Local aggregators PayDunya, IntouchPay and CinetPay actually handle 80% of payment integrations in Senegal. They bundle Wave, OM, Free Money and cards into a single SDK. But their fees, support and reliability differ markedly. Here is the field comparison updated May 2026.
TL;DR
- PayDunya: UEMOA leader, 2.5% fees, official Node.js SDK
- IntouchPay: Senegal focus, fastest activation (3 days)
- CinetPay: best coverage (12 countries), 24/7 support
- Fee gap on XOF 5M/month: XOF 25,000 across the three
- All support Wave + Orange Money + Visa/Mastercard
H2 — The local aggregator market in 2026
Rather than integrating Wave, OM, Free Money and a card PSP separately, aggregators offer one SDK that handles everything. That is what 80% of Senegalese e-merchants pick in 2026.
H3 — Three dominant players
| Aggregator | Origin | 2025 revenue est. | Merchants |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayDunya | Senegal | XOF 50B | 8,000+ |
| IntouchPay | Senegal | XOF 30B | 5,000+ |
| CinetPay | Ivory Coast | XOF 80B | 12,000+ |
H2 — Detailed fee comparison
| Criterion | PayDunya | IntouchPay | CinetPay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile money fees | 2.5% | 3% | 2.5% to 3.5% |
| Local card fees | 2.9% | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| International card fees | 3.8% | 4% | 3.5% to 4.5% |
| Setup fee | None | None | None |
| Monthly fee | None | None | None |
| Bank cash-out | XOF 500 | Free | XOF 250 |
H3 — On XOF 5M collected per month
PayDunya: ~XOF 125,000 in fees. IntouchPay: ~XOF 150,000. CinetPay: ~XOF 150,000. Above XOF 10M/month, all three allow negotiation downward.
H2 — Developer integration quality
| Criterion | PayDunya | IntouchPay | CinetPay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official Node.js SDK | Yes (v3) | No (raw HTTP) | Yes (v2) |
| Official PHP SDK | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| WooCommerce plugin | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shopify plugin | No | No | Yes |
| Documentation | Good | Average | Excellent |
| Sandbox | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Webhooks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
H3 — Stack-based recommendation
- Next.js / Node.js: CinetPay or PayDunya
- Laravel / PHP: all three work, PayDunya is the most mature
- Shopify: CinetPay is the only one with an official plugin
H2 — Support and field reliability
Data from Kolonell merchant feedback 2025-2026:
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- Support response time: CinetPay 24/7 (under 2h), PayDunya 8am-8pm (under 4h), IntouchPay 9am-6pm (under 24h).
- Major 2025 incidents: PayDunya 2 incidents (6h cumulative downtime), IntouchPay 3 (8h), CinetPay 1 (3h).
- Settlement delay: all D+1 business day, sometimes D+2 for CinetPay intl cards.
- Dispute handling: CinetPay most structured (BCEAO mediation).
- Merchant activation: IntouchPay 3-5 days, PayDunya 5-10 days, CinetPay 7-14 days.
H2 — Typical integration steps
- Step 1: create merchant account and submit KYB docs (NINEA, RCCM, manager ID).
- Step 2: fetch sandbox API keys from dashboard.
- Step 3: integrate the SDK or HTTP endpoints into your backend.
- Step 4: test in sandbox with provided test numbers.
- Step 5: go live, verify webhook signature, connect accounting reconciliation.
FAQ
Q: Which one for a starting Dakar e-commerce?
A: PayDunya for SDK maturity and local dev community. If you target UEMOA + CEMAC from day one, CinetPay covers the widest area.
Q: Can you switch aggregator without redoing everything?
A: Hardly. Each aggregator has its own SDK and webhooks. Plan 5 to 8 days of dev to migrate.
Q: Is there risk in depending on a single aggregator?
A: Yes. Best practice: wire two aggregators (one primary, one fallback) above XOF 20M/month.
Q: How long to receive money on the bank account?
A: D+1 business day across the three for mobile money. D+2 to D+3 for international cards. Standard UEMOA bank transfer takes 24h.
Q: Do you need to declare these revenues in XOF?
A: Yes, 18% VAT applies, 30% CIT on net result. Aggregators issue monthly downloadable accounting receipts.
Conclusion
PayDunya, IntouchPay and CinetPay cover the same needs with nuances: PayDunya for Senegal and dev maturity, CinetPay for regional coverage, IntouchPay for fastest setup. Kolonell ships all three depending on the client profile. Free quote or WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.