Paystack

Connect Paystack to accept payments in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and more across Africa.

Paystack is a payment gateway focused on African markets — subscribers can pay via card, bank transfer, USSD, and mobile money depending on their country.

At a glance

Feature	Support
Countries	7 African markets
Recurring billing	✅ Yes (requires Subscriptions enabled on your Paystack account)
Product sync required	❌ No
Modes	Live / Test
Supported currencies	NGN, GHS, ZAR, KES, USD

What you'll need

A verified Paystack merchant account.
Your Public Key (starts with pk_test_ or pk_live_).
Your Secret Key (starts with sk_test_ or sk_live_).
Subscriptions enabled inside your Paystack Dashboard (if you plan to offer recurring plans).

Setup

Get your Paystack API keys.

Sign in to your Paystack Dashboard.
Go to Settings → API Keys & Webhooks.
Copy your Public Key and Secret Key for the appropriate environment (Test or Live). Click Show on the Secret Key if hidden.

Enable Subscriptions in Paystack (required for recurring plans).

In the Paystack Dashboard, go to Settings → Preferences.
Turn on Subscriptions.

Without this, Paystack won't execute automatic renewals. One-time plans still work either way, but recurring plans need this flipped on.

Add Paystack in MemberPass.

Go to Payment Methods → Setup a Payment Method.
Pick Paystack.
Select Live (or Test / Sandbox) — the mode must match the keys you copied.

Enter credentials.

API Key — your Paystack Public Key (pk_live_… or pk_test_…). MemberPass validates the prefix matches the mode.
API Secret — your Paystack Secret Key (sk_live_… or sk_test_…).

Toggle Active, click Save Changes.

Supported currencies

Paystack supports a narrow, regionally-focused set of currencies:

NGN — Nigerian Naira
GHS — Ghanaian Cedi
ZAR — South African Rand
KES — Kenyan Shilling
USD — US Dollar (available for cross-border transactions in supported markets)

Pricing plans in any of these currencies and attaching Paystack means subscribers in the supported markets can pay via locally-preferred methods.

The subscriber experience

Subscriber picks Paystack at checkout.
Redirected to Paystack's hosted checkout page.
Chooses their local payment method (card, bank transfer, USSD, mobile money — options depend on country).
Completes the payment and returns to MemberPass.

For recurring plans, Paystack automatically charges on the next cycle using the payment instrument saved during the first charge.

Frequently asked

Additional resources

Choosing a provider — if you want to compare options.
Payment methods — general setup flow.
Transaction fees — MemberPass's fees on top.

Paystack

Can I support subscribers outside the 7 African markets?

My plan in Ghanaian Cedi (GHS) isn't charging correctly.

The Secret Key looks different from what the docs describe.

I turned on Subscriptions in Paystack but recurring plans still aren't renewing.

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