Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

What is Nkwa Pay?

Nkwa Pay is a payment infrastructure that allows businesses to integrate mobile money payments (MTN and Orange) into their applications in Cameroon. We provide a unified API for collections (receiving payments) and disbursements (sending payments).

Which mobile operators are supported?

We currently support MTN Mobile Money and Orange Money in Cameroon.

What currencies are supported?

Currently, all transactions are processed in XAF (CFA Franc BEAC), the official currency of Cameroon.

How much does it cost to use Nkwa Pay?

Please contact our sales team at info@mynkwa.com for current pricing information. Our fee structure is typically based on transaction volume and value.

Account & Setup

How do I create a Nkwa Pay account?

Visit pay.mynkwa.com and follow the signup process. Once registered, you’ll have access to our sandbox environment for testing.

What’s the difference between sandbox and production?

The sandbox environment allows you to test your integration without processing real payments. It’s completely isolated from the production environment, which handles actual money transactions with real customers.

What KYC documents are required for a production account?

For businesses, we typically require:

  • Business registration documents
  • Tax identification documents
  • ID of the authorized representative
  • Proof of business address
  • Bank account information

The exact requirements may vary based on your business type and location.

Technical Integration

How do I get started with integration?

  1. Create an account on our platform
  2. Generate API keys in the sandbox environment
  3. Read our implementation guide
  4. Integrate using our API or SDKs
  5. Test thoroughly in the sandbox environment
  6. Complete KYC for production access
  7. Go live!

Which programming languages are supported?

We offer SDKs for:

  • JavaScript/TypeScript
  • PHP
  • Python
  • Java
  • Go

However, you can use any language that can make HTTP requests to integrate with our REST API.

How do I handle webhooks securely?

Ensure your webhook endpoint is publicly accessible, validate the signature in the X-Sig header, and always return a 200 OK response. See our implementation guide for more details.

Troubleshooting

Payment is stuck in pending state

If a payment doesn’t reach its final state from the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) after 15 minutes, it will require manual reconciliation. You’ll continue to see the status as PENDING. Once manually reconciled, it will transition to its final state (SUCCESSFUL or FAILED), and you’ll be notified via your configured webhook URL.

Why was my payment rejected?

Payments can be rejected for several reasons:

  • Insufficient funds in the customer’s mobile money account
  • Customer declined the transaction
  • Invalid phone number format
  • MNO service disruption
  • Daily/monthly transaction limits exceeded
  • Account restrictions or fraud prevention measures

How do I handle network outages?

Our platform automatically monitors MNO availability and suspends routing to operators experiencing issues. You can check the current status using the /availability endpoint and adjust your application behavior accordingly.

What happens if a disbursement fails?

If a disbursement request fails, you will be automatically refunded the full amount (including fees) to your Nkwa Pay account balance.

Security

How are API keys secured?

API keys are encrypted and stored securely. We recommend using environment variables to store your API keys in your application and never hardcoding them or exposing them in client-side code.

Can I restrict API access to specific IP addresses?

Yes, you can configure IP whitelisting in your Nkwa Pay account settings to restrict API access to specific IP addresses for enhanced security.

How do I report a security concern?

Please email info@mynkwa.com immediately with details of your concern. We take security issues very seriously and will investigate promptly.

Still have questions?

If you have questions not covered here, please contact our support team at info@mynkwa.com or use the live chat feature in your Nkwa Pay dashboard.