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Overview

Mavapay allows you to send Nigerian Naira (NGN) to Ghanaian Cedi (GHS) beneficiaries through MTN Mobile Money. This guide walks you through creating a quote, funding it, and tracking payout completion.
GHS payouts currently support MTN beneficiaries only.

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Integration Flow

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Step 1: Create a Quote

Create a quote to lock in the rate and generate a virtual NGN account to fund the transfer.

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Understanding Payment Currency

The paymentCurrency parameter determines what your amount means:
  • paymentCurrency: "NGNKOBO" -> amount is in NGN Kobo (you specify how much Naira to send)
  • paymentCurrency: "GHSPESEWA" -> amount is in GHS Pesewa (you specify how much recipient should receive)

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Option A: Send a Specific NGN Amount

When you want to send exactly NGN 10,000: 
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.mavapay.co/api/v1/quote \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <your-api-key>' \
  --data '{
    "amount": "1000000",
    "sourceCurrency": "NGNKOBO",
    "targetCurrency": "GHSPESEWA",
    "paymentMethod": "BANKTRANSFER",
    "paymentCurrency": "NGNKOBO",
    "autopayout": true,
    "customerInternalFee": "0",
    "skipVirtualAccount": false,
    "beneficiary": {
      "identifierType": "MTN",
      "identifiers": {
        "phoneNumber": "+233999992800",
        "accountName": "Mensah"
      }
    }
  }'

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Option B: Recipient Gets a Specific GHS Amount

When the recipient should receive exactly GHS 10.00: 
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.mavapay.co/api/v1/quote \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <your-api-key>' \
  --data '{
    "amount": "1000",
    "sourceCurrency": "NGNKOBO",
    "targetCurrency": "GHSPESEWA",
    "paymentMethod": "BANKTRANSFER",
    "paymentCurrency": "GHSPESEWA",
    "autopayout": true,
    "customerInternalFee": "0",
    "skipVirtualAccount": false,
    "beneficiary": {
      "identifierType": "MTN",
      "identifiers": {
        "phoneNumber": "+233999992800",
        "accountName": "Mensah"
      }
    }
  }'

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Step 2: Review Quote Response

A successful response returns the quote details and a virtual NGN account to fund: 
{
  "status": "ok",
  "data": {
    "id": "18e2c0f8-a81e-46e1-ad9d-83381b79b62b",
    "sourceCurrency": "NGNKOBO",
    "targetCurrency": "GHSPESEWA",
    "amountInSourceCurrency": 1000000,
    "amountInTargetCurrency": 1000,
    "totalAmountInSourceCurrency": 1000000,
    "hash": "69c3dbce8c054100124b86d1",
    "expiry": "2026-03-25T13:07:50.483Z",
    "ngnBankAccountNumber": "6167623224",
    "ngnAccountName": "Mava Digital Solutions Limited",
    "bankName": "wema",
    "orderId": "38601-7270",
    ...other fields...
  }
}

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Step 3: Fund the Virtual NGN Account

Transfer the exact totalAmountInSourceCurrency (in Kobo) to the ngnBankAccountNumber before quote expiry.
Send the exact amount on the quote. Underpayments and overpayments may delay processing.

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Step 4: Track Payout Status

You’ll receive webhook updates as the payment progresses:
  1. payment.received - NGN funding is confirmed
  2. payment.sent - GHS payout is sent to the MTN beneficiary
You can also query by transaction hash: 
curl --location 'https://api.mavapay.co/api/v1/transaction?hash=<transaction-hash>' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <your-api-key>'

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Beneficiary Format (GHS MTN)

Use the following beneficiary structure for NGN to GHS: 
{
  "beneficiary": {
    "identifierType": "MTN",
    "identifiers": {
      "phoneNumber": "+233999992800",
      "accountName": "Mensah"
    }
  }
}
FieldTypeRequiredDescription
identifierTypestringYesMust be MTN
identifiers.phoneNumberstringYesBeneficiary MTN number in international format (+233...)
identifiers.accountNamestringYesBeneficiary account name

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Important Considerations

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Currency Denominations

All amounts are in the lowest denomination:
  • NGNKOBO: 100 Kobo = NGN 1
  • GHSPESEWA: 100 Pesewa = GHS 1

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Quote Expiration

Quotes expire quickly. Always display expiry time and prompt users to fund immediately.

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Autopayout

Set autopayout: true to process payout automatically after funding confirmation.