Overview

Payfonte provides multiple methods to collect payments from your customers across Africa using our payment orchestration API. Accept all major alternative payment methods (APM) and local payment methods in Africa through a single integration.

Integration Methods

Inline Checkout

Embed on Your PageDisplay a payment form directly on your website without redirecting customers. Best for seamless checkout experiences.

Standard Checkout

Redirect to PayfonteRedirect customers to a Payfonte-hosted payment page. Simplest integration with full payment method support.

Direct Charge

Server-to-ServerInitiate charges directly via API for recurring payments or when you’ve already collected payment details.

Payment Links

No-Code OptionGenerate shareable payment URLs from the dashboard. Perfect for invoices, social media, and email campaigns.

Quick Comparison

Method	Integration Effort	Customer Experience	Use Case
Standard	Low	Redirect to hosted page	Most merchants
Inline	Medium	Embedded on your site	Seamless UX
Direct Charge	High	No UI (server-side)	Recurring, saved cards
Payment Links	None	Click link to pay	Invoices, ad-hoc

Payment Flow Overview

Supported Alternative Payment Methods (APM)

Region	Mobile Money API	Bank Transfer	Cards
Nigeria	MTN MoMo API, Airtel, Opay, PalmPay	✅ Yes	Via partner
Ghana	MTN MoMo API, AirtelTigo, Telecel	Coming soon	Via partner
Kenya	M-Pesa API	✅ Yes	Via partner
Tanzania	M-Pesa API, Airtel Money API, Halopesa, Tigo	Coming soon	-
West Africa (CFA)	Orange Money, MTN, Wave Money integration, Moov	-	-

See Supported Providers for the complete list of local payment methods in Africa.

Basic Collection Request

Here’s a minimal example to create a checkout session:

curl --location 'https://sandbox-api.payfonte.com/payments/v1/checkouts' \
  --header 'client-id: YOUR_CLIENT_ID' \
  --header 'client-secret: YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "reference": "ORDER-001",
    "amount": 5000,
    "currency": "NGN",
    "country": "NG",
    "redirectURL": "https://yoursite.com/payment/complete",
    "webhook": "https://yoursite.com/webhooks/payfonte",
    "user": {
      "email": "customer@example.com",
      "phoneNumber": "08012345678"
    }
  }'

Required Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
`reference`	string	Your unique order/transaction identifier
`amount`	integer	Payment amount in minor units (see Amount Specification)
`currency`	string	ISO currency code (NGN, KES, GHS, XOF, etc.)
`country`	string	ISO country code (NG, KE, GH, etc.)
`redirectURL`	string	URL to redirect customer after payment

Optional Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
`webhook`	string	URL for payment notifications
`user.email`	string	Customer email address
`user.phoneNumber`	string	Customer phone number
`metadata`	object	Custom data to attach to transaction

Status values

Collection status values from API responses:

pending
failed - final
success - final

Handling Webhooks

We send webhook notifications for payment status changes. Always implement webhook handling for production:

app.post('/webhooks/payfonte', (req, res) => {
  const event = req.body;

  switch (event.event) {
    case 'payment.completed':
      // Payment successful - fulfill order
      fulfillOrder(event.data.reference);
      break;
    case 'payment.failed':
      // Payment failed - notify customer
      notifyCustomer(event.data.reference);
      break;
  }

  res.status(200).send('OK');
});

See Webhooks for complete documentation.

Best Practices

Always Use Unique References

Generate unique reference values for each transaction. This prevents duplicate charges and simplifies reconciliation.

Implement Idempotency

Your system should handle webhook retries gracefully. Check if an order is already fulfilled before processing.

Verify Transaction Status

After receiving a webhook, verify the transaction status via API before fulfilling orders.

Handle Timeouts Gracefully

Some payment methods (like USSD) take time to complete. Show appropriate waiting states to customers.

Next Steps

Inline Checkout

Embed payments on your site

Standard Checkout

Redirect-based integration

Webhook Setup

Handle payment notifications

API Reference

Full API documentation

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Providers & Coverage

Development

Collect Payment

Disbursements

Integration Methods

Inline Checkout

Standard Checkout

Direct Charge

Payment Links

Quick Comparison

Payment Flow Overview

Supported Alternative Payment Methods (APM)

Basic Collection Request

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

Status values

Handling Webhooks

Best Practices

Next Steps

Inline Checkout

Standard Checkout

Webhook Setup

API Reference

​Integration Methods

Inline Checkout

Standard Checkout

Direct Charge

Payment Links

​Quick Comparison

​Payment Flow Overview

​Supported Alternative Payment Methods (APM)

​Basic Collection Request

​Required Parameters

​Optional Parameters

​Status values

​Handling Webhooks

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Inline Checkout

Standard Checkout

Webhook Setup

API Reference

Integration Methods

Quick Comparison

Payment Flow Overview

Supported Alternative Payment Methods (APM)

Basic Collection Request

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

Status values

Handling Webhooks

Best Practices

Next Steps