ShegerPay vs AddisPay: Non-Custodial Verification vs Custodial Gateway (2026)
Quick Answer: AddisPay is an Ethiopian custodial payment gateway that aggregates payment methods behind a hosted checkout — it collects funds, holds them under its license, and settles to merchants with per-transaction fees. ShegerPay is a non-custodial verification API: your customers pay your own bank or Telebirr account directly, and ShegerPay proves it happened in seconds. Choose ShegerPay for rail-direct settlement, flat monthly pricing, and developer-first tooling; choose AddisPay for an aggregator-run custodial checkout.
The core difference
AddisPay follows the aggregator model: one integration, many payment methods, with AddisPay in the money flow. That's convenient, but it means settlement schedules, per-transaction pricing, and a third party between you and your revenue.
ShegerPay removes the middleman instead of becoming one. Ethiopian customers overwhelmingly pay by direct CBE transfer, Telebirr, or their bank's app. ShegerPay verifies those payments against official sources — transaction reference, amount, sender — in under two seconds, with OCR receipt screenshots as a universal fallback, then fires an HMAC-signed webhook. The money is already in your account by the time the webhook lands, because it never left the bank rail.
Feature comparison
| Feature | ShegerPay | AddisPay |
|---|---|---|
| Custody model | Non-custodial | Custodial |
| Settlement speed | Instant (rail-direct) | Per payout schedule |
| Pricing model | Flat $9–$29/mo | Per-transaction fees |
| Ethiopian rails verified | CBE, Telebirr, BOA, Awash, Dashen, eBirr, M-Pesa | Gateway-supported methods |
| PayPal verification | Yes | No |
| OCR receipt verification | Yes | No |
| Hosted checkout | Payment links with QR | Yes |
| Webhooks | HMAC-SHA256 signed | Basic callbacks |
| SDKs | 12 official | Limited |
| MCP server (Claude/Cursor) | Yes | No |
| Demo key (no signup) | sk_test_demo | No |
| Free tier | 100 verifications/mo | — |
Competitor details reflect publicly available information as of mid-2026 — confirm current terms on addispay.et.
When ShegerPay is the right choice
You want funds in your own account immediately, with zero counterparty exposure. Your margin can't absorb a percentage of every sale. You need verification on rails beyond a typical gateway's list — BOA, Awash, Dashen, eBirr — or PayPal for diaspora customers. Your team wants real developer tooling: REST API and 12 SDKs, signed webhooks, payment links, and a sandbox that works with sk_test_demo before any signup.
When AddisPay is the right choice
You want one custodial provider to own the full checkout and are comfortable trading per-transaction fees and settlement schedules for that convenience — especially if card-style hosted checkout is central to your flow.
Migrating from AddisPay to ShegerPay
Add "Pay by bank transfer / Telebirr" with your own account details or a ShegerPay payment link, verify via API, and keep the gateway running in parallel during transition. Most merchants find the direct-payment option quickly becomes the majority of volume because it's what customers already do — now with automated proof.
FAQ
Is ShegerPay cheaper than AddisPay? Usually, yes. Flat $9–$29/month with unlimited-percentage-free verification beats per-transaction fees once volume is meaningful, and costs stay predictable.
Does ShegerPay touch my money? No. ShegerPay is non-custodial — it verifies payments that settled directly on the bank or mobile-money rail into your account.
Do I need a license to use ShegerPay? No. You're not transmitting money; customers pay your existing accounts.
Can ShegerPay verify screenshot receipts? Yes. OCR verification reads CBE, Telebirr, BOA, Dashen, and other Ethiopian receipts automatically.
How do I evaluate it quickly?
Use the demo key sk_test_demo against the sandbox — every endpoint works without creating an account.
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