Blog
Engineering deep-dives, product updates, and thoughts on African fintech.
Introducing Zirzir: The Open-Source Payment Stack for Africa
After years of rebuilding the same payment infrastructure for every African startup, we decided to open-source the entire stack. Here's why.
Why African Payments Are Harder Than You Think
USSD flows, settlement delays, sandbox quirks, and the regulatory maze. A deep dive into the unique challenges of building payment infrastructure on the continent.
Standalone vs Server Mode: Choosing the Right Architecture
When to use the SDK directly and when to deploy the full Zirzir server. A practical guide with real-world trade-offs.
How We Built Webhook Retries That Actually Work
Exponential backoff, deduplication, idempotency keys, and the edge cases that break most webhook engines. Lessons from production.
Integrating Telebirr: USSD Payments in Ethiopia
A practical walkthrough of integrating Ethiopia's largest mobile money platform, including RSA encryption, phone number normalization, and sandbox testing.
The Case for Open-Source Payment Infrastructure
Why we chose the open-core model, how it compares to proprietary alternatives, and why African startups deserve better than vendor lock-in.