Product Highlights

Direct Charge

The Direct Charge is a WhatsApp payment API that enables fintechs and developers to programmatically initiate one-time or recurring debit requests from a customer’s linked bank account via WhatsApp. Once authorized by the customer, funds are instantly settled into a virtual account on your platform. The API supports idempotency keys, recurring fund requests, and webhook notifications for transaction status, ensuring reliable integration into your applications.

How it works:

• Checking User's Status: Partners should check if a phone number is linked to an Owo account and retrieve its status. This should always be the first step before initiating any action.

• Beneficiary Linking: Partners initiate a trusted link to existing or new users' Owo accounts and their platform. Once established, this link becomes the secure bridge for all future funding requests.

• Fund Request Initiation: Partners can programmatically trigger one-time (e.g., utility bills, e-commerce payments) or recurring debit requests (e.g., subscriptions, savings top-ups) via a single Fund Request API. Each request launches an interactive WhatsApp flow to get users’ explicit authorisation.

• Seamless WhatsApp Integration: Users authorise payments directly within WhatsApp using an interactive flow and a passcode for secure transactions, leveraging a platform they are already familiar with.

• Transparency & Control: Users can approve, decline, or manage their payment schedules directly from WhatsApp. They have full control of their payment plans. They can also initiate payments to businesses and can pause, resume, or cancel payments, ensuring trust and transparency.

• Real-Time Settlement: Once approved, funds are instantly transferred into your virtual account. Partners can query requests and track schedules via APIs with webhook notifications.

How to enable this feature:

1.  Log in to your Mono dashboard.

2.  Navigate to Payment Methods on your already created Payments app and toggle on Pay with Phone Number.

3. Enable the Direct Charge feature and configure your API credentials and webhook endpoint.

Once enabled, partners can check user status, initiate beneficiary linking and fund requests, and users will receive WhatsApp prompts to authorise transactions. Partners can manage this feature anytime via the dashboard.

Benefits:

• Enhanced User Experience: By embedding payments within WhatsApp, users enjoy a familiar, convenient, and conversion-friendly process, reducing friction and improving engagement.

• Increased Transaction Success: Explicit user authorization and real-time notifications minimise failed transactions, ensuring higher completion rates for one-time and recurring payments.

• Higher Customer Retention: The user-in-control model builds trust, fostering long-term relationships and increasing lifetime value (LTV) for partners.

API Documentation

The Direct Charge is a WhatsApp payment API that enables fintechs and developers to programmatically initiate one-time or recurring debit requests from a customer’s linked bank account via WhatsApp. Once authorized by the customer, funds are instantly settled into a virtual account on your platform. The API supports idempotency keys, recurring fund requests, and webhook notifications for transaction status, ensuring reliable integration into your applications.

https://docs.mono.co/docs/whatsapp-payment/overview

Mono API

Updated data status for Mono Connect: Goes Live September 15, 2025

We’re updating our 'data_status' logic and webhook metadata to provide clearer insights into sync outcomes, under Mono Connect. These changes will take effect on September 15, 2025.

1. Data Status ('data_status') Updates

• PARTIAL (New): Only one of 'balance' or 'transactions' was successfully retrieved.

• UNAVAILABLE (New): Neither 'balance' nor 'transactions' were retrieved due to bank-related issues or absence of data from the user’s bank account.

• FAILED (Updated): Neither 'balance' nor 'transactions' were retrieved due to an issue from Mono (e.g., a system error on our end). Previously, 'FAILED' could also include issues from the bank.

2. Webhook & API Metadata

a) New field: 'retrieved_data' — shows what was successfully fetched: ["balance"], ["transactions"], or both, in the Account Details endpoint and Account Updated event (mono.events.account_updated) responses.

b) New field: 'has_new_data' — a boolean indicating if new data was found during sync, in the account updated webhook event (mono.events.account_updated).

c) Updated behavior: 'X-HAS-NEW-DATA' The header is now only sent when new data is available.

Action Required

• Update your logic to account for 'PARTIAL' and 'UNAVAILABLE' statuses.

• Leverage 'retrieved_data' and 'has_new_data' to enhance how you process sync results.

• Adjust webhook processing to align with the updated payload and headers.

You can check the resources below for more information about these updates.

• Mono Connect New Data Statuses

• Real-time Sync Updates

Updates to the inflow/outflow endpoints

The inflow/outflow endpoint URL under Mono Connect was upgraded to v2, with the endpoint response as well. Here’s what has changed:

a. Updated API Route for the Credit endpoint:

• From:/accounts/{id}/credits

• To:/v2/accounts/{id}/credits

b. Updated API Route for the Debit endpoint:

• From:/accounts/{id}/debits

• To:/v2/accounts/{id}/debits

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