Docs
Payment methods
The customer picks the method. Steadi Pay picks the provider and can fail over if that provider confirms a failure.
What the customer can choose
| Method | What they do | Typical provider |
|---|---|---|
| Airtel Money | Approve a push prompt, or pay a reference | Airtel Money Malawi, or a licensed gateway |
| TNM Mpamba | Approve a prompt or pay a reference | A licensed gateway that supports it |
| Card | Pay on the bank hosted page | Standard Bank N-Genius |
| Bank | Pick their bank, then follow the on-screen steps with an account number and the exact amount | The healthy gateway that supports it |
Prefixes 99, 98 and 97 are treated as Airtel. 88, 89 and 87 are TNM. You can pass customer_msisdn on the session so checkout can pre-fill the number.
What the customer sees
The page only shows the steps for what they chose. Choosing Bank shows the list of banks. Choosing Airtel Money or TNM Mpamba and then paying with a number shows only that wallet's steps. A number is valid for a limited time and the page counts down.
When the payment succeeds, the page shows the receipt for five seconds and then takes the customer back to your return_url. There is a Return now button to skip the wait.
Cards
Cards never touch Steadi Pay servers. The customer leaves for the bank's hosted page (N-Genius), then comes back to Steadi Pay. Do not collect PAN, CVV, expiry or PIN in your app or in ours.
If the bank declines the card, or 3-D Secure does not pass, the payment fails straight away and the checkout page says so. No money is taken. To let the customer try again, create a new checkout session with a new merchant reference.
Routing
Steadi Pay uses provider health and cost rank. It will not retry on a second provider unless the first one confirmed a failure. Configure where money lands under Receive money.