“Can a Nigerian payment gateway become the operating system for African commerce end-to-end, from checkout to storefront?”
Payaza launched in 2022 as a Nigerian payment gateway serving pan-African merchants across cards, mobile money, bank transfers, and virtual accounts. The company has built financial credibility through the Nigerian commercial paper market rather than dilutive equity, raising over ₦70bn across six CP series. In 2026, Payaza expanded beyond payments infrastructure into a full merchant operating layer with Shopaza (e-commerce storefronts) and ChatPay (social commerce), positioning itself as an operating system for African businesses selling locally and to the diaspora.
Payaza discloses Payaza (in-house) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Payaza does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Payaza (in-house).
Payaza processes payments through Payaza (self-operated).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 2 layers in Payaza's stack: Payments / PSP (Payaza (self-operated)); Banking / BaaS (Payaza (in-house)).
Payaza was founded by Seyi Ebenezer and is founded in 2022, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria (with New York, US presence).
Payaza has raised $92.3M in total.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Payaza and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.