WebPay (In-House Payments Platform)

The goal of the WebPay project is to establish a robust, secure, and scalable in-house digital payment gateway that enables both Access Bank customers and non-customers to seamlessly make and receive payments across websites, mobile apps, and e-commerce platforms. The solution provides standardized APIs, SDKs, and integration toolkits to simplify onboarding for merchants and developers, while ensuring cost-effective and convenient payment acceptance.

WebPay is designed to increase revenue acquisition, support merchant growth, and expand the bank’s presence in the digital commerce ecosystem by offering a one-stop platform for collections and payouts. Additionally, the project enhances the bank’s digital payment channel offerings, supports new customer acquisition, and ensures safe, compliant, and secure processing of both local and international transactions.

The implementation of WebPay has delivered significant business, operational, and strategic impact. The migration from a vendor-based gateway to an internally developed platform resulted in annual cost savings of approximately GHS 1.5M–2.0M in licensing and maintenance fees. WebPay enabled growth in digital payment acquisition, with increased onboarding of SMEs and corporate merchants utilizing the platform for online collections and payouts.
Transaction processing efficiency and reliability improved, supported by real-time settlement integration with the Flexcube core banking system. Merchant onboarding timelines were reduced from weeks to days, due to standardized APIs, SDKs, and sandbox testing environments. The platform also strengthened Access Bank’s competitive positioning in the digital commerce ecosystem and opened new streams for customer acquisition, deposit growth, and payment revenue generation. Additionally, the solution is now positioned for scalable deployment across other Access Bank subsidiaries in Africa

WebPay is deployed using a three-tier architecture consisting of application, security, and core banking integration layers. The web application is hosted on a hardened application server located in the DMZ, with secure communication enforced via HTTPS/TLS. A Web Application Firewall (WAF) provides protection against DDoS, SQL injection, and intrusion attempts.

The system integrates directly with Flexcube Core Banking (FCUBS) for real-time posting and account settlement, and connects to both card networks (VISA/Mastercard) and mobile money gateways through secure API endpoints. Settlement services run as scheduled server tasks that interact with the Bank’s internal API Gateway.

Primary Components Used:

• Application Server: WebServer hosted in the DMZ

• Database: Oracle / FCUBS Core Banking Database

• API & Integration Layer: Bank API Gateway, Middleware Services

• Security: Web Application Firewall (WAF), 3D Secure Authentication, 2FA

• External Interfaces: VISA Card Gateway, Telco Mobile Money Gateway

• Network & Hosting: On-premise infrastructure with firewall segmentation and failover support

This stack ensures secure, high-availability processing of both local and international payments across multiple channels.

The development and rollout of WebPay required overcoming several significant technical and operational challenges. Transitioning from a vendor-managed gateway to a fully in-house solution meant building the platform from the ground up, including payment processing logic, merchant onboarding workflows, security controls, reconciliation processes, and settlement automation. Ensuring real-time integration with the Flexcube Core Banking System required deep coordination with multiple internal teams and careful handling of core transaction posting formats and workflows.

A major challenge was implementing secure and compliant connectivity with external payment networks, including VISA card schemes and mobile money operators, each with distinct API standards, encryption requirements, and certification procedures. The project also required designing a high-availability architecture within the bank’s DMZ environment, implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF), and enforcing 3D Secure authentication to mitigate fraud and cyber risk.

Extensive end-to-end testing, including stress testing for high transaction volumes, was conducted to avoid service disruption at launch. Additionally, change management and internal capacity building were essential, as the platform shifted responsibility from external vendors to internal engineering teams. Despite these complexities, the project was successfully delivered with approximately 7,800 man-hours of coordinated effort across software engineering, QA, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and business units.

WebPay is a secure, scalable, and fully in-house digital payment gateway developed to support online collections and payouts for individuals, SMEs, corporates, and public sector organizations. The platform enables both Access Bank customers and non-customers to make and receive payments seamlessly through websites, mobile applications, USSD channels, and e-commerce platforms, without the need to visit a branch.

The project was initiated to address the limitations of the bank’s previous vendor-managed payment gateway, which presented high licensing costs, slow change turnaround times, integration difficulties for merchants, and limited customization capabilities. By transitioning to an internally developed platform, the bank gained full control of the technology roadmap, improved operational flexibility, and reduced external dependency and recurring annual maintenance costs.

WebPay is built using a three-tier architecture, hosted in a secure DMZ environment, and integrates with the Flexcube Core Banking System (FCUBS) for real-time account posting and automated settlement. The platform also connects to VISA card payment networks and mobile money operators through secure API interfaces. A Web Application Firewall and 3D Secure authentication ensure compliance, fraud prevention, and end-to-end transaction protection.

The platform provides developer-friendly integration through APIs, SDKs, sandbox environments, and standardized onboarding documentation, enabling merchants to integrate quickly and at lower cost. Built-in maker-checker functionality, merchant dashboards, payment analytics, and automated reconciliation support operational efficiency and transparency for business users.

A dedicated settlement service automates merchant account settlements, reducing manual effort and improving payment turnaround times. This enhances trust and reliability for businesses that rely on timely liquidity to manage cash flow and supply chain operations.

By shifting from vendor reliance to a bank-owned innovation, WebPay strengthens Access Bank’s strategic positioning in the digital payments ecosystem, enhances competitiveness against fintechs, and supports the bank’s broader strategy of driving digital-first financial inclusion and corporate electronic transaction growth. The solution is designed with regional scalability, allowing replication across Access Bank subsidiaries in other African markets.

WebPay was initially designed, developed, and deployed in Ghana, where it currently serves SMEs, basic & secondary schools, universities, corporate merchants, and digital commerce platforms nationwide. The solution architecture, integration approach, and merchant onboarding model were deliberately built to be scalable and replicable across other Access Bank subsidiaries within the African region.

Following its successful implementation in Ghana, It has been reviewed for possible extension to subsidiaries in Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Guinea, and Cameroon as part of the Bank’s coordinated digital payments expansion roadmap. The project therefore contributes not only to the national digital payments ecosystem but also supports regional harmonization of payment acceptance capabilities across Access Bank’s multi-country network.
WebPay’s positioning as a Group-ready digital payments infrastructure aligns with Access Bank’s strategic objective of strengthening cross-border interoperability, improving merchant experience across markets, and enabling unified digital financial services at scale across Africa.