What Nigerian payment startups are exposed to
SIM swap fraud, OTP interception, concurrent disbursement race conditions, and broken object-level authorisation on merchant-facing APIs. The Flutterwave ₦11 billion breach and Interswitch's ₦30 billion loss from transaction glitches are consequences of business logic vulnerabilities that standard automated scans never surface. For a primer on the most common API vulnerability in this space, see BOLA in payment platforms.
Most vulnerabilities live in business logic: partial authorisations, reversal interactions with wallet balances, admin endpoints with weak role checks. The CBN Baseline Standards 2026 add biometric verification, real-time transaction monitoring, and enhanced due diligence requirements. See our CBN compliance guide.
Criteria that matter when choosing a partner
Scope
Any serious penetration test for a Nigerian payment app must cover payment flows (initiation, reversal, partial transactions), authentication chains (OTP bypass, session fixation, token reuse), API boundary enforcement (rate limiting, BOLA/IDOR), and admin tool access controls.
Deliverables
Per-finding severity ratings, proof-of-exploitability, business impact framing, and merge-ready remediation guidance structured for CBN examiners and PCI DSS auditors.
Remediation and retesting
A real partner walks your team through findings, answers developer questions, and retests after fixes are implemented. Any vendor who delivers a PDF and disappears is a vendor, not a partner.
How Simpa Labs' methodology maps to payment apps
Grey-box approach as standard. 30-45 minute scoping call to map architecture, user roles, third-party integrations (Paystack, Flutterwave, BVN/NIN providers), and compliance requirements. Testing starts where it matters: authenticated flows and business logic.
Reports are structured for three audiences: engineering (merge-ready fixes), compliance (CBN/PCI DSS format), and investors (business impact framing). Engagements run 5-10 business days with retesting included. See how a Simpa Labs pentest works for the full walkthrough.
Ready to scope a penetration test for your payment startup?
Book a Scoping CallQuestions to ask before you commit
- What specific user roles and integration points are explicitly in scope?
- Is retesting included after fixes, and how many cycles?
- How is the report structured for CBN or PCI DSS reviewers?
- Who actually conducts the test: the engineer on the scoping call, or a separate team?
- What does remediation support look like after the report is delivered?
Vague answers to any of these are a signal worth taking seriously. For guidance on vetting any provider, see our choosing a pentest company guide.
Judge them on specificity, not sales materials
A partner who knows Nigerian fintech business logic, produces reports your compliance team can use, and stays engaged through remediation will demonstrate that in the first conversation. Book a scoping call, use the questions above, and judge on the depth and specificity of the answers.
Related reading
Blog: How a Simpa Labs pentest works · Penetration testing in Nigeria · Security audit before launch
Guides: How to book a pentest · Pricing guide · Certifications
Services: Penetration testing · For payment gateways and mobile money