Payouts API

The Payouts API allows you to send money to mobile money wallets and bank accounts in Ghana.

The Payout Object

{
  "id": "po_abc123def456",
  "object": "payout",
  "amount": 100,
  "currency": "GHS",
  "fee": 1.50,
  "status": "completed",
  "destination": {
    "type": "mobile_money",
    "provider": "mtn",
    "number": "024****567",
    "name": "John Doe"
  },
  "description": "Salary payment",
  "metadata": {
    "employee_id": "123"
  },
  "provider_reference": "OP123456789",
  "failure_reason": null,
  "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
  "completed_at": "2024-01-15T10:00:05Z"
}

Attributes

Attribute	Type	Description
`id`	string	Unique identifier
`object`	string	Always `"payout"`
`amount`	number	Amount in GHS
`currency`	string	Currency code (`GHS`)
`fee`	number	Transaction fee in GHS
`status`	string	`created`, `pending`, `processing`, `succeeded`, `failed`, `cancelled`
`destination`	object	Destination account details
`destination.type`	string	`mobile_money`, `bank_transfer`, or `shika_wallet`
`destination.provider`	string	Provider (e.g., `mtn`, `telecel`, `airteltigo`)
`destination.number`	string	Masked account/phone number or consumer account ID
`destination.name`	string	Recipient name
`description`	string	Payout description
`metadata`	object	Custom metadata
`provider_reference`	string	Provider transaction reference
`failure_reason`	string	Error message if failed
`created_at`	string	Creation timestamp
`completed_at`	string	Completion timestamp

Create a Payout

Sends money to a mobile money wallet or bank account.

POST /v1/payouts

Request Body

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`amount`	number	Yes	Amount in GHS (e.g., `100` for GHS 100.00)
`currency`	string	No	Currency (default: `GHS`)
`destination`	object	Yes	Destination account details
`destination.type`	string	Yes	`mobile_money`, `bank_transfer`, or `shika_wallet`
`destination.phone_number`	string	Yes*	Phone number (for mobile money or shika_wallet lookup)
`destination.provider`	string	No	Provider code (auto-detected from phone)
`destination.account_number`	string	Yes*	Account number (for bank transfer)
`destination.bank_code`	string	Yes*	Bank code (for bank transfer)
`destination.account_id`	string	Yes*	Consumer account ID (for shika_wallet, e.g., `acc_xxx`)
`destination.account_name`	string	No	Recipient name
`otp_code`	string	Yes	6-digit OTP code for verification
`description`	string	No	Payout description
`metadata`	object	No	Custom metadata

Before initiating a payout, you must first request an OTP using the OTP API. The OTP is sent to the merchant's registered phone number and must be verified within 10 minutes.

Mobile Money Payout

curl -X POST https://api.shikacreators.com/v1/payouts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "amount": 100,
    "currency": "GHS",
    "destination": {
      "type": "mobile_money",
      "phone_number": "0241234567",
      "account_name": "John Doe"
    },
    "otp_code": "123456",
    "description": "Salary payment",
    "metadata": {
      "employee_id": "123"
    }
  }'

const payout = await shikacreators.payouts.create({
  amount: 100,
  currency: 'GHS',
  destination: {
    type: 'mobile_money',
    phone_number: '0241234567',
    account_name: 'John Doe'
  },
  otp_code: '123456',
  description: 'Salary payment',
  metadata: {
    employee_id: '123'
  }
})

payout = client.payouts.create(
    amount=100,
    currency='GHS',
    destination={
        'type': 'mobile_money',
        'phone_number': '0241234567',
        'account_name': 'John Doe'
    },
    otp_code='123456',
    description='Salary payment',
    metadata={'employee_id': '123'}
)

$payout = $shikacreators->payouts->create([
    'amount' => 100,
    'currency' => 'GHS',
    'destination' => [
        'type' => 'mobile_money',
        'phone_number' => '0241234567',
        'account_name' => 'John Doe'
    ],
    'otp_code' => '123456',
    'description' => 'Salary payment',
    'metadata' => ['employee_id' => '123']
]);

Bank Transfer Payout

curl -X POST https://api.shikacreators.com/v1/payouts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "amount": 500,
    "currency": "GHS",
    "destination": {
      "type": "bank_transfer",
      "account_number": "1234567890",
      "bank_code": "GCB",
      "account_name": "John Doe"
    },
    "otp_code": "123456",
    "description": "Vendor payment"
  }'

const payout = await shikacreators.payouts.create({
  amount: 500,
  currency: 'GHS',
  destination: {
    type: 'bank_transfer',
    account_number: '1234567890',
    bank_code: 'GCB',
    account_name: 'John Doe'
  },
  otp_code: '123456',
  description: 'Vendor payment'
})

payout = client.payouts.create(
    amount=500,
    currency='GHS',
    destination={
        'type': 'bank_transfer',
        'account_number': '1234567890',
        'bank_code': 'GCB',
        'account_name': 'John Doe'
    },
    otp_code='123456',
    description='Vendor payment'
)

Shika Wallet Payout

Send money directly to a consumer's Shika Wallet. This method is instant — no external payment provider is involved.

curl -X POST https://api.shikacreators.com/v1/payouts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "amount": 50,
    "currency": "GHS",
    "destination": {
      "type": "shika_wallet",
      "account_id": "acc_abc123def456"
    },
    "otp_code": "123456",
    "description": "Cashback reward"
  }'

const payout = await shikacreators.payouts.create({
  amount: 50,
  currency: 'GHS',
  destination: {
    type: 'shika_wallet',
    account_id: 'acc_abc123def456'
  },
  otp_code: '123456',
  description: 'Cashback reward'
})

payout = client.payouts.create(
    amount=50,
    currency='GHS',
    destination={
        'type': 'shika_wallet',
        'account_id': 'acc_abc123def456'
    },
    otp_code='123456',
    description='Cashback reward'
)

You can also use phone_number instead of account_id to look up the consumer by their registered phone number.

Shika Wallet payouts are completed instantly. The status will be completed in the response — no need to poll for status updates.

Supported Providers

Mobile Money

Provider	Code	Phone Prefixes
MTN Mobile Money	`mtn`	024, 025, 053, 054, 055, 059
Telecel Cash	`telecel`	020, 050
AirtelTigo Money	`airteltigo`	026, 027, 056, 057

The provider is automatically detected from the phone number. You can optionally specify it explicitly.

Banks

Bank	Code
Ghana Commercial Bank	`GCB`
Ecobank Ghana	`ECO`
Stanbic Bank	`SBG`
Standard Chartered	`SCB`
Absa Bank	`ABSA`
Fidelity Bank	`FBN`
CalBank	`CAL`
Access Bank	`ABG`
UBA Ghana	`UBA`
Zenith Bank	`ZBG`

Contact support for the complete list of supported banks.

Response

{
  "id": "po_abc123def456",
  "object": "payout",
  "amount": 100,
  "currency": "GHS",
  "fee": 1.50,
  "status": "completed",
  "destination": {
    "type": "mobile_money",
    "provider": "mtn",
    "number": "024****567",
    "name": "John Doe"
  },
  "description": "Salary payment",
  "metadata": {
    "employee_id": "123"
  },
  "provider_reference": "OP123456789",
  "failure_reason": null,
  "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
  "completed_at": "2024-01-15T10:00:05Z"
}

Retrieve a Payout

Retrieves a payout by ID.

GET /v1/payouts/:id

curl https://api.shikacreators.com/v1/payouts/po_abc123def456 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..."

const payout = await shikacreators.payouts.retrieve('po_abc123def456')

payout = client.payouts.retrieve('po_abc123def456')

List Payouts

Returns a list of payouts.

GET /v1/payouts

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
`limit`	integer	Number of results (1-100)
`starting_after`	string	Cursor for pagination
`status`	string	Filter by status

curl "https://api.shikacreators.com/v1/payouts?status=succeeded&limit=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..."

const payouts = await shikacreators.payouts.list({
  status: 'succeeded',
  limit: 10
})

payouts = client.payouts.list(status='succeeded', limit=10)

Response

{
  "object": "list",
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "po_abc123def456",
      "object": "payout",
      "amount": 100,
      "status": "succeeded",
      ...
    }
  ],
  "has_more": true,
  "url": "/v1/payouts"
}

Payout Statuses

Status	Description
`created`	Payout has been created
`pending`	Payout is queued for processing
`processing`	Payout is being processed by the provider
`succeeded`	Payout was successful
`failed`	Payout failed
`cancelled`	Payout was cancelled

Error Codes

Code	Description
`insufficient_balance`	Not enough balance in your account
`invalid_destination`	Destination account is invalid
`recipient_unavailable`	Recipient's account is unavailable
`daily_limit_exceeded`	Daily payout limit exceeded
`amount_too_small`	Amount below minimum (GHS 1.00)
`amount_too_large`	Amount above maximum
`otp_verification_required`	OTP verification is required
`invalid_phone_number`	Invalid Ghana phone number

Webhook Events

Event	Description
`payout.created`	Payout was created
`payout.pending`	Payout is pending processing
`payout.completed`	Payout was successful
`payout.failed`	Payout failed

app.post('/webhooks', (req, res) => {
  const event = Webhook.constructEvent(req.body, signature, secret)

  switch (event.type) {
    case 'payout.completed':
      const payout = event.data.object
      console.log(`Payout ${payout.id} completed!`)
      break
    case 'payout.failed':
      const failedPayout = event.data.object
      console.log(`Payout failed: ${failedPayout.failure_reason}`)
      break
  }

  res.json({ received: true })
})

OTP Verification Flow

Payouts require OTP verification for security. Here's the complete flow:

Step 1: Request OTP

curl -X POST https://api.shikacreators.com/v1/otp/request \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "purpose": "PAYOUT"
  }'

Step 2: Verify OTP

curl -X POST https://api.shikacreators.com/v1/otp/verify \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "code": "123456",
    "purpose": "PAYOUT"
  }'

Step 3: Create Payout

Use the verified OTP code when creating the payout:

curl -X POST https://api.shikacreators.com/v1/payouts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "amount": 100,
    "destination": {
      "type": "mobile_money",
      "phone_number": "0241234567"
    },
    "otp_code": "123456"
  }'

The OTP is valid for 10 minutes after verification. If expired, you'll need to request a new OTP.

Payouts

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