AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Flutterwave describes its Store as a free online store; you pay only when a customer pays. As at October 2026, Flutterwave's Nigerian pricing page lists 2% per local transaction and 4.8% on international cards, with 7.5% VAT added to the fee, and says local payments settle the next day.
What Flutterwave Store is
Flutterwave is a payments company that lets businesses accept cards, bank transfers, USSD and other methods. Its Store product, which Flutterwave's pricing page describes as a way to "create a free online store that helps you find customers, and accept payments globally", gives a small seller a simple web shop with a link they can share on WhatsApp, Instagram or TikTok. Customers open the link, choose products and pay through Flutterwave's checkout, and the money settles to the seller's account.
It suits sellers who already find customers on social media and want a tidier way to show products and take payment than sending account numbers in chat. It is not a full e-commerce platform with deep inventory, staff accounts and themes; for that, compare dedicated store builders in our guide to Shopify, Bumpa and Selar.
Setting up: the usual steps
Flutterwave's dashboard changes from time to time, so treat this as an outline and follow the screens you see.
- Create a Flutterwave business account and verify your email and phone number.
- Complete business verification (often called KYC or compliance). Expect to give your BVN, a means of ID and, for a registered business, your CAC details. Accounts that are not fully verified can face lower transaction limits; Flutterwave's pricing page confirms limits exist for different account types but does not list them.
- Add the bank account you want settlements paid into. For a registered business, use an account in the business name; our guide to registering a business name with CAC explains the first step.
- Open the Store section, name your store and add products with photos, prices, stock and delivery options.
- Copy your store link and share it in your bio, status updates and broadcast messages.
- Place a small test order yourself so you see exactly what the customer sees and what lands in your account.
Fees as published (as at October 2026)
There is no listed charge for the store itself. You pay a transaction fee on each successful payment, deducted before settlement. Flutterwave's Nigerian pricing page shows:
| Payment type | Published fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Local payments (Mastercard, Visa, bank account, USSD, bank transfer and others) | 2% per transaction | Also shown as 1.4% transaction fee plus 0.6% platform fee |
| International cards (Mastercard, Visa, AMEX, Discover) | 4.8% per transaction | Charged and settled in local currency by default |
| VAT | 7.5% of the fee | Added to the transaction fee, not to the sale price |
The page we read did not show a cap on the local fee. That matters for higher-value orders, because a percentage with no ceiling keeps growing with the basket. Check your dashboard or ask Flutterwave support whether a cap applies to your account before you price expensive items.
Worked example (example figures)
Two orders through a Flutterwave Store at the published local rate:
| Order of ₦20,000 | Order of ₦300,000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee at 2% | ₦400 | ₦6,000 |
| VAT at 7.5% of fee | ₦30 | ₦450 |
| Total deducted | ₦430 | ₦6,450 |
| You receive | ₦19,570 | ₦293,550 |
For comparison, Paystack's Nigerian pricing page (October 2026) lists 1.5% plus ₦100 on local payments, capped at ₦2,000. On the ₦20,000 order that is ₦400 before any VAT; on the ₦300,000 order it reaches the ₦2,000 cap. Paystack's page did not say whether VAT is added on top. The cheaper option depends on your typical order size, so work out both for your own baskets. Our guide to Paystack Storefront covers that product.
Settlement: when the money arrives
Flutterwave's pricing page says "you will receive your money the next day for local payments", while timing for international payments "varies depending on your region". In practice, a sale on Friday evening may not reach your bank until the next working day, so do not plan to restock with money that has not settled.
- Keep a little working capital so a weekend of orders does not leave you unable to buy stock.
- Match each settlement to orders in your dashboard; the payout is net of fees, so it will not equal your sales total.
- Read Flutterwave's terms on refunds and chargebacks: with most gateways a dispute on an old order is recovered from later payouts.
What to check first
- Your verification level and the limits that come with it, before you run a promotion that could push you over them.
- Whether a fee cap applies to your account.
- Who pays the fee: you can absorb it or build it into prices, but adding a surcharge at checkout can confuse buyers.
- Delivery: decide whether the delivery charge is collected through the store or separately, and price it fairly.
Where Pryme fits
If you would rather keep payments and your business account in one place, Pryme's bank-transfer checkout is free, and a Pryme Business Account can hold NGN, USD, GBP and EUR with local account details for each (business multicurrency). Example only: on the ₦300,000 order above, 0.5% would be ₦1,500.
Questions people ask
Is Flutterwave Store free?
Flutterwave describes the Store as free to create. You pay a transaction fee on each successful payment: 2% for local payments and 4.8% for international cards on its Nigerian pricing page as at October 2026, plus 7.5% VAT on the fee.
How long does Flutterwave take to pay into my bank account?
Its pricing page says local payments are paid out the next day. International payment timing varies by region. Weekends and public holidays can push settlement to the next working day.
Do I need CAC registration to use Flutterwave Store?
Flutterwave's pricing page says transaction limits apply to the different types of account, without listing them. The verification options and the documents each one needs are shown in your dashboard; a registered business with CAC documents and a business bank account is the fuller route.
Which is cheaper, Paystack or Flutterwave, for a small shop?
On published Nigerian rates, Paystack charges 1.5% plus ₦100 capped at ₦2,000 and Flutterwave 2% plus VAT on the fee. For a ₦20,000 order the fees are close; for large orders, Paystack's cap makes a bigger difference. Work it out for your own order sizes.
Sources
- Flutterwave: Pricing (Nigeria) · accessed Oct 2026
- Paystack: Pricing (Nigeria) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.