Knowledge Base
Frequently asked questions
Everything merchants ask us about pricing, wallets, payouts, the API and onboarding, in one place.
General & Business Infrastructure
MERPI is a unified ticketing infrastructure platform developed by Syticks Co. Ltd that enables digital commerce platforms, travel marketplaces, and fintech platforms to integrate and sell ticketing inventory, including cinemas, concerts, festivals, conferences, transportation, and hospitality services, via a single integration.
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MERPI provides access to major cinema chains, concert and festival promoters, conference organizers, bus transportation operators, and hospitality experience providers across major business and leisure hubs in Nigeria, with new billers onboarded continuously.
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No. Integrating and maintaining access to the MERPI API incurs ₦0 in upfront setup fees, licensing charges, or recurring monthly platform subscriptions. Operations run strictly on a transaction-based model.
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API documentation and sandbox access are public and immediate. A formal Service Level Agreement (SLA) is issued for execution once a merchant completes sandbox integration and confirms readiness to move to production.
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Merchants maintain direct ownership of their end-user relationships and provide first-line support on their platforms. Complex technical issues, biller escalations, or manual cancellation requests are escalated by the merchant to the Syticks support team.
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Commercials, Pricing & Fees
MERPI charges a non-negotiable platform convenience fee of 2% capped at ₦100 per transaction. This fee is debited directly from the merchant's prepaid operational wallet alongside the base cost of the ticket at the time of purchase.
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Merchants have complete flexibility to configure their own custom markups or commissions charged to end users. While Syticks typically recommends a 3% commission (capped at ₦300–₦400 per transaction), merchants can adjust this rate across different ticket categories, billers, or experience types to suit their revenue model.
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Yes. Merchants have full autonomy over how pricing is presented on their checkout interfaces. You may absorb the 2% MERPI fee within your markup or pass it directly to the end user at checkout. MERPI simply deducts the base ticket cost plus the platform fee from your wallet balance.
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All stated MERPI platform convenience fees are exclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT) where applicable by law.
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The 2% MERPI convenience fee (capped at ₦100) is calculated strictly on the base ticket price established by the underlying biller.
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Prepaid Wallet & Financial Operations
MERPI operates on a real-time prepaid wallet model. Merchants fund a main operational wallet balance, from which ticket costs and the standard 2% MERPI convenience fee are automatically debited upon every successful booking.
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No. There are no strict minimum deposit or balance requirements to register, access documentation, or begin testing in the sandbox environment.
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Yes. While sandbox testing has no minimums, recommended operational minimum wallet balance guidelines tailored to anticipated transaction volume are specified in the SLA provided when preparing for production deployment.
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All merchant markups and earned commissions accumulate in real time in a separate, dedicated Commission Balance inside the merchant dashboard, completely isolated from operational wallet funds.
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Merchants can request a payout from their Commission Balance to their registered bank account at any time via the merchant dashboard. Each payout request is reviewed and approved by the Syticks team, and is typically paid out within 6 hours.
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MERPI imposes no minimum payout limits or platform withdrawal penalties. Standard interbank processing/transfer charges apply to payouts sent to settlement bank accounts.
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No. Main wallet funding and the Commission Balance are kept strictly separate. Commission Balances are dedicated for direct withdrawal to settlement bank accounts and cannot automatically offset main wallet balances.
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API Architecture, Webhooks & Technical Specs
Yes. The API exposes real-time endpoints for showtimes, live ticket availability, pricing tiers, and rich event metadata (including descriptions, artwork, venue addresses, and schedules).
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No. The MERPI architecture does not use push webhooks. Instead, merchants attach their own unique
merchant_reference string to every transaction payload and re-query status endpoints asynchronously.
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Merchants query the MERPI transaction status endpoint using their custom
merchant_reference. This returns the real-time processing status, full ticket details, booking reference, and QR payload.
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MERPI API documentation is publicly accessible online, enabling engineering teams to inspect data structures, endpoints, and authentication flows before initiating account activation.
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The MERPI API provides endpoints for inventory discovery, event/cinema showtime metadata, real-time ticket reservations, ticket purchase execution, transaction status requery, and wallet balance checks.
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Idempotency is strictly enforced using the mandatory
merchant_reference supplied by the merchant, ensuring duplicate requests with the same reference do not result in double debits or duplicate ticket issuances.
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Booking Workflow, Refunds & Cancellations
If an API transaction fails due to seat unavailability, payment errors, or partner network timeouts, the transaction is immediately rolled back and failed transactions are never charged to the merchant's wallet.
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Yes. Once a refund or cancellation is authorized and processed, the base ticket cost and associated platform convenience fees are credited back to the merchant's main wallet.
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Ticket cancellations and refund eligibility are governed by the policy of the underlying biller or event organizer. Cancellation requests must be escalated manually to the Syticks operations team for verification against biller terms.
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Booking failures detected during initial API execution trigger immediate, automated wallet rollbacks with zero delay.
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Access Control & Gate Management
Organizers utilize the Syticks Business App, which includes a built-in high-speed QR code scanner capable of validating digital tickets directly at venue gates in real time. Ticket holders can also present the name or email address used for their booking at the gate or terminal for confirmation.
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Account Activation & Onboarding Workflow
- Commercial Confirmation: Review and accept the standard platform pricing model (2% capped at ₦100).
- Account Provisioning: Submit primary merchant email credentials to receive activation codes and merchant dashboard credentials.
- Sandbox Integration: Access public API documentation and utilize sandbox keys to build and test end-to-end flows.
- SLA Execution & Production Go-Live: Execute the formal SLA, fund the operational wallet, obtain production API credentials, and go live.
Activation codes, merchant dashboard access, and sandbox API credentials are released immediately upon merchant email confirmation.
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Merchants must provide their official business name, primary operating contact email, intended ticket categories (e.g., cinema, events, transport), and confirmation of the commercial pricing structure.
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Yes. A single MERPI merchant account and API key set can be used across web platforms, iOS apps, and Android mobile applications simultaneously.
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Advanced Commercial & Operational Scenarios
No. While MERPI wallet operations and biller settlements are denominated in Nigerian Naira (₦), merchants are free to charge their end customers in any currency on their own platform.
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When an event or showtime is canceled at the source by the biller, MERPI coordinates with the merchant to process bulk wallet credits for all affected booking references.
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Where supported by participating cinema chains, concession items and combo add-ons can be queried and attached to the ticket reservation payload via the API.
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The key commercial and technical terms at a glance.
| Platform Convenience Fee | 2% capped at ₦100 per transaction |
|---|---|
| Merchant Markup Limit | Uncapped (Merchant-controlled) |
| Webhook Support | No (Re-query via merchant_reference) |
| Settlement Method | Real-time Prepaid Operational Wallet |
| Commission Payout Frequency | On-demand (typically paid within 6 hours) |
| Failed Transaction Charge | ₦0 (Never charged) |
| Minimum Wallet Balance (Sandbox) | ₦0 |
| Ticket Issuance Speed | Instant (Real-time response) |
| Gate Check-In Tool | Syticks Business App |
| Contractual SLA Issuance | Pre-Production Go-Live Stage |
Still have questions?
Email our team with your business name and question. We reply within 24 hours.