The verdict in three sentences
The cheapest is almost never the best choice: on 5,000,000 FCFA of monthly volume, the fee gap between aggregators is in 2026 an order of magnitude of 50,000 to 150,000 FCFA/year, often less than the cost of slow settlement or an unusable sandbox. You must score each aggregator on four axes: fees, operator coverage, reliability, developer experience. The right decision weights those axes to YOUR reality, not the brochure's.
The four axes that really matter
An aggregator covering Paystack, MTN MoMo, Airtel and bank transfer saves you integrating four APIs. But if it charges 2.5% where a rival charges 1.8%, and settles at T+7 instead of T+2, the maths change. Here are the 2026 ranges seen across anglophone Africa.
| Criterion | 2026 range | Business impact |
|---|---|---|
| Fee per transaction | 1.5% - 3.0% | Directly on margin |
| Operators covered | 2 to 6 | Customer reach |
| Advertised uptime | 99.5% - 99.95% | Sales lost when down |
| Settlement delay | T+1 to T+7 | Cash flow |
| Sandbox/doc quality | poor to excellent | Integration time |
| Support (response time) | 1h to 72h | Incident resolution |
Weighted scoring grid across 4 profiles
Give each aggregator a mark out of 10 per criterion, then weight. Here is a typical e-commerce weighting applied to four fictional profiles on 5,000,000 FCFA/month.
| Criterion (weight) | Aggr. A | Aggr. B | Aggr. C | Aggr. D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fees (30%) | 6 | 9 | 7 | 5 |
| Coverage (25%) | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| Reliability (25%) | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 |
| Developer experience (20%) | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| Weighted score /10 | 7.45 | 7.55 | 7.60 | 6.55 |
Profiles A, B and C are neck and neck: the final call depends on what hurts you most. If margin is tight, fee weight rises to 40% and B wins. If you sell to the diaspora, coverage dominates and A climbs.
Mini case study
Emeka sells electronics in Lagos, 5,000,000 FCFA/month equivalent. Aggregator at 2.6%: 130,000 FCFA/month in fees, settlement at T+6. He switches to an aggregator at 1.9% with T+2 settlement: fees 95,000 FCFA/month, a 420,000 FCFA annual saving and above all 4 days of cash flow gained each cycle. Migration cost (integration + tests): ~250,000 FCFA one-off. Payback in under 8 months.
FAQ
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Should I always pick the cheapest aggregator?
No: on 5,000,000 FCFA/month the fee gap is roughly 50,000 to 150,000 FCFA/year, often less than the cost of slow settlement or a broken sandbox. Weight all four axes.
How many operators should a good aggregator cover?
In anglophone Africa 2026, aim for at least Paystack-grade cards, MTN MoMo and a third (Airtel or bank transfer). Every missing operator is a slice of customers who can't pay.
Is T+7 settlement a problem?
For tight cash flow, yes: moving from T+7 to T+2 permanently frees 5 days of revenue. On 5,000,000 FCFA/month that's ~830,000 FCFA of cash unlocked.
How do I test sandbox quality before signing?
Integrate an end-to-end test payment in one day. If the docs are vague or the sandbox unstable, real integration will take 3 to 5 times longer.
Can I run several aggregators in parallel?
Yes, and it's recommended above a certain volume: a fallback to a second aggregator avoids lost sales during an outage. Expect extra integration cost but markedly higher reliability.
Let's talk about your project. We evaluate the aggregators that fit your volume and integrate the best one, fallback included. 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.
