African Fintech Encyclopedia
This encyclopedia covers the African fintech ecosystem — payment gateways, mobile money operators, central bank regulations, fee structures, settlement timelines, and the business processes that nobody has documented well.
This is the resource we wish existed when we were building Zirzir. We’re building it in public. Contributions welcome.
Why This Exists
Section titled “Why This Exists”When you’re integrating with an African payment gateway, the official docs tell you the API. They don’t tell you:
- That the sandbox returns 200 even when it fails
- That settlement takes 3 days, not 1
- That you need to call a specific person at Ethio Telecom to unblock your merchant account
- That certain fee structures are negotiable after you hit a volume threshold
- What “T+1 settlement” actually means in practice vs. on paper
This encyclopedia is for developers and finance teams who need the real picture, not just the marketing page.
Coverage
Section titled “Coverage”Ethiopia
Section titled “Ethiopia”- Telebirr
- Chapa
- National Bank of Ethiopia — Payment Regulations
- CBEBirr (coming soon)
- Santim Pay (coming soon)
- Awash Bank (coming soon)
- EthSwitch (coming soon)
- M-Pesa (Safaricom)
- Airtel Money (coming soon)
- PesaLink (coming soon)
- Central Bank of Kenya Regulations (coming soon)
Nigeria (coming soon)
Section titled “Nigeria (coming soon)”- Paystack
- Flutterwave
- Moniepoint
- Interswitch
- OPay
- CBN Regulations
Ghana (coming soon)
Section titled “Ghana (coming soon)”- MTN Mobile Money
- Vodafone Cash
- AirtelTigo Money
- GHIPSS
Tanzania (coming soon)
Section titled “Tanzania (coming soon)”- M-Pesa Tanzania
- Airtel Money Tanzania
How to Read These Pages
Section titled “How to Read These Pages”Each provider page covers:
- Business overview — who they are, market position, ownership
- Fee structure — what merchants actually pay, tier breaks, hidden costs
- Settlement — real-world timelines, not the advertised ones
- Integration — API quality, sandbox reliability, support responsiveness
- Regulation — relevant licenses and compliance requirements
- Common issues — the things that will bite you
- Contacts — who to call when things break
Contribute
Section titled “Contribute”Found something wrong? Know something we don’t? The encyclopedia is open for contributions.
Disclaimer
Section titled “Disclaimer”This encyclopedia is maintained by the Zirzir community. Fee structures, regulations, and operational details change. Always verify critical financial information directly with the provider before making business decisions. This is not legal or financial advice.