Integrating Paystack, Stripe, and Crypto Payments in One App

Why Three Payment Providers?

When building SkillFund, I needed to serve three types of users:

• Nigerian users paying in NGN → Paystack
• International users paying in USD → Stripe
• Crypto-first investors paying in USDT → NOWPayments

Each provider has a different API, different webhook format, and different failure modes.

The Abstraction Layer

I built a single PaymentService class that wraps all three providers behind a common interface. Any part of the app calls PaymentService.createPayment() — it doesn't care which provider handles it.

// Every provider returns this same shape
{
  paymentId: string,
  status: 'pending' | 'success' | 'failed',
  amount: number,
  currency: string,
  providerRef: string
}

Webhook Verification

Every provider sends webhooks differently. Paystack uses HMAC-SHA512. Stripe uses a Stripe-Signature header. NOWPayments uses an IPN callback with its own secret.

The key rule: never update payment status without verifying the webhook signature. I've seen apps get exploited by fake webhook payloads.

What I'd Do Differently

Start with one provider and abstract it properly from day one. Adding the second and third providers becomes trivial if your interface is clean.