HivePay
Architecture & Process

How HivePay Works

A developer-first overview of the transaction lifecycle from customer initiation to bank settlement.

01

Merchant Account & Virtual Ledger Setup

Upon signing up, each business is assigned a unique formatted Account Number (e.g. HP2609562857) linked to an isolated virtual wallet. You receive an API Key and Webhook Secret to authenticate your integrations.

Account: HP2609562857 | Currency: UGX | Security: 2FA + Withdraw PIN Active
02

Customer Payment Initiation

Your website or app triggers a payment request with the customer's phone number and the amount. HivePay connects directly to the carrier network (MTN or Airtel) and issues a live USSD prompt to the customer's device.

Carrier: MTN Uganda | USSD Push: Delivered in 800ms | Prompt: "Enter PIN to approve UGX 50,000"
03

Instant Settlement & Ledger Credit

Once the customer enters their PIN, the telecom provider confirms the transaction. HivePay deducts the standard network processing fee (3%) and instantly credits the net funds to your merchant virtual wallet.

Collected: UGX 50,000 | Network Fee (3%): UGX 1,500 | Net Credited: +UGX 48,500
04

Signed Webhook Delivery & Order Fulfillment

HivePay dispatches an HMAC-SHA256 signed HTTP POST notification to your server. Your backend verifies the signature, fulfills the digital order, and returns a 200 OK. No continuous polling required!

Webhook: POST /webhook/hivepay | Signature: Verified (HMAC-SHA256) | Order: Marked Paid

Ready to connect your application?

Explore our step-by-step developer guides with interactive multi-language code snippets.

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