If you sell online in Nigeria, your customers expect to pay with the methods they already trust. Paystack and Flutterwave are two of the most widely used payment gateways, and both offer plugins that work with WooCommerce. Here is how the setup works.
Step 1: Create and verify your gateway account
Sign up with Paystack, Flutterwave or both. Complete the business verification so you can receive live payments. This can take some time, so start early.
Step 2: Install the official plugin
In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins, search for the official Paystack or Flutterwave plugin for WooCommerce and install it. Always use the plugin published by the payment company, and keep it updated.
Step 3: Add your API keys
From your gateway dashboard, copy your test and live keys. Paste them into the plugin settings under WooCommerce, Settings, Payments. Never share your secret key or place it in public code.
Step 4: Set your currency and checkout options
Set your store currency to Nigerian naira, or to the currency you sell in. Choose which payment channels to show, such as cards, bank transfer or USSD, depending on what your gateway offers.
Step 5: Configure the webhook
A webhook lets the gateway tell your store when a payment succeeds, even if the customer closes their browser early. Add the webhook URL shown in the plugin settings to your gateway dashboard so orders update correctly.
Step 6: Test in test mode, then go live
Place test orders using the gateway's test details. Check that the order status changes, the customer gets an email and you can see the payment. Only then switch to live keys and make a small real purchase to confirm.
Common problems
Orders that stay on pending usually mean the webhook is missing or blocked. Payments that fail on live mode often come from using test keys, an unverified account or a currency mismatch. A slow checkout can come from heavy plugins or poor hosting.
Our team builds and tests stores like this every week. See our WooCommerce development service or read whether WooCommerce is right for your store.
