How to Accept Payments from Ghanaian Customers in the Diaspora (UK, US, Canada)
How to Accept Payments from Ghanaian Customers in the Diaspora (UK, US, Canada)
A Ghanaian customer in London wants to pay for something from your store. They pull out their UK debit card. What actually happens — whether the payment goes through, how much it costs you, and what they experience — depends entirely on which gateway you’re using and how it handles international cards. Most guides don’t go into this honestly. This one does.
The diaspora market is real and significant. Ghanaians in the UK, US, Canada, and across Europe regularly buy from Ghana-based businesses — food items sent to relatives at home, clothing brands, artisan products, event tickets, and services. The challenge isn’t demand. It’s that paying across that gap involves friction most Ghana-based merchants don’t fully understand until a customer messages to say “my card isn’t working.”
This guide covers what’s actually happening when that message comes in, what your options are as a Ghana-based merchant, and the honest trade-offs of each.
What’s Actually Happening When a Diaspora Customer Can’t Pay
When a Ghanaian customer in the UK tries to pay a Ghana-based merchant, several things can go wrong — and which one it is matters for how you fix it.
The fixes are different for each cause. Most of this guide covers how to ensure (a) and (b) are never the problem — the causes you control. Cause (c) (the customer’s bank blocking the payment) is less common but does happen and is covered in the FAQ. Cause (d) is simply a matter of using the right payment link type for diaspora customers.
Your Four Realistic Options as a Ghana-Based Merchant
Flutterwave is the most comprehensive single option for Ghana-based merchants wanting to serve both local MoMo customers and international card-paying diaspora customers from one account. It accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express from cards issued anywhere in the world — a UK Barclays Visa, a US Chase Mastercard, a Canadian TD Visa all process without any special configuration beyond enabling card payments in your dashboard.
The tradeoff is the fee: 4.8% on international card transactions (increased from 3.8% in late 2024 as Visa/Mastercard raised scheme fees). On a GHS 500 order from a UK customer paying by card, you’re paying roughly GHS 24 in gateway fees. This is the cost of accepting international cards without a local bank in that country.
Paystack does accept international Visa and Mastercard payments for Ghana-registered merchants — a UK or US card can pay through a Paystack checkout. However there are two important constraints specific to Ghanaian merchants:
- You must manually enable international payments in your Paystack dashboard (Settings → Business Settings → International Payments). It’s off by default. Many merchants discover this only when a diaspora customer reports a failed payment.
- Ghanaian businesses settle in GHS only. Unlike Nigerian Paystack merchants who can settle in USD in some configurations, Ghana merchants receive all payments — including those from international cards — settled in Ghanaian Cedis at Paystack’s prevailing exchange rate. You can’t receive GBP or USD directly through a Ghana Paystack account.
Stripe is not available for merchants with a Ghana-registered business. Ghana does not appear on Stripe’s supported countries list, and attempts to open a Stripe account as a Ghana-based merchant will be rejected or closed. This is a hard constraint, not a workaround situation for most small businesses.
The workaround that does exist — and is used by some Ghanaian entrepreneurs — is registering a company in the UK or the US, opening a Stripe account through that entity, and connecting a UK or US bank account to receive payouts. This gives you full Stripe functionality including lower international card fees (typically 1.4% + 20p for European cards in the UK, 2.9% + 30¢ in the US). The practical setup path:
- UK route: Incorporate a UK Limited Company (can be done online as a non-resident, companies like Incorpuk and others facilitate this remotely) → open a UK business bank account (Wise Business or Tide are accessible for non-residents) → open Stripe using the UK entity details
- US route: Register an LLC in Delaware, Wyoming, or New Mexico → obtain an EIN (Employer Identification Number, the US tax ID) → open a US bank account (Relay, Mercury, or similar fintech-friendly banks) → open Stripe using the US entity
This isn’t a gateway integration but it’s worth naming because it’s how a significant portion of diaspora transactions actually happen in practice: the customer sends money via a remittance platform (Sendwave, Wise, WorldRemit) to a Ghana mobile money number or bank account, then messages to confirm payment. It’s manual, but it works, it’s zero-fee on some platforms for the sender, and it’s what your customer may already be doing to send money to family anyway.
The problem is it requires manual payment verification on your end and produces no automated order trigger. For occasional diaspora sales this may be acceptable. For anything at volume, it creates a reconciliation burden and removes all the order automation built in the earlier guides.
Fee Comparison: What a Diaspora Payment Actually Costs
On a hypothetical GHS 800 order from a UK customer paying by Visa card (the most common diaspora payment scenario for Ghana-based merchants):
| Gateway | Fee Rate | Fee on GHS 800 | You Receive | Settlement Currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paystack (Ghana) | ~3.9% + GHS 0.30 | ~GHS 31.50 | ~GHS 768.50 | GHS only |
| Flutterwave (Ghana) | 4.8% | GHS 38.40 | GHS 761.60 | GHS only |
| Stripe via UK entity | ~2.9% + 20p (approx) | ~GBP equivalent of GHS ~25 | Highest net in GBP | GBP (then transfer) |
| Remittance (Sendwave etc.) | 0% gateway fee | GHS 0 | GHS 800 | GHS to MoMo/bank — manual |
What Actually Works by Customer Location
Practical Setup: Enabling Diaspora Payments
If you’re using Paystack
- Log into your Paystack dashboard → Settings → Business Settings
- Find “International Payments” — toggle this on if it isn’t already
- Paystack may ask for additional verification to enable this — complete it
- Test with a non-Ghanaian card (ask a diaspora contact to make a small test payment) before assuming it’s working
- Note: your Payment Links automatically support international cards once this is enabled — no separate link type needed
If you’re using Flutterwave
- Log into your Flutterwave dashboard → Settings → Payment Methods
- Enable “Card Payments” if not already active — and specifically confirm that international cards are included
- Ensure AmEx and Discover are enabled if you have US customers
- Generate a Payment Link for a specific product or a general payment page — this works for diaspora customers without requiring a full website checkout
- Share the payment link via WhatsApp or email — the customer sees a Flutterwave checkout that accepts their UK/US/Canadian card
If you want to pursue Stripe via a UK entity
This requires more investment upfront but makes long-term sense for merchants with significant, consistent diaspora volume:
- Incorporate a UK Limited Company (non-residents can do this online — costs approximately £12 with Companies House directly, or through a service that assists with the process)
- Open a UK business bank account — Wise Business and Tide are accessible to non-UK-resident directors
- Apply for Stripe using your UK company registration details and UK bank account
- Use this Stripe account for international card payments; keep your Paystack/Flutterwave account for local Ghanaian MoMo customers
- Transfer GBP earnings from UK account to Ghana periodically via Wise or a similar transfer service
What to Tell Diaspora Customers at the Point of Payment
Diaspora customers often try to pay and don’t know what to do when something goes wrong. Setting expectations upfront reduces “my payment isn’t working” messages significantly:
Common Mistakes When Serving Diaspora Customers
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a diaspora customer pay in GBP or USD, or does it have to be GHS?
From the customer’s perspective, they’re paying in their local currency — their UK bank converts GBP to GHS and sends the payment in cedis to Flutterwave or Paystack. From your perspective as a Ghana-registered merchant, you receive GHS regardless. The customer sees a GBP charge on their statement; you receive the GHS equivalent. There’s no way to invoice directly in GBP or USD and receive GBP or USD through a Ghana Paystack or Flutterwave account — that requires a UK or US entity as described above.
Will a UK customer’s Revolut or Monzo card work?
Generally yes — Revolut and Monzo issue standard Visa or Mastercard cards that process through the same networks as traditional bank cards. The caveat is that Revolut and Monzo both have fraud-detection systems that occasionally flag international payments to African merchants. If a customer’s Revolut card declines, suggest they try their traditional bank card or temporarily raise their Revolut spending limit for international transactions in the Revolut app.
What about PayPal — many diaspora customers use it?
PayPal is not natively available to Ghana-based merchants as a receiving account. Ghana is not on PayPal’s list of countries where business accounts can receive payments. Some merchants attempt to use PayPal accounts registered to other countries (using the entity route similar to Stripe), but this sits in a grey area of PayPal’s terms of service. For diaspora customers who strongly prefer PayPal, the practical workaround is to receive payment to a Payoneer account (which can receive PayPal Business Payments) and then transfer to Ghana — adding steps and fees. Flutterwave or Paystack with international cards enabled is the cleaner path for the same customer if they have a card.
How does the Flutterwave + WooCommerce setup handle diaspora payments?
The Flutterwave WooCommerce plugin (covered in the WooCommerce plugins guide) automatically shows the card payment option at checkout when international cards are enabled in your Flutterwave account. A diaspora customer visiting your WooCommerce store sees the same Flutterwave checkout as a local customer — they simply select “Card” instead of “Mobile Money” and pay with their UK/US/Canadian Visa or Mastercard. The WooCommerce order updates to “Processing” once payment succeeds, and the webhook automation from the order management guide picks up from there identically to a local payment.
The Practical Starting Point
For most Ghana-based merchants, the right starting point is straightforward: use Flutterwave as the primary gateway (accepting both local MoMo and international cards from one account), enable international card payments in the settings, test with a diaspora contact before announcing it, and be transparent with customers about the GHS pricing and international card requirement. That covers the UK, US, and Canadian diaspora market without any additional entity setup.
Revisit the Stripe-via-UK-entity route when diaspora volume is consistent enough that the fee savings — roughly 2% per transaction compared to Flutterwave — justify the setup effort and ongoing UK company compliance costs. For most merchants, that threshold is meaningful monthly diaspora revenue, not occasional orders.
More at OurInternetBusiness.com
Practical guides on payments, automation, and growing income from Ghana and across Africa. Visit OurInternetBusiness.com and bookmark it.
