Choosing your payment aggregator in Senegal: PayDunya, CinetPay, Paytech, Hub2, InTouch (2026)

A payment aggregator lets you collect Wave, Orange Money, Free Money and card with a single integration and a single contract. It is the most profitable shortcut for most Senegalese SMEs: instead of managing five onboardings and five webhook formats, you manage one.

But not all aggregators are equal. They differ on operator coverage, fees, how fast they settle your money, documentation quality, and support availability when a payment gets stuck on a Saturday night. Choosing the wrong one means high fees, slow settlements and unreachable support.

This article compares PayDunya, CinetPay, Paytech, Hub2 and InTouch on concrete criteria, with a decision grid by profile and a worked example. The goal is for you to know exactly what to ask before signing.

What an aggregator really does

An aggregator does three things: it collects the payment via operators and card networks, it notifies you of the result by webhook, and it settles the funds to your account (bank or mobile money) on a schedule. The rest (dashboard, payment links, refund handling) is convenience that varies by provider.

So value is not judged only on advertised fees, but on the full chain: coverage + reliability + settlement time + support.

The criteria that matter

• Coverage: which payment methods are actually supported in Senegal (Wave, Orange Money, Free Money, Visa, Mastercard) and which other countries if you target the sub-region.
• Fees: percentage per transaction, any flat fees, settlement fees, setup fees.
• Settlement time: T+1, T+2, weekly? It directly affects your cash flow.
• API and SDK quality: clear documentation, sandbox, libraries, examples. A major hidden cost in development time.
• Support: responsiveness, channel (email, WhatsApp, phone), ability to unblock an account or transaction fast.
• Compliance and reputation: track record, references, stability.

The players, one by one

PayDunya

A well-established Senegalese aggregator, developer-oriented, with a documented API, a test mode and SDKs. Good local mobile money and card coverage. Praised for integration clarity and local presence, which helps with support and compliance. A solid default for a Senegalese SME that wants to start fast with a local player.

CinetPay

A pan-African player with very broad geographic coverage (many West and Central African countries) and multi-operator support. If your ambition reaches beyond Senegal, CinetPay becomes attractive because it spares you re-integrating one aggregator per country. Decent API and SDK, active developer community.

Paytech

A well-known player in Senegal, often associated with mobile money collection. Solid local coverage. Evaluate it mostly on documentation quality and settlement times, which is the point to verify first before signing.

Hub2

A more infrastructure-oriented aggregator with a modern API, designed for developers and volume. Multi-country and multi-operator coverage. Attractive if you are a technical team that wants a clean API and reliable webhooks, rather than an SME just looking for a payment link.

InTouch

A historical aggregation player in Senegal and West Africa, with a strong presence at physical points of sale and in distribution. Very broad multi-service coverage. Relevant if your business mixes online and physical network, or if you need an integration backed by a very established player.

Fees and settlement times: what to verify

Aggregator fees often stack: a percentage per transaction (typically in a 1.5 to 3.5 percent range depending on the method, with card pricier than mobile money), sometimes a flat fee, and sometimes a settlement fee. Always ask for the all-in cost per payment method, not a single rate.

The settlement time is underestimated. An aggregator that settles at T+1 beats a rival 0.2 points cheaper that pays at T+7, especially if you buy stock weekly. Get this delay in writing.

Decision grid by profile

• Senegalese SME, fast start, local market: PayDunya or Paytech. Local presence, simple integration.
• Sub-regional ambition (several countries): CinetPay or Hub2. One integration, several countries.
• Demanding technical team, high volume: Hub2 for the modern API, or direct operator integration as a complement.
• Mixed online + physical points of sale: InTouch, for its distribution roots.

Do not lock yourself in with a single provider without an exit plan: structure your code behind an abstraction layer so you can switch aggregators without rewriting everything.

Mini case: Fatou, online womenswear

Fatou sells fashion and bills about 800,000 FCFA per month, mostly in mobile money. She had chosen an aggregator at 2.8 percent across all methods with T+7 settlement. Monthly fee cost: about 22,400 FCFA, and tight cash flow because her money arrived a week later.

After comparing, she switches to an aggregator at 2 percent on mobile money (which is 90 percent of her sales) with T+1 settlement. New calculation: 720,000 FCFA in mobile money at 2 percent = 14,400 FCFA, plus 80,000 FCFA in card at 3 percent = 2,400 FCFA. Total: 16,800 FCFA. She saves about 5,600 FCFA per month (67,000 FCFA per year) and, above all, gets her cash six days sooner, letting her restock faster and grow her volume.

FAQ

Which aggregator should I choose to start in Senegal?

For a local market and a fast start, PayDunya or Paytech are good choices thanks to local presence and simple integration. If you target several countries, look at CinetPay or Hub2.

How do I compare fees honestly?

Ask for the all-in cost per payment method, not a single rate: mobile money and card are not priced the same. Add flat and settlement fees, then apply your real sales mix to get your true average cost.

Does settlement time matter?

A lot. T+1 versus T+7 changes your cash flow. For a business that restocks weekly, fast settlement is often worth more than half a point less in fees.

Can I switch aggregators later?

Yes, but it costs development time. Limit the risk by isolating the aggregator behind an abstraction layer in your code from the start, so you can switch without rewriting everything.

Do I need an aggregator if I also sell abroad?

Yes, the aggregator handles the international card for the diaspora, which is hard to do cleanly on your own. Just verify that 3-D Secure and multi-currency are properly supported.

Let's talk about your project. I can compare aggregators on your real numbers (average basket, payment method mix) and integrate the one that maximizes your margin. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.