ebola was such an epidemic that AMPION choose to consider favourably applicants who could present plausible solutions to eradicating the disease from a digital standpoint.

And this is just one epidemic. History has shown that once you can help people by offering a solution to a pressing problem, you will be successful almost instantly. More examples include Jumia (which became widely successful because of the ease of transaction and guaranteed delivery it offered), MTN in Nigeria (which became widely successful because it solved the headache of acquiring a Line from NITEL and made communication more seamless).

Now there are two ways to capitalise on a problem: Either you provide a solution (which the winners of AMPION did) or you invest in events/products that could lead to a solution (which Jon Schultz did). Of the two, the less risky and more viable is option A. I am a firm believer in helping people solve their problems, putting people first because when you do this, money will always find you.

Interested in cashing in on a problem? Follow the steps below:

  1. Identify the problem: This is the first step. If you do not see the problem, you will never know what solution to look for
  2. Determine the magnitude: A problem experienced by a handful of people is not as profitable as a problem crippling a nation. When Edison created the Lightbulb, it was a massive hit. Why? Because the alternative source of light energy at that time, the gas lamp, was not as cost effective, safe, energy conserving and bright as the light bulb.
  3. Figure a solution fast: When the Ebola epidemic broke out in Nigeria, a lot of smart shop owners stocked their shelves with Hand Santiziers. These shop owners made a killing before other shop owners saw what was going on and rushed to do the same.
  4. Analyze your solution carefully: Business oftentimes demands an investment of cash or human resources or both. Make sure that your solution will be worth investing time and money on. Determine how much this solution will cost you and how many people are likely to buy it. Hint: make sure your solution is a plausible one and that it really helps people. Always put people first when starting your business, not money. Because once you develop something that is insanely helpful, people will be more willing to pay for it. Also make sure that during your cost price analysis, your product/solution will be affordable. This will also help you get more customers.
  5. Deploy as soon as possible: you are not the only smart person on the planet. Chances are that someone else is brooding on that same idea. Normally the first to act and deploy gets the most reward. Example MTN is enjoying a large share of Nigeria Telecoms market not because of the quality of their service but because of the fact that they came in first. Same thing with Indomie and Coca Cola. So if you have an idea that will help people immensely to get rid of a terrible problem, work out your logistics, costs and market price, then deploy. Otherwise someone else will beat you to it and you will be forced to scramble for leftovers.

I really hope this article helps you and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to send a mail to canozie@simplyquintessential.com. If you have any additions or suggestions, let us know in the comments.

Sharing is loving. If you find this article insightful or know someone this article might help, please share. Thanks.