If you run a business in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, or anywhere else in Africa and you've searched for "best way to send or receive international payments," you've probably landed on Wise or Stripe. Both are excellent products but neither was built with an African-registered business as the primary user.

That's not a knock on either company. It's just the honest starting point for this comparison.

The problem: most tools assume you're registered somewhere else

Here's what usually happens. A business owner in Lagos or Nairobi signs up for Wise, only to find out Wise Business is built for companies registered in places like the UK, the EU, the US, Canada, Singapore, or Australia. If your business is registered in Nigeria, you're not the customer Wise is set up to serve directly.

Stripe has a similar gap. Stripe operates in 46 core countries, and Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Côte d'Ivoire aren't among them. What you actually get in those five markets is Paystack, which Stripe acquired in 2020. Paystack has its own dashboard, its own API, and its own fee structure. It's a strong product, but it's not the same Stripe your friend running a company in Berlin or Austin is using.

So the real question isn't "which of these is better." It's which one was actually built for a business registered where you're registered.

How Onboard, Wise, and Stripe actually compare

Who each product is built for:

• Wise: Businesses registered in the UK, EU, US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and a handful of other markets. Strong for holding and converting 40+ currencies once you qualify.
• Stripe: Businesses registered in one of Stripe's 46 core countries. If you're in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, or Côte d'Ivoire, you're actually on Paystack, a separate platform under the Stripe umbrella.
• Onboard: Built specifically for African businesses to send and receive money globally, without needing a foreign entity or a workaround. You register where your business actually is.

How you can use each one:

• Wise works as a standalone multi-currency account. There's no API or OTC option if your volume grows past what a standard account handles.
• Stripe (and Paystack in African markets) is primarily built for accepting online payments, not for holding balances, paying suppliers, or running FX at volume.
• Onboard gives you three ways in depending on what you need: the Business App for self-serve collections and payouts, an API for fintechs and platforms that want to build Onboard's rails into their own product, and an OTC Desk for businesses trading $50k and above who want locked rates on large trades.

Currency and settlement:

• Wise converts at the mid-market rate plus a transparent fee, and holds 40+ currencies once your account is set up.
• Stripe/Paystack processes payments in a wide range of currencies for accepting online payments, but payout currencies and features vary a lot by market.
• Onboard pays out in NGN, GHS, and KES alongside USD, and lets you collect in USD, GBP, EUR, stablecoins (USDC and USDT), and local currency. You can also swap between stablecoins and cash at OTC-grade rates without needing a separate crypto exchange account.

Stablecoins:

This is one of the clearer differences. Wise and Stripe are built around traditional card and bank rails. Onboard treats stablecoins as core infrastructure, not an add-on, so holding, sending, and converting USDC or USDT is part of the same account you already use for fiat.

Need to see how the API side works in practice? Book a quick call and we'll walk through this with you.

Why this actually matters for your business

If your business is registered abroad and you're moving money between established markets, Wise is a genuinely good option. If you're running an online store and mainly need to accept card payments, Stripe or Paystack does that well.

But if you're an African-registered business trying to pay an overseas supplier, collect from a global marketplace, or give your fintech access to payout rails across the continent, you're often working around tools that weren't built with your setup in mind. That's the gap Onboard is built to close.

Curious what this looks like for your specific business? Book a quick call and we'll walk through which setup, App, API, or OTC Desk, fits what you're trying to do.

If you're still exploring and not ready for a call, you can also join the waitlist and get started with the Business App directly.

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