Online Payment Gateways in Nigeria and Their Fees (2026)
On a ₦50,000 sale the fee runs from ₦600 at Squad to ₦1,075 at Flutterwave. What we would use for a small shop, a freelancer and a larger company.
Squad for a small shop, Paystack for a freelancer, and Monnify for a larger company that lives on bank transfers. Those are our picks, and the published fees on a single ₦50,000 sale explain a good part of them.
| Gateway | Local rate as published | Fee on ₦50,000 | You receive | Money arrives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squad | 1.2%, capped at ₦1,500 | ₦600 | ₦49,400 | Within 24 hours or on request |
| Remita | 1.5%, capped at ₦2,000 | ₦750 | ₦49,250 | No time on its pricing page |
| Monnify | 1.5%, capped at ₦2,000, plus VAT | ₦806.25 | ₦49,193.75 | Same day by 10pm |
| Interswitch | 1.5%, capped at ₦2,000, plus 7.5% tax | ₦806.25 | ₦49,193.75 | Next day |
| Paystack | 1.5% + ₦100, capped at ₦2,000 | ₦850 | ₦49,150 | Next working day |
| Flutterwave | 2%, plus 7.5% VAT | ₦1,075 | ₦48,925 | Next business day |
Monnify, Interswitch (through its Quickteller Business service) and Flutterwave say their rates exclude tax, so the sums add it. Squad, Remita and Paystack do not say either way on these pages. If VAT comes on top at those three as well, their fees become ₦645, ₦806.25 and ₦913.75, and Squad stays cheapest while Flutterwave stays dearest.
SeerBit also publishes 1.5% capped at ₦2,000 on local cards. We found nothing that would make it a first choice over the six above.
Large sales change the order
At ₦500,000 the caps take over. Squad charges ₦1,500, Paystack and Remita ₦2,000, Monnify and Interswitch ₦2,150 with tax. Flutterwave prints no cap, so the same sale costs ₦10,750 with VAT. Its help page says the local rate rose to 2% from “1.4% at NGN 2000”. A business with many large tickets should get a capped rate from Flutterwave in writing, or go elsewhere.
A small shop: Squad
The ₦250 saved against Paystack on every ₦50,000 sale is real money across a month, and it costs little to get. Squad’s About page says you can start receiving payments without a registered business, and its home page asks for your BVN and/or NIN, plus CAC documents once you are registered. Payment links cover cards, USSD and bank transfer, and customers who pay into a Squad virtual account cost you only 0.25%, or ₦125 on ₦50,000.
One thing to check on your first sale: HabariPay’s terms, which govern Squad, mention ₦50 on top of the 1.2% in one place, and the pricing page does not. That would make ₦650, still the lowest.
Squad lists a WooCommerce plugin, but we saw no Shopify option on its site. A Shopify store should use Paystack instead, whose help pages cover the setup. Flutterwave’s integrations page lists Shopify too. Once the checkout works, where to find the customers is covered under advertising platforms in Nigeria.
A freelancer: Paystack
The appeal is paperwork. A Paystack Starter account asks for a government ID, your BVN, a personal bank account and your contact details, all in one matching name. There is no CAC requirement. The catches are a ₦8,000,000 collection limit, after which payments stop until you upgrade, and no access to Transfers or Terminals.
Foreign clients cost more everywhere. On a ₦50,000 foreign card payment, Paystack’s 3.9% + ₦100 comes to ₦2,050, settled in naira by default. Dollar settlement needs a Zenith Bank domiciliary account. Paystack’s help does not say whether Starter accounts may take foreign cards at all, so ask before you quote a client abroad.
Flutterwave also offers a Starter account and describes it as suitable for a freelancer, but it wants a website or social page, an electricity meter number for your home address, and both BVN and NIN. Its 4.8% plus VAT comes to ₦2,580 on the same payment, and international money settles after five business days. Squad’s foreign rate works in dollars, at $2.50 under $50 and $5 from $50 to $120, which is steep on the smallest invoices.
A larger company: Monnify, with a second gateway
Settlement is the reason. Monnify’s pricing page promises local money the same day by 10pm, weekends and public holidays included, plus up to three on-demand Express Settlements a day. Its FAQ is narrower, giving that to bank transfers and next-day to cards, so get the card position in writing. Paystack, Flutterwave and Interswitch pay on the next working day, and Paystack’s early option, Payout on Demand, costs 1% and releases only 70% of processed money.
Monnify’s rate on transfers is shown as 1.5% capped at ₦2,000 “/ ₦500 FLAT” without saying who gets the flat rate. A company with real volume should ask, because ₦500 beats the percentage on any sale above about ₦33,000. Paystack’s dedicated virtual accounts are another route to cheap transfers, at 1% capped at ₦300.
Keep Paystack or Interswitch alongside for cards, so one outage does not stop your sales. Both mention better rates for volume: Paystack advertises discounts, and Quickteller Business offers custom pricing through sales.
Remita makes sense for a different kind of payer. It carries government collections, charges schools ₦300 per transaction to receive payments and direct debits 1% up to ₦1,000. Its RemitaCenta merchant sign-up asks for your BVN, a passport photograph, a valid ID and address verification, and its FAQ says you can begin without CAC documents. It gives no settlement time on its pricing page, so ask before you commit.
The paperwork for a registered company
Expect to assemble much the same pack for any of them. Paystack’s list for a private company runs to the RC number, Memorandum and Articles, Certificate of Incorporation, TIN, CAC status report, details of a director and of the owners of at least 50%, and proof of address. A business name needs its certificate, BN number and Form CAC BN 1 instead.
Flutterwave adds an operating licence where your trade is regulated, estimated monthly sales, a website showing the business, and an electricity meter number for the people involved. Monnify’s FAQ lists an ID, Certificate of Incorporation, settlement account number and BVN, and its knowledge base goes further for companies, with a settlement account in the company’s exact name and a board resolution. Interswitch’s pricing page lists no documents, so ask at [email protected].
None of the six lists a setup fee. The likelier delay for a registered company is a settlement account in the wrong name: Paystack and Monnify both want the account to match the registered name exactly.
